Italian auction house Cambi is presenting the first prestigious House Sale of 2021 in the Vicenza-based Palazzo Loschi Zileri dal Verme. The important collection inside the building, comprising furnishings, sculptures, bronzes, paintings and decorative art mainly from the Neoclassical era, will be auctioned on 20 October.
Palazzo Loschi Zileri dal Verme, an elegant Neo-Palladian home that was witness to important events that took place in the city, was designed in the second half of the 18th century for brothers Alfonso and Francesco Loschi. It represents the style of the Vicenza architect Ottone Maria Calderari (1730-1803), who was inspired by the great architect Palladio.
The splendid building is now owned by the designer and fashion entrepreneur Claudio Biasia, who exhibited his personal collection of art in the frescoed rooms of the house. In this place rich in beauty and history, Biasia has collected Neoclassical-style furniture and refined artworks. These have been harmoniously combined with works from other eras. There are, among others, some important Northern European paintings of the 16th-17th centuries, decorative works of the 20th century, and paintings and art objects of the 16th century.
The bright entrance of the building welcomes visitors with various valuable works, such as the Four Marble Busts of the Emperors Caesar, Vitellius, Trajan and Caracalla and splendid examples of late Renaissance Roman art from the second half of the 16th century. The representation of Allegory of Innocence dominates the centre of the room, in white marble, signed by Pio Fedi (Viterbo 1816- Florence 1892).
Semi-hidden by enchanting curtains is the ballroom, a spacious and elegant environment that houses, among others, a series of twelve Papier Peints, of Parisian manufacture from the early 19th century and the majestic Eros and the Musa Erato, Italian neoclassical art from the 18th-19th centuries.
The Reception Room opens in the regal colours of gold and burgundy. Here are other interesting lots, such as an oil on canvas depicting Susanna and the Elders and Samson and Delilah by Segismundo Ribò y Mir.
The room also boasts antique furniture, paintings, sculptures and bronzes. Among these is the important pair of candelabra in gilded and patinated bronze, Au Bon Sauvage by the Luigi Manfredini manufacture and two Moors in the act of holding up five flames.
From the living room visitors enter into the small but enchanting Fumoir (Smoking room), the jewel of the house, and can admire, among others, the oil on wood painting Meeting of Gods, Muses and Artists on Mount Parnassus, attributed to the creative 16th-century Mantuan School.
In the large dining room is Sophie Rude's Adonis, a beautiful example of French Neoclassicism, as well as a precious and ancient commode in wood, lacquered in light blue and embellished with genre scenes.
Upstairs are the bedrooms, connected by a corridor. Right here is the top lot of the auction, the Suicide of Lucrezia by the Master of the Half Figures, a Dutch painter whose nickname derives from the numerous paintings attributed to him depicting elegant female busts. In the master bedroom is a beautiful bed in carved wood entirely gilded with gold, boasting a headboard centred by the head of Medusa.
From the upper floor the visit to this palazzo ends, a treasure chest in which Neoclassical works, 16th-century works and more contemporary works, dialogue together, creating an unexpected harmony.
