A bronze plaquette depicting an Allegory of the Triumph of Poverty, probably Low Countries, after engravings to designs by Maarten van Heemskerck (Dutch, 1498-1574), late 16th/early 17th century, of rectangular form, the relief cast figural procession before a distant landscape, with inscriptions 'INOPIA', 'UMI' and 'TIM', 6.5 x 13cm, with a metal display stand Provenance: The collection of the late Professor Michael Jaffé, Clifton Maybank This allegorical scene is comprised of personifications of Inopia (Poverty) seated on a wicker cart, accompanied by Umilitas (Humility) and Timor (Fear). The verse below the engraving that provided the source for this plaquette also identifies the additional figures: Servitude, Patience and Fragility follow this somewhat sober version of a triumphal procession. The scene is from a series of thirteen 'trionfi', several of which are after designs by Van Heemskerck.Maarten van Heemskerck spent the majority of his career in Haarlem, where he studied under Cornelis Willemsz and Jan van Scorel. He painted many portraits and religious commissions, and was also renowned for his depictions of classical ruins, inspired by a long sojourn in Rome. In addition to his prolific painting practice, van Heemskerck was a crucial figure in the Northern Netherlandish printmaking industry, producing detailed commercial designs intended for reproduction and dissemination on the art market. Though the design of this composition is invariably credited to Van Heemskerck, the engraved source is variously ascribed to Cornelis Cort and Hieronymus Cock. Later 16th century versions of the plaquette are held in the collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London A.496-1910, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (1975.1.1352). The warm mid brown patination and detailed chasing that survives, for example in the finely textured hides of the emaciated donkeys, indicate that this is also a fine early cast. For a more detailed analysis and further literature please see: Frits Scholten, The Robert Lehman Collection XII: European Sculpture and Metalwork, New York: Met Publications, 2011, pp. 182-3.