Michelangelo. 1498-1499. An inscription on our plaster suggests it was produced in Rome for a Florentine client, probably 19th C. Acquired by Pietrasanta studio owners Tranquillo Rovai and Renzo Santoli, who had an important ecclesiastical business. Franco Cervietti apprenticed at the studio, and knew of repeated offers for the cast, always refused. Cervietti bought it after Rovai’s death.