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Lot Essay
Exquisitely carved prayer beads, like the present example, were portable instruments of devotion. The exterior tracery and meticulous interior scenes instill the same sense of divine wonderment as entering a grand Gothic cathedral, or standing beneath a monumental altarpiece. These were made to be attached to one’s belt or the end of a rosary chain, and were coveted by clergyman and royalty alike.
The expounding research on this subject indicates the production of these miniature masterpieces spanned over less than half a decade, revealing a distinct possibility these were the work of one peerless master and his workshop. The differences in technical execution between examples of the same subject may serve to support this theory, or may simply indicate the craftsman's attention to the stylistic development that took place during that time. (L. Ellis, A. Suda, Small Wonders: Gothic Boxwood Miniatures, Art Gallery of Ontario, 2016.)
A similar example of the same subject is in the Wallace Collection, London (S280).
The expounding research on this subject indicates the production of these miniature masterpieces spanned over less than half a decade, revealing a distinct possibility these were the work of one peerless master and his workshop. The differences in technical execution between examples of the same subject may serve to support this theory, or may simply indicate the craftsman's attention to the stylistic development that took place during that time. (L. Ellis, A. Suda, Small Wonders: Gothic Boxwood Miniatures, Art Gallery of Ontario, 2016.)
A similar example of the same subject is in the Wallace Collection, London (S280).