Lot 68: AMBROGIO BORGHI

ITALIAN, CIRCA 1848-1887
A MOTHER'S EMBRACE AND A MOTHER & CHILD: A PAIR

A MOTHER'S EMBRACE AND A MOTHER & CHILD: A PAIR

measurements
44 in. (pedestal 30 in.); 48 1/2 in. (pedestal 30 in.)

alternate measurements
111.7 cm (76.2 cm); 123.1 cm (pedestal height)

the first inscribed AMB BORGHI MILANO and dated 1876 (on the seat back); the second inscribed A. BORGHI MILANO and dated 1879 (on the seat back)

white marble

PROVENANCE

Thomas Stanford, California
Stanford University, California (as a bequest from the above)
John and Lorraine Rickey, Palo Alto, California (acquired from the above in 1949)

NOTE

Borghi employed careful observation and study to inform his pair of portraits, infusing tenderness into a baby's soft cheek and the protecting arms of a loving mother. These works demonstrate a high technical virtuosity --- their sensitive detail of both human expression and realistic textures and surfaces a mastery of form and drapery. In his most productive decades of the late nineteenth century, the sculptor's diverse repertoire included historical figures (Oliver Cromwell), to public monuments (Monument to Independence, Treviso, Italy), and genre subjects, such as the present pair. The audience for Borghi's work was international, and he exhibited extensively throughout Europe. Because of their scale and strong, visual appeal, his works were often key elements in the decorative collections of great estates, displayed in gardens and elsewhere. Indeed, the present pair could last be viewed among the sprawling sixteen acres of landscape of the landmark Hyatt Rickey's hotel in Palo Alto, California delighting generations of guests with their tender appeal.