Overall losses and surface abrasions throughout. Remainders of lacquer and polychromy. Restorations are concealed well and stable (only partially visible in blacklight) and include: shoulders, neck, crown of head, and back.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Although generally regarded as originating in the Verrocchio workshop, terracotta busts of this type were probably produced by contemporaries outside of the master's studio. These sculptures show a varying degree of reliance on Verrocchio's model of the head of Christ from his immensely successful monumental bronze sculpture of Christ and St. Thomas for Orsanmichele in Florence, which he began in 1466.

RELATED LITERATURE
J. Pope-Hennessy, Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum, vol. I, London, 1964, pp. 209-210, no. 197;
A. Butterfield, The Sculptures of Andrea del Verrocchio, New Haven/ London, 1997, pp. 56-80;
B. Boucher (ed.), Earth and Fire. Italian Terracotta Sculpture from Donatello to Canova, exh. cat. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, New Haven/ London, 2001, pp. 150-151, n𒅌o. 22

This lot is sold with a copy of a thermoluminescence analysis report dated January 4, 2016 from Laboratory Kotalla, Haigerloch, Germany, indicating that the sample (no. 3097) taken from the present lot was last fired approximately 520 years ago.