Veiled Lady Sculpture Sells for €1.925 Million
A marble bust attributed to Antonio Corradini fetched a new world record for the Venetian sculptor at a Vienna auction.
Updated on Nov. 1, 2026 in Fine Art
Auction house Dorotheum sold a white marble sculpture of a veiled woman by Antonio Corradini for €1.925 million in Vienna on 20 October. The sale set a new world record for the artist, far above its €12,000 to €16,000 estimate.
Why it matters
The result underscores how strongly collectors can value a work once its attribution is confirmed, even when the pre-sale estimate was modest. Dorotheum now considers the veiled lady definitively attributable to Corradini.
The sale price of €1.925 million was a new world record for Antonio Corradini, far exceeding the €12,000 to €16,000 pre-sale estimate for the 60-centimetre marble sculpture. The identity of the buyer, who won through a telephone bid, remains unknown.
The players
Antonio Corradini
Venetian sculptor born in 1688 whose works in marble are prized by collectors and museums across Europe.
Dorotheum
Vienna-based auction house that conducted the sale and has attributed the veiled lady definitively to Corradini.
The details
The veiled woman, carved in white marble and standing 60 centimetres tall on its own base, was sold at the Dorotheum auction house in Vienna. The bidding ended in favour of a telephone bidder, and the veil falls over the face without hiding it.
Timeline
1688: Antonio Corradini is born in Venice.
20 October 2026: The veiled marble sculpture is sold at auction in Vienna.
Market Landscape
The sale places a Venetian Baroque marble on the international market, following the conservation of the plaster model of the same bust at the Ca' Rezzonico museum under the Save Venice project. It shows that a confirmed attribution can move a sculptural work well beyond its original estimate.
The marble sculpture is now in private hands, with its buyer unidentified, so public viewing will depend on whether the new owner lends it out. Readers interested in seeing the plaster model can visit the Ca' Rezzonico museum in Venice.
The takeaway
A confirmed attribution can transform a modest estimate into a record-setting result, so provenance research is worth as much as the object itself. Collectors and enthusiasts can track how attributions are documented when assessing works at auction.
Further reading
Explore more on Fine Art and how attributions shape prices at auction.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Times of India.
