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Lot Essay
This is an exceptionally fine example of a model which is known in numerous other versions including one in the Wallace Collection, the Bargello, and the Frick Collection. It has been variously attributed to masters such as Donatello, Caradosso, Desiderio da Firenze and, more recently, Severo da Ravenna, although none has yet found general acceptance. For the most recent discussion of the model see Avery's catalogue of the bronzes at La Spezia, loc. cit..
It is probable that this casket was originally purchased by Gustave de Rothschild (1829-1911). It is known to have been in the collection of his grandson, Philip Sassoon (1888-1939), the aesthete and collector whose possessions later passed to his sister Sybil, Marchioness of Cholmondeley, hereby enriching the collection at Houghton in Norfolk.
It is probable that this casket was originally purchased by Gustave de Rothschild (1829-1911). It is known to have been in the collection of his grandson, Philip Sassoon (1888-1939), the aesthete and collector whose possessions later passed to his sister Sybil, Marchioness of Cholmondeley, hereby enriching the collection at Houghton in Norfolk.