£1m Medici bronze up for auction

The bronze is being auctioned next month

A previously unknown bronze statue, commissioned by the Medici family in the 17th Century, is to be auctioned by Christie's auction house next month.

The bronze, valued at £1m, depicts the Grand Prince Ferdinando de'Medici on horseback and dates to around 1695.

It was cast by the Florentine sculptor Giuseppe Piamontini, who signed his name around the girth of the horse.

The piece was purchased by the Earl of Belmore in 1820 and has remained in his family for almost 200 years.

Christie's said recently discovered documents confirmed "an impeccable provenance from the 18th Century to its present owners".

"Rarely does a discovered work of art come to the market with such a complete pedigree," said Mr Donald Johnston, head of the auction house's sculpture department.

He said the piece was "all the more remarkable for the discovery of papers which reveal unique insights into aristocratic collecting methods".

Christie's is almost certain the work was personally commissioned by Prince Ferdinando, who is depicted in the work in his early 30s.

Piamontini was one of the most distinguished sculptors of the period and was a major figure of Florence's Grand Ducal court in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries.

Christie's will auction the piece on 7 July.