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Telephone KENsington 6371 

VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM
South Kensington . London S W 7
ENGLAND

Department of Architecture & Sculpture

23rd January, 1958.

Dear Mr. Seligman,

I am sorry that I had no time to deal with your letter of December 14th before I left for Italy for Christmas. I do not believe the oblong relief of the Lamentation over the Dead Christ, of which you sent me a photograph under cover of your earlier letter, to be by either of the Mantegazza, and I am not by any means confident that it is of Lombard origin. From whatever part of Italy it comes -- I am inclined to suspect that it may be Emilian -- it is clearly a provincial work of relatively coarse quality. I cannot recall any other carving by this hand. The Auspitz relief is a characteristic work by Francesco di Simone & of relatively late date (ca. 1490). I do not know on what the alleged provenance from the Casa Martelli is based. This source appears to have been given, in a rather arbitrary fashion, for many Florentine reliefs in the late nineteenth century, and even if it could be demonstrated in the present case, it would not greatly affect the interest of this most attractive work. With every good wish for the New Year.

Yours sincerely,
J.W. Pope-Hennessy
J.W. Pope-Hennessy
Keeper
Department of Architecture & Sculpture

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