A pair of German bronze reliefs of the Mourning Virgin and Saint John, from the workshop of Hermann Vischer the Younger (1486-1517), circa 1510, Nuremberg

from a Crucifixion group, copper-brown patina with traces of gilding, Saint John with several raised cross-shaped symbols on the reverse.

Dr. Hubert Wilm, Munich, sold Lempertz, Cologne, December 3, 1952, nos. 227-228
Mathias Komor, New York
Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, November 22-23, 1985, lot 100

San Francisco, M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, Renaissance and Baroque Bronzes from the Abbott Guggenheim Collection, 3 March-11 September 1988, no. 49

L. Camins, Renaissance and Baroque Bronzes from the Abbott Guggenheim Collection, San Francisco, 1988, no. 49, pp. 140-141
M. H. Schwartz (ed.), European Sculpture from the Abbott Guggenheim Collection, New York, 2008, no. 67, pp. 132-133

Rubbing and surface abrasions throughout. Some pitting and minor casting flaws. Wear and filed down areas on edges and backs. Remnants of later gilding. Some verdegris. Holes drilled for attachment to backing (of various ages). Some new scratches on reverses from screws. Backings: worn throughout, velvet very worn.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present pair of reliefs originally flanked a crucifix and were probably made for attachment to a stone slab.  The broad swathes of heavy drapery punctuated with small gatherings of crumpled folds is consistent with the work of the Vischer family of sculptors from Nuremberg, and particularly close to the reliefs made for St. Mary's Basilica in Kraków by Hermann Vischer the Younger.  The designs depend ultimately upon drawings by Albrecht Dürer, and the peculiar position of the hands of both figures are seen also in a painted Crucifixion, the Epitaph for Georg Rayl, of about 1494-95 in Nuremberg.

RELATED LITERATURE

Gothic and Renaissance Art in Nuremberg, 1300-1550 (exh. cat.), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1986, no. 42, pp. 172-173