Probably Flemish, first quarter 18th century

Sotheby's London, April 17, 1969, lot 159; Heim Gallery, London

Heim Autumn 1970, no.85; Washington, New York, Cambridge 1979-1982, no. 114 (illus.); New York 1981, no. 38; Chicago 1987-1988, no. 12

Jacobs 1999, pp. 526 and 527, SR.48 (illus.)

General surface abrasions, small losses and chipping throughout. Well done restorations throughout, including Father Time's neck, legs, some drapery and wings. Restorations to legs and upper portion of female figure, to proper left arm of putto and to base. Losses include: top surface of base, some drapery and locks of hair, and the limbs of the child in Time's arms. Stable and attractive.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present terracotta group was formerly attributed to Laurent Delvaux, Pierre-Denis Plumière and most recently to Lazar Widmann (Jacobs 1999), based on the similarity of the composition to an alabaster by the Bohemian sculptor in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Although the figure of Father Time walking forward while turning his head, back and the position of his arms are similar to the alabaster, the treatment of the hair, shape and features of the faces, the wings, the drapery and the base differ from Widmann's highly detailed group. The Sackler terracotta bears closer affinity to the work of Delvaux, and particularly Plumière (as Avery suggested, Washington, New York, Cambridge 1979-1982, op. cit.), both of whom were from the Netherlands and moved to London following sculptors such as Scheemakers and Rysbrack.

Plumiere's funerary monuments for the Spinola Family in 1716, in the church of Notre-Dame de la Chapelle, Brussels and the monument to John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham in Westminster Abbey (in collaboration with his pupils Delvaux and Peter Scheemakers), also incorporate figures of Father Time that reveal an awareness of the Netherlandish Baroque combined with a subtle classicism, also evident in the present terracotta in details such as the drapery.