Apollonio di Giovanni headed a thriving workshop specializing in the production of luxuriously decorated cassoni and spallieri to meet the demands of Florence’s elite. The artist was much celebrated for his inventive designs of often secular subjects and his treatment of episodes from ancient history, such as that shown in the present panel; these were much sought after by 15^th century Florentines, who proudly envisioned themselves as heirs to the democratic values of their Roman forebears.

The present work, a masterful and lively depiction of the Triumph of Caesar, can be definitively linked to another panel by Apollonio di Giovanni depicting the Triumph of Scipio Africanus which was previously in the Gambier–Perry collection in London (fig. 1).¹ The pairing of the Triumph of Caesar and the Triumph of Scipio Africanus relates to a humanist debate that was well-known at the time these panels were made and that sought to establish the superiority of Scipio, the republican, over Caesar, the tyrant. In both panels, the artist has painted the processions before settings of famous ancient Roman monuments including the Pantheon, Colosseum and Trajan's column, all well known to Apollonio's clientele, but not contemporaneous with the stories depicted.

Although the iconography of both panels would be typical for a cassone or marriage chest, and relates to Apollonio's well-established promotion of antique themes, the works are much in fact smaller than was typical and have therefore been considered to be fragments in the past. This hypothesis has been called into question, however, because both depict complete vignettes and in the present panel all four edges remain intact and appear to be original.² It has been suggested instead that these two scenes formed the end panels of a cassone; however, their size and the importance of their iconography would seem to eliminate this as a possibility as well. Two alternate theories seem to be more plausible: it could be that these two panels formed the fronts of a pair of cassoni, or that they functioned as parts of a spalliera, a decorative frieze inset into a bed or other piece of furniture, or placed into the wainscotting of a room.

Everett Fahy suggested that The Triumph of Caesar was originally commissioned by the Pucci family, who were an extremely important and influential family in Renaissance Florence. The basis of this assumption is the appearance of their emblem, the black-a-moor, two of which appear seated on horseback, driving Caesar's chariot.³

1. The Triumph of Scipio Africanus, oil on panel, tempera and gold on panel, 16 1/8 x 24 ¾ in. (41 x 62.8 cm.). Sold, London, Christie's, 6 July 2017, lot 12.

2. In the pendant panel, three of the edges remain intact.

3. Fahy confirmed the attribution of the panel and proposed this provenance in advance of the 2001 sale (see Provenance).