Circle of Saturnino Gatti (circa 1463-1518) Italian, Abruzzo, circa 1500

Altomani & Sons, Milan, Italy, 2007;
private collection, Milan, Italy

There is weathering and losses to the original painted and gilt surface. Two fingers on both of the Virgin's hands are missing. The child with arms restored and fingers and toes missing (two on the left hand, and three on the feet). Otherwise the condition is good with minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age.
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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 present Virgin and Child Enthroned is conceptually and stylistically close to a number of groups of the same type in terracotta and wood made in Abruzzo in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The most striking comparison is with an early 16th-century polycromed and gilt terracotta Virgin and Child by Saturnino Gatti in the Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio, Abruzzo. Note the Christ Child's similar facial features, the comparable arrangment of the Virgin's drapery and the classicising throne with scrolled arm rests. It would appear that both groups follow a convention that was popular in the Abruzzo region around 1500. A wood group of this type, also with classicising throne, in the Santuario della Madonna della Misericordia, Petriolo, was attributed to Giovanni Antonio dall'Aquila (active early 16th century) when his signature was revealed on the sculpture after cleaning in 1985 (Casciaro, op. cit. pp. 228-231, no. 51). An interesting detail in this example is the pair of clog-type shoes worn by the Virgin, which are similar to the heavy shoe with prominent sole in the present group.

RELATED LITERATURE
R. Casciaro, Rinascimento scolpito. Maestri del legno tra Marche e Umbria, exhib. cat. Convento di San Domenico, Camerino, 2006, pp. 90, 228-31, no. 51; K. Baetjer, European Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art by artists born in or before 1865. A Summary Catalogue, New York, 1980, pp. 68, 85

The present lot is offered with a thermoluminescence analysis report from ARCADIA Tecnologie per i Beni Culturali - di Claudia Zelaschi & C. s.n.c. dated 09/06/2004 stating that the sample (reference number: T317) is compatable with the proposed mid 15th-century date.