Lot 30

workshop of Antonio Rosselino (1428-1479) Florence, late 15th century

bidding is closed

Description

A polychrome terracotta relief of the Madonna of the Candelabra
Florence, late 15th century

the Virgin seated with the Christ Child on her lap holding a bird in His hands, behind two candelabra festooned with garlands, in later wood frame with reeded and corinthian columns, the back of the frame with worn exhibition label reading: Exhibition of Early Italian Art/ New Gallery 1893-4/ Virgin and Child gesso duro/ Lent by Sir Frederic Leighton, Reg. no. 98-2

Provenance

Frederic, Lord Leighton (1830-1896) [visible in situ in a photograph of the Music Room at Leighton House, London];
Sold Christie's London, 8-10 July 1896, lot 219 (attributed to Donatello)
Purchased by the aunt of the present owner between 1915 and 1925 from a Mr. Maricrini

Exhibited

Exhibition of Early Italian Art from 1300 to 1500, exh. cat., The New Gallery, Regent Street, London 1893-94, no.1279

Catalogue Note

In his discussion of the Victoria and Albert Museum's squeeze, Pope-Hennessy records two further terracotta versions of this composition, in the Bargello in Florence and at San Jacopo alla Cavallino, with several stucco versions including those in Berlin, Reggio Emilia, the Musée Jacquemart André in Paris and in the Louvre. The composition was attributed to Rosselino by Robinson, Marquand (1918), Gottschalk (1930) and Rossi (1933), and by Maclagan and Longhurst to the school of Antonio Rossellino.

A polychrome stucco version of this composition was included in the Salander-O'Reilly Galleries exhibition of Italian Sculpture from the Gothic to the Baroque, December 2002 - February 2003, New York, pp.46-47.

A Thermoluminescence test was carried out by Oxford Authentication (sample no. 104n36) and yielded a bracket dating between 550 and 350 years ago, (i.e.between 1454 and and 1654).

RELATED LITERATURE
Schötmuller, no.152; Pope-Hennessy (1964), vol.1, no.110, fig.127