FLORENCE—Sotheby’s Italy’s four-day Romano auction series saw its first session bring in a total of €4,704,700 ($6,941,785), well within the presale estimate of €3,741,550 to €5,589,970. The sold rate was 73% sold by both lot and value, with 62% of lots achieving prices above their presale estimates.

Multiple bids extended the sale proceedings, which ran over five hours, and there was significant activity from Italian buyers. Many of the pieces were from Tuscany and Naples, such as four terracotta life-size figures of Mars, Ceres, Orpheus, and Flora attributed to Antonio Novelli, of Florence, and a 17th-century figure of Saint Bruno by Cosimo Fanzago, of Naples.

The series is offering 291 lots of sculpture and other artwork from the Salvatore Romano collection. The auction is a collaboration between Sotheby’s and Sovrintendenza Belle Arti of Florence, the authorities in charge of preserving Italy’s artistic heritage.

Read more at ArtDaily.