The Master of the Arma Christi of San Lorenzo

Trotti collection, Paris, according to records from 1932 in the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florence;
Dame Nellie Melba GBE (1861- 1931), Australia, by the mid-1920s;
By inheritance to her grandaughter, Miss Armstrong;
By descent to the present owner.

The panels are stable with a slight convex warp. The paint surface is stable. There are some small discoloured restorations to both roundels: on the first panel the spot retouchings are found on the figures, and to parts of the building on the right hand side. On the second panel there is a 2cm line of repainting by the leg of the soldier, on the buildings and weapons and in the hillside. Some pigments, like the blue of the river, have faded through age.
"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."

This pair of roundels, originally set into a wooden chest bearing the  family's coat-of-arms, are by an anonymous collaborator of Domenico Morone (circa 1442- 1518), whose eponymous work is the painted backdrop of the altarpiece in the church of San Lorenzo in Verona.¹

A second pair of roundels, which were probably pendants to the present lot, are in the Museum der Bildende Künste in Leipzig where they have been attributed in the past to both the Veronese and Ferrarese Schools from circa 1480.² These roundels share the same dimensions, an identical kimation frame border, and depict similar heroic scenes, in this case from the life of the Roman general Corolianus.

According to an old record from 1932 in the photo archive of the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florence, as well as old labels on the reverse, the present panels were once tentatively attributed to Girolamo dai Libri (Verona 1474-1556). Whilst recent research has now rejected this attribution, the sources nevertheless give further support for the view that these are Veronese in origin. This is further supported by two old seals on the reverse of the panels, the first verifying shipment from Verona, the second a stamp from the export office in Venice which between the 19th and 20th centuries also acted for the city of Verona.³

We are grateful to Mattia Vinco, Andrea de Marchi and Grazia Visintainer for their assistance in cataloguing this lot.

1. See S. Marinelli and P. Marini (eds.), Mantegna e le Arti a Verona, Milan 2006, pp. 409- 410, reproduced p. 410, fig. 143.   
2. Inv. nos. 1372 and 1373; see D. Sander, Katalog der Gemälde, Museum der Bildenden Künste, Leipzig, Leipzig 1995, p. 55, reproduced p. 315, figs. 177 and 178. 
3. The first: I[MPERIALE] R[EGIO] UFF[ICI]O SPED[IZIONI] DEL [...] IN VERON[A]; the second: R[E]A[L]E/ [ACC]ADEMIA [DE]LLE BELLE ARTI/ IN VENEZIA.