BRONZE FIGURE OF A CARITAS - The Embden Collection Northern Italy, probably Venice, early 16th century. Attributed to the “Master of the Barbarigo Reliefs”. Bronze with brown patina. Depiction of a draped woman holding a flame in her right hand. On a cylindrical stepped marble plinth. H with plinth 25.5 cm. Bronze slightly rubbed. Minor dents and scratches. Marble plinth with chips and losses, as well as some repairs. Provenance: The Arlette and Antony Embden Collection, France. A copy of this statuette is part of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and is dated ca. 1530. It is identified as an Allegory of Caritas (inv. no. 1957.14.29). Another Caritas, dated ca. 1500, with a missing hand and flame, is attributed to the “Master of the Barbarigo Reliefs” and is in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum (inv. no. A.20-1960). See John Pope-Hennessy: Renaissance Bronzes from the Samuel H. Kress Collection. London, 1965, p. 140f., No. 516, fig. 520. Leo Planiscig also attributes an identical Caritas from the Kunsthistorische Museum in Vienna to the master of the Barbarigo reliefs (Leo Planiscig: Die Bronzeplastiken. Vienna, 1924, p. 80, fig. 145). This master craftsman is named after the three bronze reliefs that adorned the tomb of the Doges Marco and Agostino Barbarigo. An undated Italian Renaissance bronze figure of the same model is known from the Louvre in Paris, which was formerly in the Collection of Stefano Bardini (inv. no. OA 7412). The standing female figure from the Louvre is missing her right hand, but is otherwise almost identical in pose and drapery. The female figure on offer has an opening below the forearm, which is not present in the Parisian version which was cast in one piece. * The full tax is charged on this item marked *, i.e. VAT is charged on the sum will be refunded to Purchasers providing a validly stamped export declaration.