The sculpture, standing 2ft (61cm) high including the marble base, was one of 399 lots consigned by Princess Maria Beatrice of Savoy, the youngest daughter of the late King Umberto II, the King of Italy.
Carlo Emanuele I (1562-1630) was the only son of Emanuele Filiberto, duke of Savoy, and Marguerite daughter of François I of France. Another version of the bronze, that was in the collection of the Landgraves of Hessen, was identified by Manfred Leithe-Jasper, co-editor of the catalogue of an exhibition in 1978-9, at the Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum, where it was suggested that the Hessen version could be the work of the Mannerist sculptor and founder Antonio Susini.
After various consultations, Christie's went for a cautious cataloguing of Princess Maria Beatrice's group as "after the model attributed to Antonio Susini, 18th/19th century" and estimated it at £5000-8000. However, at least two prospective purchasers, London dealer Daniel Katz and Yorkshire dealers Tomasso Brothers, rated its quality and Italian Royal provenance sufficiently to believe this was a 17th century period cast by Susini worth far more.
A bidding battle ensued with the Tomassos finally succeeding at £675,000. John and Raphael Tomasso told ATG the group was "a technical masterpiece and a practically flawless cast". They are currently carrying out further research on their purchase.
Anne Crane
