CIRCLE OF NUNEZ DELGADO (ACTIVE 1581-1606), SPANISH, CIRCA 1590

Details

A POLYCHROME IVORY CORPUS FIGURE
CIRCLE OF NUNEZ DELGADO (ACTIVE 1581-1606), SPANISH, CIRCA 1590
29 in. (73.9 cm.) high

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

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Lot Essay

The elongated proportions of the present corpus figure along with the dramatically upturned eyes closely mirror a signed and dated ivory corpus figure by the sculptor Nuñez Delgado in the Palacio Real de El Pardo near Madrid. That corpus, executed in 1589, has been compared to the painted figures of El Greco in its somewhat extreme interpretation of human anatomy. See M. M. Estella, La Escultura Barroca de Marfil en España – Escuelas Europeas y Coloniales, Madrid, 1984, I, no. 12, figs. 8 and 14.

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