Exclusive Bust Of Maria De' Medici, Queen Of France, From The Peter Kaus Museum, Carrara Marble

EXCLUSIVE BUST OF MARIA DE' MEDICI, QUEEN OF FRANCE (from the Peter Kaus Museum). The creator of this masterpiece is the Italian sculptor CESARE SCHEGGI (Lucca, 1833 – Florence, 1876) • Iconography: Nobility in the details. The dress, the sumptuous stiff collar embroidered with lace, and the hairstyle with interwoven pearls faithfully reproduce the famous portraits of Maria de’ Medici (1575–1642) created by masters such as Frans Pourbus the Younger and Peter Paul Rubens. Maria was renowned for having popularized this sumptuous ruff, worn at the nape of the neck, throughout Europe. For a 19th-century Tuscan sculptor like Cesare Scheggi, celebrating the grandeur of the Medici dynasty through its most illustrious members was a classic theme, much loved by collectors of the time • Jewelry detail: The pendant she wears around her neck is a finely crafted eight-pointed star. In aristocratic iconography, this piece of jewelry represents an honor from the Order of St. Stephen (a chivalric order founded by Cosimo I de’ Medici). The decoration consists of an eight-pointed (or octagonal) cross, usually red on a white field, identical in shape to that of the Knights of Malta but with the colors reversed. The eight points of the cross symbolically represent the eight Beatitudes of the Gospel; the Order of Saint Stephen was typically a masculine, military, and religious honor, but in the case of this bust, it was adapted for Queen Maria de’ Medici. This masterpiece was entirely hand-carved from a single, precious block of white Carrara statuary marble, an impeccable raw material weighing 80 kg of pure and absolute enthusiasm. • Dimensions: 75 cm Height x 50 cm x 27 cm (80 kg) • Condition: EXCELLENT • Packaging will be handled directly by the art gallery, using a fully wood-lined EPAL wooden pallet with professional, specialized packing materials inside! Shipping will be fast and trackable. CENZI ArtGallery provides invoices and appraisals for all works of art you decide to purchase.