From the workshop of Nicolò Roccatagliata (1593–1636) Italian, Venice, circa 1600

Standard wear and surface abrasions. Flaking of dark brown/ black lacquer. Beautifully chased with lovely detail. Light golden patina beneath lacquer.
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The present skillfully rendered relief represents a possible addition to the relatively small religious oeuvre of a sculptor who is primarily known for his bronze statuettes of putti and mythological subjects. The attribution of the present bronze to Nicolò Roccatagliata’s workshop rests largely on a comparison with the reliefs on the tomb of the Doge Leonardo Loredan in San Giovanni e Paolo, Venice, previously attributed to Cattaneo but now convincingly linked to Roccatagliata’s workshop by Kryza-Gersch (Kryza-Gersch, cit., figs. 22 and 23). Specifically the physiognomies of the bearded men, the meticulous detail on the edges of the drapery and the plants covering the ground are analogous to this Sacrifice of Isaac. It is also tempting to connect this relief to the Allegory of the Eucharist in the church of San Moisè but while the accomplished modelling in the areas of high relief are comparable, the lively manner in which the low relief appears to be drawn into the bronze with a stylis does not appear in this relief.
Nicolò Roccatagliata was born in Genoa around 1560 and entered the workshop of the silversmith Agostino Groppo at a young age. Having trained also with his son, Cesare, Nicolò moved to Venice sometime before 1594, when he was commissioned to execute bronze figures and sconces for the church of San Giorgio Maggiore. Nicolò is thought to have remained in Venice for the remainder of his career, probably as the master of a substantial workshop that included his talented son, Sebastian Nicolini. Nicolini became an eminent bronze sculptor in his own right and, before his father's death, frequently collaborated with him on commissions. This is evidenced by their joint signature on the large-scale antependium relief dated 1633 in the Venetian church of San Moisè.
Nicolò Roccatagliata's style was strongly informed by the Venetian Mannerist aesthetic and has much in common with the work of his contemporaries, Alessandro Vittoria and Tiziano Aspetti. While the styles of Nicolò and his son are almost indistinguishable, Nicolò seems to have favored a more precise and angular style of drapery in his figures which is evident in the present relief.

RELATED LITERATURE
Claudia Kryza-Gersh, 'Due altari seicenteschi a San Marco: Nicolò Roccatagliata e Sebastiano Nicolini, e la produzione di ornamenti in bronzo per le chiese veneziane', in, L’industria artistica del bronzo del Rinascimento a Venezia e nell’Italia settentrionale,, Atti del Convegno Internazionale di Studi, Venezia, Fondazione Giorgio Cini, 23 and 24 October 2007, Verona 2008, pp. 253-272.