Lot Essay
The central mother-of-pearl roundel is derived from a contemporary bronze plaque of Cupid Asleep attributed to the anonymous master 'Pseudo-Fra Antonio da Brescia,' (J. Pope-Hennessy, Renaissance Bronzes from the Samuel H. Kress Collection, London 1965, no. 188, fig. 237). On this plaquette, however, the altar-pedestal on which Cupid rests, has his bow, arrows and quiver hanging on its front; the substitution of an hour-glass here transforms the image into one of Vanity - the passage of time, and the transitory nature of human life and the uselessness of ambition. The frame is similar in style to, but more ornamental than, a number of recorded circular frames with vacant centers attributed to the Master I.O.F.F. (e.g. Pope-Hennessy, op. cit., hos. 113, 114, figs. 141, 142). The combination of materials is unusual and fascinating.
The dolphins that ornament the rim have previously been associated with the heraldic beast of the Pazzi family of Florence (the great enemies of the Medici), but in view of the northern Italian authorship of both frame and centrepiece, this now seems improbable.
The dolphins that ornament the rim have previously been associated with the heraldic beast of the Pazzi family of Florence (the great enemies of the Medici), but in view of the northern Italian authorship of both frame and centrepiece, this now seems improbable.