As a young man, Preisler lived and studied in Italy for eight years where he must have met his compatriot, Baron Philipp von Stosch, an antiquarian, collector, diplomat and secret agent for the English.
Preisler probably executed these drawings, alongside four other similarly drawn sheets on the New York art market in 1990,
1 for Stosch, after antique gemstones from the Baron's great collection, most of which are now housed in Berlin.
2
1. See Mia N. Weiner, Old Master Drawings, 1990, no. 41
2. see L. Lewis, "Philipp von Stosch", Apollo, May 1967, p. 326