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This relief was originally kept in Eger's Museum of the Archbishopry Lyceum and was described in a publication of 1920, together with its counterpart, the "Consolation of Mary", as a work of Georg Raphael Donner. It has been displayed in the permanent exhibition of the Hungarian National Gallery since 1976.
The represented scene is a modificatin of the traditional pictorial type Ecco Homo, which is based on the Sentencing of Christ as described by the Gospel of John (19, 13). Before the declaration of his sentence, Pilate came out from his palace and sat down on the judge's seat. Thus he handed over Christ to the shouting crowd for crucifixion. In spite of the traditional form of this theme, the author focuses on the main actors and on the moment of the sentence. The crowd is virtually only indicated in the back ground.
In this relief Donner was inspired by a passion relief of Giambologna, "Christ before Caiphas". Similar scenes can also be found in several Cinquecento works, which show ancient themes, such as the representation of an ancient judgement by Francesco Ruviale, named Il Polidorino (Munich, Staatliche, Graphische Sammlung). We do not know the exact conditions of execution and function of the relief and its counterpart. Both works are directly related to two wax reliefs with the same theme and around the same dimensions, which came from the estate of Donner's brother, Matthäus, to the collection of Vienna's Hauptmünzamt, and from there to the Österreichisches Barockmuseum. Even the origins of these reliefs have not been clarified. The assumption of Michael Schwarz, who considers them designs for the predella of the Chapel of St. John the Almsgiver in St. Martin's Church in Pozsony (Bratislava), which finally were not executed, cannot be accepted on the basis of their of their stylistic features. Both relief pairs must be ascribed to a later date. In the literature the Eger reliefs are mostly considered newly cast copies of the original Viennese wax reliefs. Although of the same composition and dimensions, the works exhibited here certainly cast with another mould, as they differ in significant details. In the relief "Christ before Pilate", for example, the rope on Christ's crucified hands in missing, the clothes of Pilate are different and more exactly modelled, the shield of the soldier at right has a different design etc. The Viennese reliefs were made as designs, while the Eger works, in contrast, are of a more ready character. Hence they were copied after some other, since then disappeared works of Donner. Possibly they are later, versions made by talented pupil of Donner, who already used the "rocaille"-motif, as an inconspicuous decorative element. The dating of the works is open to question, but they were certainly made after the Viennese "modelli", which can be ascribed to around 1735. A later marble copy of the composition "Christ before Pilate" by unknown follower of Donner can be found in Klosterneuburg Stiftsmuseum.
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