Italian, Florence, circa 1500

William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor (1848-1919), Hever Castle, Kent, circa 1910;

Thence by family descent to William Waldorf Astor III, 4th Viscount Astor (b. 1951);

His sale, London, Sotheby's, The Hever Castle Collection, 6 May 1983, lot 270;

James and Marilyn Alsdorf, Chicago;

Their sale, New York, Sotheby's, 29 January 1999, lot 53;

European Private Collection;

London, Sotheby's, 10 July 2014, lot 86;

Where acquired.

This serenely beautiful terracotta bust is a rare departure from the model of Christ inspired by Verrocchio's famous bronze group of Christ and St. Thomas for Orsanmichele (1467-1483), which gained unprecedented popularity in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. It exhibits a high degree of delicacy and sensitivity in its modelling, which compliments Christ's calm, placid, gaze and simple, structured, clothing. Note, in particular, the manner in which the moustache and beard terminate in symmetrical tufts at either side of the mouth and chin, creating a wonderful chiaroscuro effect.

With respect to the composition, particularly the eyes, moustache and hair which falls onto the shoulders in trails of curls, a strong comparison is found in another bust of Christ given to the Della Robia family, specifically Andrea or his son Luca 'il giovane' (the younger), in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (accession number: 476-1864). Note also the almost identical clothing: the chemise fixed by a clasp at the collar, and the mantle over Christ's left shoulder. It seems possible that the present model may have been produced by a sculptor associated with the Della Robbia family. The distinctive hairstyle, with a center parting turning into bunched curls, can be seen again in two anonymous, late 15th-century Florentine terracotta busts in the Victoria and Albert Museum (accession numbers: 4497-1858 and 4485-1858).

The present bust is distinguished by its provenance, coming from the collection of the greatest Anglo-American aristocratic family of the 20th century, the Astors. It was acquired by the 1st Viscount Astor and kept at Hever Castle, traditional seat of the Boleyn family, until it was sold in 1983.

RELATED LITERATURE

J. Pope-Hennessy, Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum, vol. I, London, 1964, pp. 205-207, 233-234, nos. 191, 193 and 232;

G. Gentilini, I Della Robbia: la scultura invetriata nel Rinascimento, vol. II, Florence 1992, p. 332, reproduced p. 331.

In 1983 this lot was accompanied by a thermoluminescence test (no. 381F10) stating that this bust was fired between 320and 480 years ago.