Plasticator of central Italy, late 16th century, Episodes from the Old Testament, terracotta Plasticator of central Italy, late 16th century EPISODES FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT seven rectangular terracotta reliefs depicting the Entrance of the Animals into the Ark, Moses Saved from the Waters, The Staff of Moses Transformed into a Serpent, Samuel and the Messenger of Abraham, Judith in the Field of Holofernes, The Head of Holofernes Hoisted on the Walls of Bethulia, The Death of Pharaoh's Firstborn. According to Andrea Bacchi, these panels should be linked to one of the most prestigious monumental undertakings of late 16th-century sculpture in central Italy: the creation of the three bronze doors of the Sanctuary of Loreto, commissioned by Cardinal Antonio Maria Gallo, rector of the Sanctuary from 1587, in view of the 1600 Jubilee. All three doors, executed respectively by Antonio Calcagni, Antonio di Girolamo Lombardo and Tiburzio Vergelli, illustrate episodes from the Old Testament; approximately 22.5x15.8 cm each Comparative literature A. Bacchi, Tiburzio Vergelli , in Terrecotte italiane tra Manierismo e Barocco , Florence 1997, pp. 14-29