A FRENCH CARVED WALNUT, PARCEL-GILT AND POLYCHROME FIGURE OF SAINT JOHN OF CALVARY
early 15th century, Burgundian School, figured standing barefoot on a mound, his head turned to the right, draped in a pleated cloak over a tunic, with wavy locks of hair forming a crown and ‘skull cap’, 37cm high
| Estimate: |
£10,000 - £15,000
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Bidding ended. Lot is unsold.
Note: The nature of the wood, the structure of the facial features and the style of the drapery are characteristic of the Dutch Sculptor Claus Sluter (1340-1406) and his followers. Studies of this carving have led to comparisons being made to figures from the same workshop that formed the altarpiece of the Cistercian Abbey at Theuley, which was deconstructed and sold after the French Revolution. Although this saint is slightly smaller than the apostles rediscovered from that altarpiece, and therefore not likely part of the original, there are suggestions that they may have been produced by the same factory. Please see the comparable statuettes now in the Musée du Louvre (Inv. R.F. 1885, 1371), Musée de Cluny (Inv. Cl. 23761) and the Musée du Couvent Sainte-Catherine d’Utrecht (Museum Catharijneconvent) (Inv. RMCC b304).
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