Ever since images of this bust were first published in 1910, it has been regarded as Antico’s finest work. This exceptional esteem is based on its beauty of form as well as the delicate execution in gold and silver plate which lends the sculpture a particular vitality.

The soft features and beardless face show a young man lost in contemplative introversion. His regular, well-balanced features bring to mind the famous ancient statue of Apollo from the Belvedere.

This sculpture portrays the dramatic climax of a story from the Old Testament. God wants to put Abraham’s faith and loyalty to the test, and commands him to sacrifice his own son. Without hesitating, Abraham complies with his divinely willed fate, climbs the Mountain of Moriah (which, translated, means “fear of God”) and builds an altar there for the burnt offering (Genesis 22:1-19).

Bergler is able to convey the tension of the depicted moment with considerable authenticity. Resigned to God’s will, Isaac sits blindfolded on the altar. Abraham has already drawn his knife to slay his son. Then an angel of the Lord appears, and stops him from fulfilling the divine command at the last possible moment. The strength with which the angel literally blocks Abraham’s thrust is rendered palpable by the two figures’ opposite directions of motion. The angel’s right hand, raised and pointing towards heaven, announces to Abraham his deliverance from his agonising obligation. Abraham, meanwhile, gazes thankfully at the bearer of the good tidings.

This small sculpture was not a model for one of larger dimensions, but an independent work of art. Sculptures of this size were easy to keep in living quarters and were affordable to buy. They therefore enjoyed great popularity during the 18th century.

The relief shows a sleeping St. Joseph, to whom an angel of the Lord appears in a dream. The angel commands him to flee to Egypt because King Herod wants to kill Jesus (Matthew 2:13).

In 1803, Vienna’s municipal authorities decided to replace the two damaged fountains of St. Joseph and St. Leopold located on the Graben. Their dedication to the two provincial patrons had originated from a vow made by Emperor Leopold I during the plague epidemic, and the fountains had then been built during the reign of his son Joseph I. The new fountains were crafted in accordance with the original portrayals, Johann Martin Fischer being commissioned with their design and execution.

Although this is a relief, the figures have an almost full-round effect. The background level of the relief is not really perceived as a surface, but rather as depth to the work.

This new acquisition is a further rendering of the front base relief of St. Joseph’s Fountain on Vienna’s Graben. In its sharpness and trueness to detail, it is significantly better preserved than the version on the fountain, which is exposed to the elements.

Fischer may have made the relief for his friend and benefactor Joseph Barth, whose patron saint was St. Joseph and in whose possession the relief is documented to have been.

This impressive, almost life-sized devotional work is a meditation on the passion of Christ and its role in the redemption of humankind. This is indicated by a bible quotation on the pedestal from Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians: EMPTI ESTIS PRETIO MAGNO (You were bought at a price). The episode portrayed does not have a scriptural source. Christ, sitting on a stone, seems to be waiting for Pilate’s henchmen and praying for mercy, wringing his hands. The imminent suffering is already clearly visible in his facial expression. This true-to-life naturalism, which powerfully addresses the viewer’s emotions, is characteristic of Adriaen de Fries’ oeuvre.

The sculpture draws its expressive power from the tension between Christ’s suffering features and the classical beauty of his athletic body. The pose of the figure, with his cross-legged pose, was inspired by a famous woodcut by Albrecht Dürer depicting the Man of Sorrows. Its physiognomy, on the other hand, is indicative of the sculptor’s familiarity with Hellenistic sculpture and the works of Michelangelo, which he had studied in Florence and Rome.

An inscription on the pedestal identifies Prince Karl I of Liechtenstein as having commissioned this work. He held the influential post of High Steward at the court of Emperor Rudolf II in Prague and was among the privileged individuals who were permitted to commission works from court artists — of whom Adrian de Fries was one.

It is unclear to what end the statue was executed. It may possibly have been intended for the newly built parish church of Feldsberg (Valtice).

This sculpture of a naked man tied by both hands to a tree stump embraces two levels of interpretation: one mythological, the other religious. On the one hand, it could be intended to depict the satyr Marsyas. The ancient myth has it that Marsyas, who was famous for his flute playing, challenged Apollo to a musical contest. The two agreed that the victor could have unconditional control over the loser. Apollo won because he could accompany his singing by playing the cithara, and he had Marsyas skinned alive as punishment for his insolence.

The no less brutal alternative is the martyrdom of St. Sebastian who, as an officer of Emperor Diocletian’s personal guard, protected Christians from persecution and was executed by archers at the emperor’s command.

The holes, probably once occupied by arrows, turned out to be a later addition. Perhaps the figure had originally been Marsyas before being modified to become St. Sebastian.

The sculpture may have stood in the grotta of Isabella D’Este in Mantua during the 16th century. The corresponding inventory of 1542 mentions “una figura nuda legata a un tronco” (a naked figure tied to a tree trunk). Stylistically it could also be associated with the circle of artists at the Gonzaga court in Mantua. Andrea Mantegna has been suggested as a possible creator of the sculpture. Although contemporary written sources identify him as having been not only a painter but also a sculptor, nobody has thus far been successful in identifying a sculpture as being from his hands. The Marsyas in the Princely Collections could fill this gap.

This bust portrays a man with arms and chest bound, screaming loudly and squirming in his chains. It is the giant Tityus, the traditional personification of punished iniquity. According to Homer (Odyssey 11. 576 ff.) Tityus, a son of Zeus, wants violate Leto, but is hunted down by her children Apollo and Artemis. After his death, he has to do penance in the underworld: tied to the ground, a pair of vultures peck apart his liver, which grows again as fast as it is devoured.

Parodi’s sculpture captivates the viewer through its realistic portrayal of torturous suffering. Hs face twisted by pain, his mouth wide open and hair dishevelled, Tityus protests his fate.

Parodi also created a companion piece to this bust: Virtue. The sculptor took his inspiration from two sculptures by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Anima Beata and Anima Dannata.

In 1694, Prince Johann Adam Andreas I of Liechtenstein wrote enthusiastically to his favourite painter Marcantonio Franceschini that he had never found better sculptors than Parodi and Mazza.

Even back in ancient times, the judgement of Paris was a popular theme in visual arts and literature. Paris is commanded by the Gods to settle the dispute between the goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite over the question of which one is the most beautiful.

Making various promises, the goddesses compete for the favour of the youthful referee. Hera, the sister and spouse of Zeus, offers Paris her power. Athena, goddess of both war and peace, promises to give him military fame. Aphrodite, however, promises him the most beautiful woman in the world. Evidently an irresistible offer, because Paris hands her the golden apple, symbolising her victory in the contest.

It is this moment of the decision that Soldani captures in his bronze ensemble. While Athena seems not to want to believe that she has lost, Hera is already turning away in disappointment. Incidentally, Paris is then to abduct the beautiful Helen with Aphrodite’s assistance, thereby sparking the Trojan War.

Together with this bronze sculpture, Prince Hans Adam II of Liechtenstein also purchased Soldani’s bronze ensemble Diana and Callisto. Soldani had offered Prince Johann Adam Andreas I of Liechtenstein the opportunity to purchase both objects back in 1702.