Renaissance Lead Fragment of a Draped Female

A composition statue modelled after the Italian Renaissance masterpiece sculpted by Michelangelo, David depicted nude in a contrapposto position, carrying the weight on his right leg, holding the sling in his raised left hand, and the handle of the sling placed in his right hand, with a large ivy leaf covering his genitals; restored. 18.75 kg, 82.5 cm high



Private collection, London.

Michelangelo created the original sculpture between 1501 and 1504, and it was originally commissioned as one of a series of statues of twelve prophets. However, it was then placed in the public square in front of the Palazzo della Signoria.

Each with a gold surface and red-brown cinnabar colouration; the spools are discoid with raised bands and a capped and pierced central cylindrical neck to the reverse; the discs present almost identical scenes of a standing warrior wearing a headdress and holding a club and shield; in the style of the Lambayeque Valley, circa 200-500 A.D. 173 grams total, 10.7 cm each



Formerly acquired before 1950. From the collection of Mr Razeto, acquired in the 1950s-1960s. Ex private American collection, circa 1960s. Acquired from Gloria Lisset Reyes Garcia, Florida, USA. From the private collection of Mr Michael J. Vaupel, Miami, USA.

The age of the Moche people has been lauded as the 'Master Craftsman Period' by archaeologists. Alongside other developments and innovations, the Moche excelled at metalwork, such as this pair of earrings, which may have been worn by high-status men or women. The pair would likely have been deposited as grave goods. The Moche culture existed between 200 and 850 AD, before the advent of the Inca. Although they never formed a single centralised political entity, they built thriving cultural regional centres stretching from the Nepeña River Valley in the south to the Piura River, close to the modern border with Ecuador, developing coastal regions into fertile farmlands and exploiting the maritime resources of the Pacific Ocean's Humboldt Current.

Comprising a barrel-shaped body with a rounded underside, addorsed human heads each on a long, curved neck, with applied pellets for the hair, a scooped beak for the mouth, applied bands for the arms with impressed pellets, smaller head worn on the chest on a collar. 5.8 kg, 42.5 cm



Acquired on the UK art market.