Lot Essay
The originals were acquired by the Louvre in 1964 (A.Brejon de Lavergnée, D. Thièbaut, Catalogue sommaire ... du Louvre, II Italie, Espange etc., 1981, p.41). The series was commissioned in 1573 by the Emperor Maximilian II as a gift for the Elector of Saxony. They were removed from the Saxonian royal collections earlier this century.