The Christ Child (?)
by DESIDERIO DA SETTIGNANO, Marble, height 31 cm
Problematic works attributed to Desiderio include the group of small heads that may represent the Christ Child or the Infant St John, or may possibly be portraits of children. Of the three most frequently discussed - the Mellon Christ Child, the Kress bust (both National Gallery of Art, Washington) and the Laughing Boy (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna) - the Vienna bust seems most likely to be autograph.
The picture shows the small head from the Samuel H. Kress Collection.