Italian, Florentine, 17th century

beeswax, inset with glass eyes

Overall this wax is remarkably well preserved however there are losses and chips to bottom edges as well as exposed elements of old nail and wood. There is some cracking within, particularly under the proper right chin and upon his head were there appears to be an old fill. There is minor pitting to the surface particularly to the top of the head. Possible repair to proper left ear as well as under the chin. There is some minor flaking on the right cheek. There is an original nail inserted on the top of head that possibly secured a wig.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Wax, one of the oldest sculptural media, is an ephemeral substance.  Very few renaissance and baroque waxes have survived the vicissitudes of time.  The present seventeenth-century Italian wax Ex-Voto Head of a Man is a work of exceptional rarity, owing to its outstanding artistic quality and excellent state of preservation.

Wax can emulate the human form and imitate flesh to a shocking degree of accuracy. This startlingly realistic Head of a Man is a consummate example.  His face is tense, his cheeks flushed, and his lips slightly parted.  The Head was probably cast from a plaster mould taken directly from a live donor.  The sculptor then modelled the work with an extraordinary attention to detail. Wrinkles are carefully articulated and each eyelash and individual strands of stubble carefully set.  The Head was most likely conceived as part of a votive effigy and attached to a life-size clothed mannequin.

Early-modern votive effigies (ex-votos) were commissioned by donors in fulfilment of a vow.  They were intended as perpetual "stand-ins" in front of a votive image within a church. This practice was popular among the upper classes in many Italian cities from the thirteenth through the seventeenth century.  Only wealthy patrons could afford full-size effigies of an artistic quality akin to that of the Head of a Man. The lower classes did not have the resources for individual portraits and, as such, offered small wax objects of body parts.  Through this wax, the viewer becomes a voyeur into a time long past:  the haunting accuracy of details and the ability of wax to preserve human flesh presents the viewer with a rendition of uncanny realism.

Wax making was once a flourishing art considered to be on the same level with other modes of sculpting.  After the seventeenth century, however, wax lost its popularity as an art medium.  Recently, however, this lost art is being re-adopted by contemporary sculptors. Artists such as Ron Mueck, John Isaacs, Robert Gober, and Kiki Smith have restored the art of wax to the status as an artistic medium.

Wax is integrally connected to the history of the representation of the body and many of the new works adopt formats once used for ex-votos.  Contemporary wax sculpture display the same illusionistic qualities of early waxes.  Persistent themes, concerns, and forms indelibly connect the two.  Panzanelli compares ex-votos to Robert Gober's fragmented limbs and torsos with pocked flesh and huge sores.  Both Baroque and Contemporary wax sculptors exploit the ambiguous and evocative relationship between reality and illusionistic representation.  This is manifest in works of art that are repelling and compelling, grotesque and beautiful.

RELATED LITERATURE
R. Panzanelli, The Color of Life: Polychromy in Sculpture from Antiquity to the Present (Getty Villa, Los Angeles, 6 March – 23 June 2008); R. Panzanelli, Ephemeral Bodies: Wax Sculpture and the Human Figure, (Oxford, 2008)