Lot 12: JACOPO DI CIONE | The Madonna and Child enthroned with music-making angels and Virtues

tempera on panel, gold ground, arched top

162 by 68.5 cm.; 63 3/4  by 27 in.

tempera on panel, gold ground, arched top

The following condition report is provided by Hamish Dewar who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's: Structural Condition The panel has clearly had several structural interventions in the past and there is evidence of a number of batons having been removed from the reverse. At present there are two horizontal batons and several butterfly inserts on the reverse as well as a thick layer of wax resin. There are some areas which are slightly blistering on the paint surface as well as partially open cracks running parallel to the lower horizontal edge, and two further partially open repaired joins or splits, parallel to the left and right vertical edges. There are a number of other repaired splits and panel joins. Paint surface The paint surface has an uneven and discoloured varnish layer and a number of retouchings are visible under ultraviolet light. Many of these cover what would appear to be old flake losses and retouchings along the various splits and joins in the panel. The largest area of retouching would appear to be a retouching measuring approximately 5 cm in width which runs down almost the full length of the Madonna's blue draperies. There are also a number of retouchings on the faces of the Virgin and St. John and evidence of other retouchings. There may also be retouchings beneath old, discoloured varnish layers which are not identifiable under ultraviolet light. Summary The painting would therefore appear to be in rather fragile condition with structural condition issues that should be addressed.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Hartford, Conn., Wadsworth Atheneum, An Exhibition of Italian Panels and Manuscripts from the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries in honour of Richard Offner, 9 April – 6 June 1965, no. 5 (as by Niccolò di Tommaso);
London, Colnaghi, Gothic to Renaissance, 1988, no. 3 (as Jacopo di Cione).

S. Wagstaff, An Exhibition of Italian Panels and Manuscripts from the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries in honour of Richard Offner, exhibition catalogue, Hartford (Conn.) 1965, pp. 13–14, no. 5, reproduced (as Niccolò di Tommaso);
M. Boskovits, Pittura fiorentina all vigilia del Rinascimento, Florence 1975, p. 325 (as Jacopo di Cione circa 1360–65);
R. Offner, ed. H.B.J. Maginnis, A Critical and Historical Corpus of Florentine Painting. A Legacy of attributions. The Fourteenth Century (Supplement), Florence 1981, p. 89 (as Niccolò di Tommaso).

Rudolf Bedö (1891–1978), Budapest;
Sale, London, Phillips, 22 November 1955, lot 77, for £230, to Roland (as by Sano di Pietro);
With Wengraf, London;
With Bellini, Florence 1957 (both the above according to notes in the Fondazione Zeri archive);
Thomas Sheridan Hyland, Greenwich, Connecticut, by 1958;
Anonymous sale ('The Property of a Private Collector'), New York, Sotheby's, 17 January 1985, lot 46 (as by Jacopo di Cione);
With P. and D. Colnaghi, London.