After 90-Year Snooze on Mantel, Landscape Is Identified as 1870s Roman Masterwork
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Jan. 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- For 90 years, a framed, panoramic depiction of the Roman Forum sat quietly on a Tampa mantel, changing ownership each time the house was sold but never moving from its spot. While appreciated by its succession of owners, it was never identified as a valuable artwork until it fell under the eye of Florida fine art dealer Michael Myers.
"While unsigned, we believe it is almost certainly the work of Vatican master mosaicist Cesare Roccheggiani," said Myers, co-owner of Myers Auction Gallery in St. Petersburg. "A signed Roccheggiani micromosaic nearly identical in size and subject matter was auctioned last month at Christie's London gallery for more than $500,000."
Myers and his wife and business partner Mary Dowd will offer the 32 by 59-inch, approximately 200-pound landscape in a Jan. 30 auction. Its presale estimate is $100,000 to $200,000.
Myers said the artwork quite likely was created around the 1870s under special commission for a nobleman or aristocrat from Britain, northern Europe or the United States.
"Those wealthy enough to indulge in a Grand Tour of the Continent usually returned home with expensive mementos like cameos, coins, medals or artworks," Myers said.
Rome was a must-see destination on a Grand Tour itinerary, and many local artists capitalized on the opportunity to sell to the influx of well-heeled visitors. Roccheggiani, who was active at the Vatican workshops from 1856 to 1864, is known to have catered to visiting art aficionados.
Myers does not know how the Roccheggiani in his upcoming auction ended up in Tampa. In the 1920s, the artwork was part of the decor in the residence then owned by a prominent area businessman. When the home was sold in the 1980s, the buyer was given the option of purchasing some of the existing furnishings. The micromosaic was among the pieces selected. Now, through descent, the estate artwork is off to auction.
Since arriving at Myers' gallery, the micromosaic -- which is comprised of hundreds of thousands of minute pieces of glass -- has created quite a stir.
"It's so luminous, it even fooled a visitor who walked into our gallery and thought they were looking at a picture on a flat-screen TV," said Dowd. "An artwork this stunning would have been very expensive in its day and available only to a very wealthy buyer."
SOURCE Myers Auction Gallery
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