(Rome 1912–1983)
Il fiume Congo, 1971, bronze with dark and gilt patina, unique work, signed, dated Andrea Spadini 1971 on the base, 26 x 42 x 11.2 cm, (MCC)

Provenance:
Wedding present from the artist to the current owner;
Private Collection, Italy

Sculptor Andrea Spadini (who would sign his works as ‘Lo Spada’) was the son of the famous painter Armando Spadini. From the 1940s onwards he created extraordinary, valuable works in silver, gold, bronze, stone and, above all, ceramic for many private clients, especially from Roman aristocratic families. After meeting Gasparo del Corso, the founder of Galleria dell’Obelisco, and his wife, Irene Brin, editor of the Italian edition of Harper’s Bazaar, Spadini became very popular also among the members of the American jet-set, such as C. B. Luce, Lauren Bacall, Henry Fonda, Carmel Snow, Gioia Marconi and many others. His first New York exhibition took place at Sagittarius Gallery in 1960, followed by a further one at Wildenstein Gallery. There he met Mr Van Day Truex, who proposed to him a collaboration with the famous jeweller, Tiffany. From March 1960 onwards, for many years Spadini created small-size precious sculptures for Tiffany. In 1965, Spadini’s large Carousel Clock with figures of music-making animals was set up in the Central Park Zoo in New York. In Europe, Spadini received important commissions from the Henkel family in Düsseldorf (four big sculptures dedicated to the four Elements, Acqua, Aria, Terra, Fuoco, the garden solar clock and a fountain) and the garden sculptures for the house of the Bolivian ‘King of Tin’, Patı˜no, in Portugal.