The Adoration of the Magi

This engraving, one of Robetta's largest, is based on Filippino Lippi's altarpiece of 1496 (Uffizi, Florence), although stylistically it combines Italian with German influences. Only very few lifetime impressions are known. The original copper plate was re-discovered by the Milanese publisher Giuseppe Vallardi (1784-1861) and reprinted in the last decade of the 18th and first decade of the 19th century. The plate was then acquired by the British Museum, London, where it is still kept (inv. no. 1888,0117.13). It is a double-sided plate, the other side being engraved with an Allegory of Carnal Love (Bartsch 25) by the same artist.
The present impression appears to be printed on a late 16th century sheet, which bears a long gothic cursive inscription in brown ink verso. The Latin text is contemporary with the paper. It is in two paragraphs and only partially decipherable, yet appears to be a draft receipt for a transaction, possibly a loan or a deposit. There are references to a more formal ledger and a separate list. The two persons named in the text are one 'Antoninus de Gragonzolla' (probably Gorgonzola, a town to the north-east of Milan) of the parish of St Mary’s, and 'Tadeus de Gradis'. The second paragraph mentions ‘lapides grossos marmor. hodie conductos ad lagetum Sancti Stefani in Brollio’ (large stones of marble driven today to the pool of Santo Stefano in Brollium), possibly referring to the Church of Santo Stefano in Brolo, in Milan.