Renaissance bronze Apollo donated to British nation to pay inheritance tax bill

The Apollo Belvedere, by Antico, described as ‘the quintessential Italian Renaissance bronze masterpiece’. Photograph: Michael Jones/The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

One of the finest Italian Renaissance bronzes ever made, a miniature of an ancient Greek marble statue of Apollo, has been donated to the nation in lieu of a £10.5m inheritance tax bill.

The Apollo Belvedere, created 500 years ago by Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi, known as Antico, will go on display at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, home to an outstanding collection of Renaissance and baroque bronzes.