Attributed to Diego Francesco Carlone (1674-1750) South German or Austrian or Swiss, first half 18th century

Overall the condition of the figures is very good. Both have minor wear consistent with age and there are minor wormholes consistent with material. There are minor cracks and losses due to naturally occurring rings and knots in the wood. Both figures have two drilled holes to the back that served as mounting points. Hope has minimal repairs to her nose, cloak at the proper right side of her face, proper left shoulder, proper right elbow, at the back near the proper right hip. There are repaired breaks at the upper right tip of the anchor, at the end of the anchor on which her left foot is resting, and the toes of the right foot. There is a small loss to the drapery near the proper left side of the neck. Despair has minimal restorations to her cloak where it falls over her face. There is a joint visible at the wrist of the proper right arm which also has a crack. The proper right hand has the ends of four fingers missing. On the proper right side of the underside of the drapery there are a few minor chips. The attribute of Despair, probably a sword which she thrust in her abdomen, is missing.
"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."

The antithetical figures of Hope (looking upwards and holding an  anchor) and Despair (looking down and originally pierced with a sword, which is now missing, but a hole into which it was inserted is extant next to her proper left thumb) are two very rare wood models, which stylistically are closely related to the work of the Italian-born Diego Francesco Carlone, who spent most of his career in Austria, Switzerland and South Germany. Specialising as a stuccoist, a few wood sculptures have been attributed to the artist (for instance one in the Cleveland Museum of Art). The idiosyncratic and highly expressive style of the draperies compare well to Carlone's large stucco statues for instance in Weingarten, Linz and Einsiedeln. The face of Hope is also closely comparable to Carlone's Saint Anne in the church of the Benedictine Abbey of Weingarten (1725) and other of his female figures. For the monumentality of their compositions, these two wood sculptures were probably models for a pair of large-scale sculptures, which if they have been executed and come down to us, have yet to be identified.

RELATED LITERATURE
H. Vagt, Untersuchungen zum Werk Ciego Francesco Carlones, Munich 1970; S.A. Colombo and S. Coppa, I Carlone di Scaria, Lugano 1997; P. Grove, 'Carlone, Diego Francesco,' Allgemeines Kunstler-Lexikon, XVI, 1997, pp. 436-7