In 1887 the collection of the sculptor Santo Varni, a prominent figure in 19th-century Genoa, was put on sale. Santo Varni had assembled an important collection centered above all on sculpture and the minor arts. The auction attracted the attention of Stefano Bardini and Wilhelm Bode, who succeeded in purchasing some of the pieces on sale. This episode is re-examined through the analysis of a series of previously unpublished papers which reveal the birth of an increasing interest in Genoese sculpture during the Renaissance, evident both in the art market and in the sphere of critical studies. At the same time the identification of some pieces of the Santo Varni collection allows us to gather together evidence which, although little known, is useful in reconstructing certain details of the history of sculpture in Genoa in the late 15th century.