Sculptors and goldsmiths use the same materials, and in the 16th century they worked in both large and small formats. The celebrated goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini, for example, made monumental sculptures as well as jewellery.

Only a few of these sculptor’s pieces, like this ring, have been preserved.

The reclining man derives from a sculpture by Michelangelo, Dusk, on the tomb of Lorenzo de’ Medici in Florence.