Lot 127
  • 127

Benedetto Buglioni (1461-1521) Italian, Florence, circa 1505

Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 USD
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Description

  • The Baptism of Christ
  • glazed terracotta, with remainders of gilding
  • Benedetto Buglioni (1461-1521) Italian, Florence, circa 1505

Provenance

Church of Sant' Andrea a Camoggiano, Barberino di Mugello
Drouot Pescheteau-Badin, Paris, 11 June 2013, lot 177

Literature

G. Gentilini, I Della Robbia e l'"arte nuova" della scultura invetriata (exh.cat.), Basilica di Sant' Alessandro, Fiesole, 29 May - 1 November, 1998,  pp. 343-344, no. VI3
G. Gentilini, I Della Robbia. La Scultura invetriata nel Rinascimento, Firenze, 1992, p. 434
G. Gentilini, "Il Fonte Battesimale di Sant’Andrea Camoggiano",
in OPD Restauro, 2, 1990, pp. 67-81
A. Andreoni, F. Kumar, M.G. Vaccari, "Aspetti metodologici nel restauro di un Fonte Battesimale in terracotta invetriata", in OPD Restauro, 2, 1990, pp. 67-75
A. Marquand, Della Robbia Heraldry, Princeton, 1919 (reprinted 1972), p. 158, n. 194
G. Carocci, "Il Museo di Sna Marco di Frienze ed alcuni suoi nuovi acquisti", in Bolletino d'Arte, V, 1911, p. 381

Condition

Standard surface abrasions, minor chips and losses. Bubbles and some pitting from firing. Chipping around edges, very well repaired horizontal break through center. Otherwise very minor surface restorations. Traces of original gilding
"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."

Catalogue Note

From 1486 to 1528 Pandolfo di Urbano Cattani was prior of the Church of Sant’ Andrea a Camoggiano, Barberino di Mugello. A noble family and major patrons of the parish, in around 1505 the Cattani commissioned a  hexagonal baptismal font constructed of six white glazed reliefs illustrating episodes from the life of Saint John the Baptist (fig. 1). The present relief of the Baptism of Christ was stolen from the church at some point before the 18th century and appeared at auction in France in 2013. During the late 17th or early 18th century pastoral visit to Sant’ Andrea a Camoggiano by the Archbishop Giacomo Antonio Morigia, the Archbishop suggested that a reproduction of the original baptism relief should be made for the font. Carocci (op. cit., p. 381) notes that documentation exists referring to an attempted theft of the font in 1906 at which time the later relief was stolen as well as the painting of the Crucifixion by Bartolomeo di Giovanni.

The font, now with five panels, is preserved in the Museo d’Arte Sacra a Vicchio in Mugello.  The scenes are interspersed with decorated pilasters surmounted by Corinthian columns; a variety of moldings of classical design adorn the upper and lower portions of the structure. All of the reliefs are entirely glazed in white with the addition of gilding and touches of cobalt and manganese, and they are separated into two groups: the first including scenes from St. John’s youth and the second with scenes from his mature years. The subjects include: St. John taking leave of his parents, St. John in the desert and St. John and the young Christ, St. John preaching to the multitudes, his baptism of the crowds and the present subject, the Baptism of Christ.

The font was first documented in a church inventory of 1621 without specific mention of the sculptor who made it. Traditionally attributed to the della Robbia workshop, in 1984, Giancarlo Gentilini gave the work to the hand of Benedetto Buglioni citing the characteristically simplified narrative and overall design of the font. Furthermore, documents found concerning the building of the church provide support for a dating of around 1505 (Gentilini 1990, op.cit., p.77).

In 1908, several works of art made for the church in Camoggiano were exhibited in Florence, including the painting of the Crucifixion (which had been recovered and sent to the Uffizi), the baptismal font and ten terracotta figures forming a Nativity scene. In 1911 and again in the 1990s, the font was restored by the Opificio della Pietra Dura in Florence.

Benedetto Buglioni was the son of a sculptor and probably the pupil of Andrea Verrocchio. As an assistant to Andrea della Robbia, he learned the secrets to making glazed terracotta sculpture, developed by Andrea's uncle Luca in the early 1440s. In the 1480s, Buglioni became the della Robbia family's direct competitor in Tuscany. 

We are grateful to Giancarlo Gentilini for his assistance in cataloguing this lot.