Mr. and Mrs. A. Herbert Rodgers (formerly at the Nashville Museum of Art)

Both with overall surface abrasions, some losses and chips throughout. Some age cracks throughout consistent with age. Wood bases later. Some restorations throughout and some fill due to early worm damage (stable). Joachim: The surface was applied with a dark brown varnish. Neck has been restored and head possibly re-attached. His proper left hand was partly broken and re-attached. Some fingers broken and re-attached or loose. Anna: Surface applied with light golden brown varnish. Tops of nine of figure's fingers lacking. Age cracks in torso area are visible in catalogue image and stable. Old restorations throughout in part due to worm damage including drapery on her proper right side handing from her arm (stable).
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.

Johann Georg Dorfmeister worked in Austria during the second half of the 18th century. After his apprenticeship, from 1757 to 1761, he studied at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Vienna with Matthäus Donner and with Balthasar Ferdinand Moll, who also gave him instruction in metal-casting.
After 1760 he was commissioned to create a war memorial on the occasion of Emperor Joseph II’s marriage to Maria Isabella of Parma and was thereafter employed frequently by the court.
Dorfmeister was equally employed by the church and was involved in the creation of sculptural programs for churches throughout Austria. His work on the two large side altars for the pilgrimage church Maria Taferl, Pfarrkirche zur Schmerzhaften Muttergottes in lower Austria, from 1779 to 1781, which includes figures of Moses, Joachim, Anna, Abraham, Isaac, and Maria, clearly influenced the sculptor of the present pair. Their attenuated limbs and elaborate contrapposto poses relate directly to the aforementioned altar and to Dorfmeister's later work in general. 

RELATED LITERATURE
Elfriede Baum, Katalog des österreichischen Barockmuseums im Unteren Belvedere in Wien, Munich, 1980;
I. Goritschnig, Johann Georg Dorfmeister (1736–1786), ein Beitrag zur Biographie, Diplomarbeit, Vienna, 1995