An Italian terracotta figure of Saint Sebastian, attributed to the workshop of the Master of the David and Saint John Statuettes, late 15th/early 16th century, Florence

M. H. Schwartz (ed.), European Sculpture from the Abbott Guggenheim Collection, New York, 2008, no. 102, p. 189

General wear and losses throughout. Restorations throughout. Neck and arms broken and repaired. Large repaired crack to proper right upper arm. Repaired cracks through his knees, and lower half of tree, with restorations to legs. Losses, cracks, and restorations to base. Surface painted with dark red terracotta-colored pigment.
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.
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Sir John Pope-Hennessy gave the conventional name 'Master of the David and Saint John Statuettes'  to the unrecorded, probably Florentine sculptor responsible for a group of terracotta figures including several examples in the Victoria and Albert Museum.  In addition to the two subjects from which the sculptor takes his name, a Saint Sebastian in that collection is also by his hand (Pope-Hennessy, op. cit., no. 183); Pope-Hennessy also mentions 'a much superior version' in the Kunstgewerbe Museum, Leipzig.  The present work is clearly dependant upon those compositions, given the size, attitude, and physiognomy of the young Sebastian.  Other examples of the subject from the workshop include one sold at in these rooms December 3-4, 1982, lot 44, and another sold Sotheby's London, July 6, 1995, lot 20.

The lot is sold with a Thermoluminescence Analysis Report from Oxford Authentication, Ltd. dated 30 November, 2010, stating that Sample No. N110p5 was last fired between 400 and 700 years ago (1310-1610 AD).

RELATED LITERATURE

J. Pope-Hennessy, Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, pp. 191-196