ITALIAN, LATE 15TH OR EARLY 16TH CENTURY STYLE

The present relief is the work of a highly distinctive and accomplished forger, sometimes known as the 'Master of the Cat', on account of his penchant for including cats in his creations, albeit not in this one. Both the Medici arms and the date of 1401 are entirely misleading, not least since the source of inspiration for the style of portraiture would appear to be late 15th century Milanese. The grotesquely grinning heads are loosely derived from Leonardo da Vinci, while the central child comes close to the anonymous - but authentically renaissance - Master of the Pala Sforzesca.