A five-minute film has been made to document the history of the Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece Horse and Rider, which dates back to 1508.

Carlo Pedretti, world renowned da Vinci expert, authenticated the piece in 1985. The original bronze was made directly from a beeswax model sculpted by the great da Vinci himself.

It’s a great story of how this remarkable 500-year-old art treasure has been preserved for generations to come

“It’s a great story of how this remarkable 500-year-old art treasure has been preserved for generations to come,” Horse and Rider CEO JW Petty says.

“For a beeswax model to survive for centuries is amazing, and to think, a work like this could have easily disappeared from existence.”

The history of the artwork is fascinating, complete with mystery, twists, and turns that saw it pass from several prestigious European collections to its being saved from Nazi looting during World War II. Plans to publicly display the work have not been completed yet.

The sculpture, reported to be the only one by Leonardo da Vinci, is made out of beeswax and was authenticated in 1985.

“The sculpture has been placed in a bank vault for safe keeping until I can determine how best to share Horse and Rider with the world,” says Petty. “For now I am content knowing that this masterwork is safe and that soon its incredible story will be told.”

An early maquette for an unfinished monument, Horse and Rider features a rider in full military regalia on horseback.

Da Vinci died in 1519 before he could complete the larger project, leaving Horse and Rider to his star pupil, Francesco Melzi. The work remained with the Melzi family in Italy. It was later removed to Switzerland for safekeeping before the onset of WWII. In 1985, world renowned Leonardo expert Pedretti was called on to verify its authenticity. After his in-depth analysis, Pedretti declared in writing: “In my opinion, this wax model is by Leonardo himself.” Photos of the model appear in the Catalogue Raisonne of Leonardo’s drawings known as the Queen’s Collection at Windsor Castle, Horses and Other Animals. The beeswax model is also well-documented in the scholarly work Leonardo da Vinci; Scientist, Inventor, Artist by Otto Letze and Thomas Buchsteiner.