AN ITALIAN MARBLE RELIEF
15th Century
With a monk standing at left holding his flaming heart out to three more monks who offer their own flaming hearts, below the inscription CASTO VRO LUMINE, the kneeling monk with a banderall issuing from his lips inscribed upside down LVCET TVIE AMOR, with a later black marble and ebonised wood stand
15in. (39.5cm.) high, 15in. (39.5cm.) wide, 10in. (26.5cm.) deep overall
拍品专文
The flaming heart, a symbol of charity and of religious fervour, is an attribute of both the early church father Saint Augustine and of the Franciscan Saint Antony of Padua.