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Mark Russo unveiled Michelangelo’s original pure silver Pietà on July 13, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada, along with Steve Forbes, CEO and Founder of Forbes Media LLC, and Michael Sheppard as the world’s largest pure silver casting
BATTLE GROUND, Wash., Sept. 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Treasure Investments Corporation (TIC) has completed the grand endeavor of producing the largest single .999 pure silver sculpture ever created from the original pieta by Michelangelo Buonarroti. TIC has been granted exclusive rights to cast number 1 of 1 and only one ever made in pure silver. The exclusive rights to the original posthumous masterpiece are authenticated by the Casa Buonarroti Museum and Foundation with the red waxes cast from the original mold in the historic Fonderia Artistica Ferdinando Marinelli in Florence, Italy. The Marinelli foundry gained access to the Vatican before World War II when Pope Pius XI. Marinelli Sr. was subpoenaed out of concern of an impending war and the possibility of theft or damage to the Vatican’s priceless art collections. The Marinelli foundry, in particular Ferdinando Marinelli Sr., has had the honor of making master molds in plaster, directly from the original marble sculptures, one of which bears the title pieta Created by Michelangelo in 1499.
“We believe the pure silver Pietà could exceed $100 million as a one-off piece and the largest pure silver sculpture ever created with empirical provenance in support of the piece,” said Mark Russo, CEO and founder of Treasure Investments Corp .
From this original master mould, Marinelli has cast a flawless red wax which has been inspected and examined by Casa Buonarroti for TIC and found to match Michelangelo’s original perfectly. In a letter to TIC from the Casa Buonarroti Foundation, Dr. Alessandro Cecchi, the museum’s director and supreme authority for certifying the foundation of Michelangelo, her coat of arms and the lily of Florence, and authorized Treasure Investments to produce one and only one original posthumous silver cast of the pieta.
These waxes were shipped by air from Florence, Italy and received at TIC headquarters and the New Renaissance Art Museum, the “Museo Michelangelo” in Battle Ground, WA. “It was an incredible day for everyone at headquarters when the pieta waxes appeared; It’s not every day that you get original Michelangelo’s from Italy,” said Mark Russo, CEO of TIC.
Treasure Investments Corporation acquired the exclusive rights to cast over 72 European masterpieces in precious metals from the Vatican collections; including works by Michelangelo, Canova, Apollonius von Nestor, Bernini and others. By obtaining these rights, TIC is the only company authorized to manufacture these pieces in pure silver, gold and platinum. All are one-offs and are considered posthumous originals.
That pieta by Michelangelo, now completed and cast in .999 pure silver, weighs a staggering 20,021 ounces, making it the largest single pure silver sculpture ever created. When asked about the pieta‘s value in pure silver, Mark Russo stated, “We believe the pieta by Michelangelo in pure silver, as a one-off and the largest pure silver sculpture ever created with empirical provenance to support the piece, could exceed $100 million in value and whoever the person or institution making the purchase has one Incredible value investment opportunity as we believe the true value is much higher.”
TIC has been casting large sculptures in pure silver for 5 years. Most pieces weigh over 1000 ounces and belong to the collection of the famous artist Lorenzo Ghiglieri (1931-2020). The images, cast in precious metal, come mainly from his eagle collections and other wildlife pieces. In the last 2 years, Treasure have crafted over 45,000 ounces of silver sculptures from our vast collection of master molds. “We knew we wanted to cast the largest piece of silver ever, but we had to find the right piece. When we asked our team what this image should be, we all asked the right questions. Who is the most famous artist in human history? And what are the most famous sculptures in human history? It was easy to see that Michelangelo was at the top of the list of artists and performers pieta as one of the most famous sculptures in history. The most difficult question to answer was whether it would ever be possible to gain access to the forms, let alone obtain authorization and obtain true and empirical provenance to demonstrate the validity and authentication of the original work,” Russo said pieta selected is a work of Renaissance sculpture by Michelangelo Buonarroti housed in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. It is the first in a series of works on the same subject by the artist. The statue was commissioned for French Cardinal Jean de Bilhères, the French ambassador to Rome.
After several years of hard work, an undisclosed sum of cash and a trip to Florence, Italy, Treasure Investments’ desire to begin producing original pure silver masterpieces from the Vatican collections was finally fulfilled. “A dream has come true for us. The result of an amazing amount of hard work and dedication to what we love,” said Jason Dilling, President of Sales at Treasure Investments Corp.
Due to the complexity and near-impossible challenge of casting and crafting the largest pure silver sculpture in history from the original wax, Mark knew who to work with to make this dream a reality. Mark contacted Rip Caswell, owner of Firebird Bronze in Troutdale, OR. “Rip, himself a world-renowned sculptor, has an amazing gift for creation. His wildlife work and other spectacular masterpieces have been active in the art and foundry industries for decades. Rip’s incredible team at Firebird Bronze have over 400 years of experience in the casting business and are probably the only ones qualified to cast Michelangelo’s works in pure silver. I knew Rip Caswell was the perfect person to bring this project to life. His eye for perfection and talent as an artist made Michelangelo pieta cast in silver one of the most impressive sculptures in human history,” said Mark Russo.
When asked what TIC will create as the next piece in pure silver and how they can ever top that pieta? Russo’s response was, “Michelangelo’s David. Can you imagine this piece of pure silver being over 19 feet tall?”
Treasure Investments has already begun production of Michelangelo’s original David sculpture. Arguably the most famous work of art in history and TIC will be crafting this sculpture out of pure .999 fine silver. The red waxes have already been poured and will be sent to TIC headquarters this fall. Treasure Investments expects to unveil the piece to the world sometime next year, and when complete it will stand nearly 19 feet tall and weigh an estimated 80,000 ounces of pure silver.
Treasure Investments Corp dba Foundry Michelangelo, “The Source for the World’s Greatest Masterpieces of Fine Art”, creates original sculptures from small desktop collectibles to larger than life heroic monuments cast in bronze, pure silver and gold. The company’s Master Mold Collection contains thousands of original molds by world-renowned artists including Benvenuto Cellini, CM Russell, Edgar Degas, Bill Toma, Auguste Rodin, Ghiglieri, Bernini and Michelangelo. Visit FoundryMichelangelo.com for more information.
Contact information:
Markus Russo
CEO and Founder
[email protected]
01 360 954 5453
Related Images
Image 1: Michelangelo’s original Pietà in pure silver
Mark Russo with Michelangelo’s original cast of the Pietà, the largest pure silver sculpture ever made
Image 2: Mark Russo | Firebird Bronze | Red waxes from Michelangelo’s Pietà
Mark Russo with Rip Caswell, owner of the Firebird Bronze Foundry, and Madison Brower, curator of the Museo Michelangelo Museum, at the foundry carefully removing the original red waxes of the Pietà from Florence, Italy
Image 3: Michelangelo’s David | Pure Silver | Exclusively from Treasure Investments Corp
Michelangelo’s David is cast in pure silver with an estimated weight of 80,000 ounces as a Treasure Investments Corp exclusive (currently in production)
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Michelangelo’s original Piet in pure silver
