A SET OF THREE LINDENWOOD ALLEGORICAL RELIEFS

FLANDERS, MID 17TH CENTURY

Details

A SET OF THREE LINDENWOOD ALLEGORICAL RELIEFS
Flanders, Mid 17th Century
Each carved in relief showing a richly dressed burgher tempted to fortune, vain-glory or wealth, the reverse of each with a paper inscription, one "Satan als Verfhrer", the second "Das Trachden nach Wrden", the third "Die Verganglichkeit", within rectangular molded frames with paper labels and old inventory numbers in red ink, the first inscribed 983 with a label inscribed 41 and inscribed teducheur, the second in red 982 and with a label inscribed 40, the third numbered 984 and 42
11 in. (29.75 cm.) high, 9.5/8 in. (24.25 cm.) (3)

Lot Essay

By portraying a well-dressed Dutch burgher in a contemporary 17th century interior, this series of reliefs imparts didactic immediacy to the viewer, warning against the dangers of earthly vanities and ephemeral materiality, particularly the pursuit of wealth, fortune, position and title. The embodiment of fortune as a classically dressed maiden holding an anchor and Death as a decaying corpse hurling an arrow stems from the long iconographical tradition of moralizing allegorical imagery that was so popular in 17th century Dutch culture.