PARIS.- On November 29, Audap & Mirabaud auction house will offer a masterpiece of the Quattrocento: a Madonna of the Pomegranate painted on panel by Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510) and his studio.

The characters of this composition directly come from the famous tondo The Madonna of the Pomegranate, kept in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. The Virgin holds in her left hand an open pomegranate, symbol of the Christ’s Passion, and himself makes the gesture of blessing with his right hand. On the Florentine tondo, the Virgin and Christ are surrounded by six angels on a plain background whereas on this panel, they appear in front of a parapet and a door on the left, and a landscape on the right.

Botticelli painted the tondo around 1487 – according to the most accepted dating –, for the Florentine magistracy of Massai di Camera to decorate their hall of audiences at the Palazzo Vecchio. Producing a true masterpiece, the painter is at the height of his career. Since the panel was exhibited in a public place, some smaller replicas are ordered to Botticelli by private families to be used as pieces of devotion. Only three of them are known today, including one kept at the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin.

The fine quality of execution of the panel offered in this sale suggests an order by a wealthy and demanding sponsor. It is further illustrated by the faces’ finesse – probably executed by the artist himself – the presence of gold-leaf and the detailed decor on the background.

Since the 19th century, the painting has been part of two prestigious collections built by two men, both passionate for the Renaissance. Frederick Richards Leyland, a British artist and fine art connoisseur, purchased the work at the end of the century, believing it was realised by Fra Filippo Lippi – Botticelli’s master. The panel then joined the collection of Edouard Aynard, President of the acquisitions’ committee for the museums of Lyon who donated some of his own works to his city and one of the founders of the historical museum of fabric, also in Lyon.

The panel was last seen in 1913, during the sale of the Edouard Aynard’s collection after his death. It was acquired by the current owner’s grandfather.