Lot 161
  • 161

Domenico Morone

Estimate
15,000 - 20,000 GBP
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Description

  • Domenico Morone
  • The death of Uriah the Hittite; The announcement of the death of Uriah to King David and Bathsheba
  • a pair, both oil on panel, marouflaged

Provenance

Private collection, Venice (according to a label on the reverse);
Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 14 April 1978, lot 28; 
Anonymous sale ('The Property of a Lady), London, Christie's, 8 July 2005, lot 5, where acquired by the present owner.

Exhibited

Venice, Mostra d'Arte Antica, Pittura Veneta, 1947, nos 5 and 6.

Literature

A. Riccoboni, Pittura Veneta, exh. cat., Venice 1947, p. 18, cat. nos. 5 and 6, reproduced .6 and 7. 

Condition

The following condition report is provided by Hamish Dewar who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's: i) The panel is securely attached to the cradled arrangement. There are some horizontal splits to the panel most notably a central split and these are visible on the reverse. The paint surface has an even varnish layer. There is a pattern of craquelure throughout the composition. Inspection under ultra-violet light shows scattered retouchings throughout the composition including along the central horizontal split mentioned above. ii) The panel is securely attached to the cradled arrangement. There are some horizontal splits visible on the reverse which correspond to areas visible on the paint surface. The paint surface has an uneven varnish. The paint surface has an uneven pattern of craquelure. Inspection under ultra-violet light shows scattered retouchings including retouchings corresponding to the horizontal splits mentioned above. Overall the paintings are in reasonably good condition. The works are framed.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Catalogue Note

Uriah the Hittite was the first husband of Bathsheba, with whom King David was in love, and who carried the King's child. When Uriah refused the King's instruction to return from battle to spend time with Bathsheba – thus disguising the source of her pregnancy – King David ordered his general, Joab, to place Uriah in the front line and withdraw his support, leaving him to certain death (2 Samuel XI, 15). These two scenes are probably the end panels from a marriage cassone, and would have borne a powerful moral lesson on marriage to the newly wed couple to whom the chest would have belonged.