sculptures. Most importantly, however, is the announcement made by the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia on the 2nd of February that a Marini sculpture of a horse and rider, of similar size and appearance to the one being sold by Sotheby’s, has been donated to the gallery by Melbourne philanthropist Loti Smorgon. The reason this is so important is that this donation means that there yet another Marini sculpture has been removed from the market making the remaining horse and rider sculptures even more rare and desirable. Having only been produced in such small editions (L’Idea Del Cavaliere was only an edition of four) makes the removal of even one horse and rider series sculpture from the market a major event. Now does the irrevocable bid seem more justifiable?
As you can see, it pays to keep an eye on the cultural sphere as the actions of galleries and museums can have a major effect on the desirability, rarity and value of a work of art. Whoever placed the irrevicable bid on the Marini sculpture is an extremely shrewd collector or investor who knows what he/she is doing. What makes the irrevocable bid even more sweet for the bidder is the fact that they receive financial compensation if they are not the successful bidder. So, the bidder will either get the work for the price that they paid knowing that the work will likely be worth more than they paid for it in the near future, or will be compensated if someone else decides that they too realise how valuable the sculpture is and are willing to pay even more.
image:
LOT 20
MARINO MARINI
1901 – 1980
L’IDEA DEL CAVALIERE
inscribed MM, numbered 3/3 and stamped with the foundry mark Fonderia d’Arte De Andreis, Milano
bronze, painted by the artist
height: 220cm.
86 5/8 in.
Executed in 1955 and cast in bronze in an edition of 4. This work was also carved in wood in 1956.
ESTIMATE 3,700,000 – 4,500,000 GBP
**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications
