Leonardo da vinci – lady with an ermine

Isabella d’Este, Marchioness of Mantua, bargained, cajoled and went behind her family’s back to get what she desired. Meet 16th-century Italy’s most formidable collector

In her latest novel, Sarah Dunant explores the life of Italian aristocrat Isabella d’Este, the archetypal Renaissance woman

A pound of flesh NEVER was an ...

“Hands of Saint Dominic” by Albrecht Dürer, 1506; ...

From topless staddle stones outperforming complete ones to two versions of the same desk selling on the same day 212 miles apart, bizarre occurrences are par for the course at contents sales

La Pietà by Michelangelo