Relief

This terracotta relief representing the Virgin and Child was made by Alceo Dossena in Rome, 1929.

Alceo Dossena, a sculptor from Cremona, settled in Rome in 1918. For ten years, until his exposure in 1928, he was perhaps the most successful forger of sculpture, both classical and Renaissance. This relief, together with two others (A. 92-1930, A. 93-1930) exceptionally for Dossena, in terracotta rather than marble, date from 1929, the year after he was exposed. All three are signed, and two are dated with the Fascist year VII (1929). Since they are not intended to deceive, they do not imitate the style of any particular Renaissance sculptor.