A CARVED LIMESTONE FIGURE OF A HERMIT SAINT

Property from the Estate of JOHN REWALD

Details

A CARVED LIMESTONE FIGURE OF A HERMIT SAINT
FRENCH, LATE 15TH OR EARLY 16TH CENTURY

On an integrally carved plinth; the reverse roughly finished and fitted with an iron loop.
Numerous losses, chips and abrasions.
66¾in. (169.5cm.) high

Literature

J. Boccador and E. Bresset, Statuaire Médiévale de collection, II, Milan, 1972, no. 342, illustrated

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
P. Quarré, La Sculpture en Bourgogne à la fin du moyen âge, Fribourg, 1978, no. 70, illustrated

Lot Essay

In their entry on the present piece, Boccador and Bresset (loc. cit.) discuss the iconography, and suggest that the figure could represent Saint Alleaume, a monk of the Auvergne region at the end of the 11th century who was known to have helped clear the Chaise-Dieu forest in order to construct an abbey there. The carving of the facial features and soft-folding drapery suggests an origin in Languedoc or Aquitaine.

More from Sculpture

View All