St Sebastian

This is a panel made in about 1470-1485 in Northern Italy (Mantua or Venice). The panel is a pierced relief in ivory on a horn ground in a frame of 'alla certosina' marquetry and represents St. Sebastian. The saint is standing, naked except for a loin cloth, bound by his hands to a tree. His beard is lightly indicated and his hair falls in three rows of curls over his shoulders. The present relief is broadly similar to Mantegna's graphic work, although none of the key features can be paralleled in his drawings. It is most likely that the design is attributable to an artist in Mantegna's circle.