Lot Essay
The linear quality evident in the present relief, as well as the subject and frieze-like nature of the composition, point to an origin among English neo-classicist sculptors. Among these artists, it is perhaps the work of Thomas Banks (1735-1805) which most closely resembles this piece. Banks, who was a life-long friend of Henry Fuseli, studied in Rome for seven years. His reliefs of The Death of Germanicus, at Holkham Hall, and the Monument to Mrs. Petrie, at Lewisham (Whinney, locs. cit.) are relevant comparisons.