Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 1.djvu/494

480 by the heirs of Ruberto Martelli, and respecting which a Fideicommisso was executed, to the effect that it should neither be pledged, sold, nor given away, under heavy penalties, in testimony of the affection borne by the Martelli family to Donato, and of his gratitude to them for the opportunity which their protection had afforded him for the acquirement of his art. Donato also constructed a sepulchral monument for an archbishop, which was sent to Naples, and is erected in Sant’ Angelo di Seggio di Nido. In this work are three figures in full relief, which support the sarcophagus on their heads, and on the tomb itself is a story, in basso-rilievo, which merits the highest praise. In the palace of the Count of Matalone, in the same city, is the head of a horse, from the hands of Donato, which is so beautiful that many believe it to be antique. In the Castello di Prato he constructed the marble pulpit, from which the girdle (of the Virgin) is shown. In one compartment of this pulpit is a dance of children, so admirably and beautifully executed, that the master may be truly said to have exhibited the perfection of his art no less