Giulio Grazioli Lante della Rovere (1849 – 1883) and his wife Maria Levaggi daughter of Marchese di Montebello;
Lydia Grazioli Lante della Rovere Guglielmi (1884 – 1969) and her husband Marchese Giorgio Guglielmi;
Thence by descent to their son Giacinto Guglielmi Grazioli Lante della Rovere, Marchese di Vulci, Marchese di Montebello and his wife Ylda Cini daughter of Count Cini di Monselice;
Thence by descent;
Gifted by the family to the present owner

Standard wear and surface abrasions. Traces of encrustation and cream-colored material in tiny crevices (perhaps from an application of paint at some stage). Some minor staining. Marble partially veined. Otherwise very good condition.
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.

Around 1489, Michelangelo carved a marble head of a faun (now lost); this was his first known work of sculpture. He copied a fragmentary work of antiquity, apparently found in Lorenzo de' Medici’s garden in Florence, and made alterations to it. A plaster cast of the mask, previously in the Bargello, Florence (fig. 1) is strikingly similar to one of the masks on the present font. According to Giorgio Vasari's biography of the artist, it was the creation of this work that secured the young Michelangelo the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici and it is presumed that his contemporaries used the young master's designs as model's in their own work. Three continuous, Classical motifs embellish the exterior of the present font, interspersed with four boldly carved masks of fauns and heads evoking Greek theatrical masks. The overall form and decoration of the vessel are characteristics found on fountain basins and fonts made throughout Renaissance Italy during the 16^th century. 
Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli (1507(?)-1563) was a sculptor who worked with Michelangelo and many heads and grotesque masks seen throughout his opera provide a relevant comparison to the present piece. The faun’s contorted face with incised irises and deeply drilled hair on Montorsoli’s Arcadia relief in S. Maria del Parto, Naples from the late 1530s-early 1540s (Laschke, cit., cat. 7, p. 211, fig. 16) and his triton on the Fountain of Orion, executed in Messina in the late 1540's (Laschke, cit., cat. 13, p. 260, fig. 109) (fig. 2) incorporate specific characteristics which further place this font within Montorsoli's orbit. The form echoes the designs he would have encountered during his sojourn in Rome when Michelangelo, who was working in Rome in 1532, called upon Montorsoli to assist with the restoration of several ancient statues in the Belvedere, in particular the Apollo and the Laocoon for Pope Clement VII.  

The font was previously owned by members of the prominent Delle Rovere family who was perhaps best known for Giulio II Della Rovere (later Pope Guillio II, Julius II) whose papacy was marked by ambitious building projects and patronage of the arts and artists including Raphael and Michelangelo. Giulio II was born Guillo della Rovere and his sister-in-law was the heir to the Montefeltro family. His nephew became the famous Francesco Maria I della Rovere, Duke of Urbino. His granddaughter was Lucrezia Montefeltrio della Rovere who married Marcantonio Lante. The previous owners of the present marble font, direct descendants of this family, gave the vessel to the present owner. It appears that with the exception of Guilio II, the family was not known to have purchased works of art. Therefore it is assumed that this font came to the family by inheritance. The design, including the masks, would have fitted well within the Giardino dei Mostri (Garden of Monsters) at Bomarzo and with the sculptures at Villa Lante, Bagnaia, both owned by the family. The font was not drilled for use as a fountain.  Given the Bacchic iconography, the vessel was probably made as a symbol of fertility, bacchanalian pleasure or to celebrate the wine harvest. Bacchus, as god of wine and fertility, was also patron of theater, which explains the inclusion of both satyrs and theatrical-type masks.   Villa Lante at Bagnaia was first commissioned by Cardinal Gianfrancesco Gambara before 1566. The Villa and its mannerist gardens did not become well known until it passed to Ippolito Lante Montefeltro della Rovere, Duke of Bomarzo, in the 17th century.
Following the demise of Lante's last cardinal owner in 1656, the villa passed to the family of Duke Ippolito Lante, in whose family it remained for many generations. The Bosco dei Mostri ("Monsters' Grove") at Bormazo, named after the many larger-than-life sculptures which populate the l♌andscape, was devised by the architect Pirro Ligorio (he completed Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome after the death of Michelangelo and built Villa d'Este in Tivoli) on commission of Prince Pier Francesco Orsini( 1523-1585).  It wa🥀s a historical fiefdom of the Orsini family, whose Palazzo sold to Ippolito Lante Montefeltro della Rovere in 1645. 

RELATED LITERATURE
Count Carlo Ceriana Mayneri, I Lante Montefeltro della Rovere, Ceschina, 1959;
Birgit Laschke, Fra Giovan Angelo da Montorsoli – Ein Florentiner Bildhauer des 16. Jahrhunderts, Berlin, 1993