Portrait of a Lady

This bust of a woman in a fifteenth-century Florentine style was given to the museum in 1969 as an anonymous nineteenth-century work. It has since been attributed to the famous Italian sculptor of pastiches and forgeries Giovanni Bastianini, whose works were sold to collectors and such museums as the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Louvre as Renaissance masterpieces. Shortly before Bastianini’s death some of his works were revealed to be forgeries. Scandal ensued, but discussion continues about his intentions and the extent to which his forgery was encouraged by dealers.