Attributed to Michele da Firenze (active ca. 1404-1457), Italian, Florence, 15th century

Overall the condition of the stucco is good. There is wear and dirt to the surface consistent with age. There is wear and craquelure to the paint and gilding throughout, particularly at the high points, some of the craquelure in the crevices being slightly unstable. There is a chip to the Child's forehead and there are further nicks and chips along the base and a few more minor ones around other sharp edges.
"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."

Michele da Firenze worked with Lorenzo Ghiberti on the famous Baptistery doors in Florence between ca. 1404 and 1407. His early independent work comprised mostly private devotional terracottas, such as the Virgin and Child with Saints (no.7572-1861) or the Virgin and Child with six Angels (no.73-1866) both in the V&A, London.  Around 1430 he is believed to have made the terracotta monument to Francesco Roselli in S. Francesco, Arezzo. Michele da Firenze's most important works are the 17 impressive terracotta panels of the life of Christ and figures of Saints that decorate the Pellegrini Chapel in S. Anastasia in Verona (before 1438). In the late 1430s and early 1440s Michele worked in Ferrara (where he was already active around 1427), Modena and Reggio. Between 1448 and 1457 he was active in Pesaro with his son and collaborator Marsilio. This unpublished model has been attributed to Michele da Firenze by Dr. Francesco Caglioti. The composition can be compared in particular to the relief in the V&A, no. 73-1866, in which the Christ Child rests his arm across the top of the Virgin's chest. Further comparison can be made with a relief of the Virgin and Child in the Bargello, Florence, no. 265 (Inv. 1879) in which the faces, drapery and overall treatment of the relief are very close. Both the V&A and Bargello reliefs still manifest a Florentine late Gothic syle, however, the forms in the present stucco are handled in a more rounded manner that indicates a date in the 1430s. A related polychromed stucco sold in the Elia Volpi auction in New York in 1927, lot 414, demonstrates the success of this new type. Whilst the Volpi stucco is set into a glazed terracotta wreath with cherubs and fruit from the workshop of Della Robbia, the present relief represents a more original format. We are grateful to Dr. Francesco Caglioti for his advice in cataloguing this lot.

RELATED LITERATURE
J. Pope-Hennessy, Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1964, pp. 65-69; A. Galli, "Michele da Firenze: i problemi dell'attività giovanile," Prospettiva 68 (1992), pp. 13-29: A. Galli, in Crocevia estense: contributi per la storia della scultura a Ferrara nel XV secolo, Ferrara 2007, pp. 18-24, 33-37