A ROMAN WALL-PAINTING FRAGMENT ON STUCCO, CIRCA 2ND CENTURY A.D., WITH EARLY 18TH CENTURY ITALIAN RESTORATIONS | A Roman Wall-painting Fragment on Stucco

the upper part decorated in high relief with a youthful female bust within a frame of leaves, painted flowers around the perimeter and scrolling tendrils of berries on either side,  the lower half painted from left to right with two seated men, a woman holding a wreath over her head, a youth holding a cup, a woman holding a basket of flowers over her head and a staff in the other hand, and a reclining river god, the whole scene probably a later addition.

Dr Conyers Middleton, Cambridge and Faversham, acquired in Rome in 1724/1725
Horace Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (1717-1797), Strawberry Hill, Twickenham, above the door in the Little Library of the flower garden cottage, acquired from the above with the rest of his antiquities collection on April 21st, 1743
Anne Seymour Damer (1748-1828), Strawberry Hill, by inheritance
George, 7th Earl Waldegrave (1816-1846), Strawberry Hill (sale: George Robins, A Catalogue of the Classic Content of Strawberry Hill, collected by Horace Walpole, May 16th, 1842, no. 96, in the Armoury)
Charles Wentworth Dilke (1789-1864), London, acquired at the above sale for £7.7.0
acquired by the present owner from an estate in Washington, D.C., circa 2008

"The Art Treasures of Great Britain," Manchester, May 5th-October 17, 1857

Under intense artificial light, the fragment appears to be repaired from several fragments and with areas of heavy paint along the breaklines. There is a metal plate at the back on which the entire object appears to be glued for reinforcement. The main crack runs vertically in the middle from the relief head straight down to the left of where the child stands. The sprigs of green vegetation and flowers seems to have been overpainted a long time ago in water-based pigment. Some remains, almost ghosts of the ancient outline of the leaves are still visible, as in the upper left corner for instance. There are areas of heavy mat oil paint on the raised arm of the female figure at left and on the blue dress of the female figure at right. UV light reveals modern paint along the break lines and on the aforementioned figures. Most of the painted decoration should be assumed to be modern over an ancient substrate in the vegetal motifs, and possibly over some remains of figural decoration in the lower register. Most of the surface appears to have been covered in varnish, which has turned yellow overtime. Set within a 19th Century wooden frame.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

PUBLISHED Conyers Middleton, Germana quaedam antiquitatis eruditae monumenta quibus Romanorum veterum Ritus varii tam sacri quam profani, tum Graecorum atque Aegyptiorum nonnulli illustrantur, London, 1742, pp. 1ff., pl. 1 (https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=S384sw1EsO0C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false)
A Description of the Villa of Horace Walpole, Youngest Son of Robert Walpole Earl of Orford, at Strawberry-Hill, near Twickenham, with an Inventory of the Furniture, Pictures, Curiosities, &c., London, 1774, p. 115 (https://archive.org/stream/descriptionofvil00walp#page/115/mode/1up)
Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, vol. 10, Session 1857-1858, p. 13, no. 1

Cf. a wall-painting fragment with gorgoneion in relief from the collection of Richard Mead (1673-1654) and now in the British Museum: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=427788.

The right-hand half of the figural scene appears to be copied from a fresco fragment discovered in 1710 in the Baths of Constantine (http://arachne.uni-koeln.de/item/buchseite/244431) and now in the Museo Nazionale Romano: http://www.bollettinodarte.beniculturali.it/opencms/multimedia/BollettinoArteIt/documents/1379949366356_06_-_Bendinelli_147.pdf.