Antonio Abondio

Sotheby's Monaco, 23 June 1976, lot 316;

The British Rail Pension Fund;

Its sale, Replica Shoes 's London, 4 July 1996, lot 57;

Where acquired by the present owner

London, Victoria and Albert Museum, on loan, 1976-1996

This fine portrait of a young woman wearing a lavender dress with an elaborate lace collar is stylistically consistent with the oeuvre of Antonio Abondio, one of the most accomplished portraitists in the medium of wax. The frame encircling the present portrait resembles that of Abondio's medallion portraying Elizabeth of France in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (inv. no. A.524-1910).

Antonio Abondio, a pupil of Leone Leoni, trained as a medallist in the Milanese school. He spent most of his career working for the Imperial court in Prague and Vienna, where he was appointed court medallist to the Emperor Maximilian II and later to Rudolf II.