Attributed to Benjamin Cheverton (1794-1876) British, 19th century After Bertel Thorvaldsen (1789-1838)

Private collection, United Kingdom, since the 19th century

Overall, the condition of both ivories is very good, with minor dirt and wear to the surfaces consistent with age. There is some yellowing to both reliefs in areas around the edges of the ivories, where the ivory meets the gilt metal frames. There is minor veining to the ivory, consistent with the material, notably to the bottom of the relief with Night. The gilt metal frames are in good condition, with some wear and dirt. There is particular wear to the flower at the bottom of the relief with Night. There is minor dark spotting to the frames in areas, notably to the top of the frame of the relief with Day. There are minor pits and nicks to the foliage decoration in areas, especially to the high points. The later wood and velvet-lined frames are in good condition, with some wear and discolouration to the velvet, which was originally red. There is minor dirt to the paintwork of the wood frames, and some joints are slightly open but stable.
"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.
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It was in his modest apartment in Rome, in the boarding house of Casa Buti on the Strada Felice, that the great Neoclassical sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen first modelled his famous reliefs of Night and Day in the summer of 1815. Thorvaldsen based his composition of Night on the writings of the Greek traveller and geographer, Pausanias (fl. AD143-176), whose Periegesis Hellados (Description of Greece) includes a description of the highly decorated cedarwood Chest of Kypselos (5.17.5-19.10). One of the scenes depicted on the chest portrayed a woman with a sleeping white child on her right arm and a black child in her left arm, with the inscription that the figures represented Death (Thanatos) and Sleep (Hypnos) with Night, their nurse. Thorvaldsen also referred to a drawing he had made of the painter A.J. Carsten's earlier treatment of the same subject in 1795 (Weimar). The compositions are the most emblematic of Thorvaldsen's relief sculptures and became an immediate success, with the sculptor producing several versions: for Lord Lucan, Klemes von Metternich, François Gabriel de Bray and William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire. 

These beautiful ivory reliefs after Thorvaldsen's models are most probably those referred to in an article published in The Times on 6 June 1842 which, discussing works by Benjamin Cheverton, describes 'exquisite copies mechanically executed in metal and in ivory after Bertel Thorvaldsen and Francis Chantrey' (quoted in Roscoe, op. cit.). The online edition of the Biographical Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851 notes that a 'Night and Day' by Cheverton were included in an auction recorded in The Times 22 May 1877 as selling for £54 4s (Roscoe, op. cit.). The attribution to Cheverton is given added credence by the provenance, as the reliefs have been passed down through the family since the 19th century as being autograph Cheverton ivories.

RELATED LITERATURE
http://217.204.55.158/henrymoore/sculptor/browserecord.php?-action=browse&-recid=518&from_list=true&x=0 [accessed online on 15 May 2015]