Panel relief, fragment, ivory, the Triumph of Eternity, Northern Italy (Mantua or Venice), shortly after 1478, with modern restaurations

A group of six Apostles in front of a triumphal car; among whom are St. Paul, St. Andrew, and St. Bartholomew (identifiable through their attributes of sword, cross and knife). They stand next to a wagon which is decorated with palm leaf ornament. Several of the figures carry books. The panel has been repaired with the addition of two new pieces of ivory. The upper piece passes through the heads of several of the figures, so that the top half of St Paul's head, the top of the head and the halo of the figure next to St Bartholomew, and the complete heads of the two figures on the far right are all on the replacement part, which has been carved in a noticeable inferior manner. The second replacement piece has been added to the bottom, and runs diagonally from left to right.

In the possession of John Webb, London, by 1862 (London 1862, cat. no. 96); purchased from Webb in 1867, for £24.

This is a fragmentary ivory panel relief made in Northern Italy (Mantua or Venice), shortly after 1478, with modern restorations. The panel depicts a group of six Apostles in front of a triumphal car and shows part of the right side of a composition representing the Triumph of Eternity (usually rendered - as here - as the Triumph of Divinity), inspired by Petrarch's Trionfi. The full composition survives as one of the reliefs depicting the Trionfi on the chests made for Paola Gonzaga's marriage in 1478 to Leonhard of Görz, which survive today in the Cathedral of Graz. The present relief is one of six lower-quality and fragmentary variants on the Graz reliefs known in various collections.

271-1867