Circle of Antonio Lombardo (circa 1458-1516) Italian, Venice, circa 1500

Overall the condition of the bronze is good with wear and dirt to the surface consistent with age and handling with some particular dirt in the crevices of the hair. There is some rubbing to the lacquer patina at the high points, including the forehead, eyes, tip of the nose and chin. There are some areas with minor nicks including to the forehead, tip of the nose, cheeks and chin. There are a few lacunae due to casting flaws, including to the eyelid on the proper left side, the proper left cheek bone and the lower lip. There are a few original iron plugs visible on the surface, including at the bridge of the nose, and to the sides of the head. There are five circular holes for mounting to the edge of the relief.
"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 extraordinary mask of a putto compares with works made by Venetian sculptors operating in the last years of the 15th century and the first decades of the 16th century, notably Pietro Lombardo (circa 1435-1515), his son Antonio (circa 1458-1516), and their follower Simone Bianco (fl. 1512-1553). The prominent cheeks and bulging unincised eyes recall the marble angels associated with Pietro Lombardo in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (circa 1500, inv. nos. A.58-1951 and A.59-1951). Closer is the bronze Bust of the Young John the Baptist by Antonio Lombardo in the Bargello (circa 1505/8; see Luchs, 1995, op. cit., p. 289, figs 165-166) with its similarly projecting chin, thick lips and clearly defined philtrum above the top lip. The hair, with fringe composed of ringlets, finds comparables within the wider oeuvre of the Lombardi, including Tullio Lombardo's Adam from the Vendramin tomb, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (circa 1490-4; inv. no. 36.163). Putti were frequently employed within larger decorative schemes and the present mask finds several parallels in Antonio Lombardo's Capella Zen in San Marco, Venice, which was completed by the obscure former wood sculptor Paolo Savin in circa 1505. Compare, for example, with the standing angels on Savin's relief on the south side of the Zen tomb, which likewise have almond-shaped unincised eyes, ringlets of hair and projecting chins (Jestaz, op. cit., p. 158, figs. 97-98).

The mask form and the unincised eyes, however, lends a profoundly classicising air to the present bronze. It consequently seems likely that the mask was made for a Humanist patron and would have been mounted within a secular context, such as the studiolo. The present mask may have reminded the 16th-century viewer of oscilla, Roman decorative objects with apotropaic significance, which took the form of masks, shields or disks, and would be suspended within an interior setting.The blank eyes, prominent lips, rounded face and thick curls of hair recall busts attributed to Simone Bianco, who was heavily influenced by Antonio Lombardo and worked primarily for an Humanist clientele. Compare, for example, with his Head of a Man in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (inv. no. Pl. 5615). In particular, the present bronze may be related to a group of bronze heads of children which have been associated with Simone Bianco (see Leithe-Jasper, 2008, op. cit., pp. 314-315, no. 36). One of these, also in the Kunshistorisches Museum (inv. no. Pl 5597) has empty eyesockets, which are likely to have been filled with silver or glass eyeballs. Little is known of Simone Bianco, though it has now been established that, along with his marble busts, he produced bronze works (Leithe-Jasper, 2008, op. cit., pp. 315).

RELATED LITERATURE
B. Jestaz, La chapelle Zen à Saint-Marc de Venise. D'Antonio à Tullio Lombardo, Stuttgart, 1986, pp. 95-158, figs. 97 and 98; M. Leithe-Jasper, Renaissance master bronzes from the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, London, 1986, pp. 134-139, nos. 28-30; A. Luchs, Tullio Lombardo and ideal portrait sculpture in Renaissance Venice, 1490-1530, Cambridge, 1995, pp. 238, 289, 297, figs. 165-166, 184; M. Leithe-Jasper in A. Bacchi and L. Giacomelli (eds.), Rinascimento e passione per l'Antico. Andrea Riccio e il suo tempo, exh. cat. Museo Diocesano Tridentino, Trento, 2008, pp. 310-315, nos. 34-36; V. Avery, Vulcan's Forge in Venus' City. The Story of Bronze in Venice 1350-1650, Oxford, 2011