UK Museums Urged to Save Rare Renaissance Masterpiece
Galleries and institutions across the UK have the chance to save Antico’s Seated Nymph for the nation, after the Government temporarily blocked it from leaving the country.
The temporary export bar gives museums and galleries time to raise the £4.6 million needed to acquire the sculpture and keep it in the UK and on public display.
Cast over 500 years ago, the bronze statuette features mercury-gilded hair and drapery, with the exceptional detail and finish for which its sculptor became renowned.
The Seated Nymph was created by Italian sculptor Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi, known as Antico, and is regarded as one of his finest works.
A deadline of 17 December has been set to find a buyer and help keep the rare Renaissance sculpture in the UK and on public display.
The figure stands just under 20cm tall and was likely designed to be held in the hand and turned to be fully appreciated. The tiara on the figure’s head suggests she may represent a goddess, such as Venus.
Arts Minister, Ruth Mackenzie said: "This statuette is small but mighty. The detail and refinement mark it out as an exceptional piece. I very much hope this export bar can help keep this exquisite statue in the country where the public can also enjoy its beauty."
RCEWA committee member, Stuart Lochhead said: Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi, known as Antico, forever linked his fame with his skill at imitating classical antiquity. He developed a highly sophisticated technique for producing luxuriously finished bronze statuettes, becoming one of the leading artists at the court of Mantua. The Seated Nymph is one of his most beautiful creations, embellished with golden hair and drapery, as well as inlaid silver eyes. It was rediscovered in the sculpture collection at Woburn Abbey. The export of this exquisite sculpture from the UK would be a great loss, depriving the public of the work of an exceptionally rare and hugely admired sculptor.
The decision follows the advice of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA).
The Committee made its recommendation on the basis that the Seated Nymph by Antico met the second and third Waverley criteria for its outstanding aesthetic importance and its outstanding significance to the study of the history of sculpture collecting in the UK, and within the context of the Bedford collection specifically, and the interrelationship between Antico models.
The decision on the export licence application for the sculpture will be deferred for an initial period ending on 17 December 2026 inclusive in which we welcome expressions of interest from an appropriate purchaser to try and acquire the object. At the end of the first deferral period owners will have a consideration period of 15 Business Days to consider any offer(s) to purchase the sculpture at the recommended price of £4,600,000 (plus VAT of £166,666.67). The second deferral period will commence following the signing of an Option Agreement and will last for five months.