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Lot Essay
Known as the The Miraculous Wedding the present statuette depicts Saint Catherine and thus refers to both St Catherine of Alexandria, the 4th century Egyptian royal who converted to Christianity, and St Catherine of Siena, the 14th century Italian member of the Dominican Order. Both experienced visions in which they mystically wed the Christ child. The present bronze makes reference to each through the heavy veils which could variously be interpreted as those of the Egyptian royal or the Dominican nun, who were both frequently represented in the artistic tradition: imagery with which Gilbert would have been well acquainted.
It was conceived by Gilbert in his working of figures of Saints to surround his masterpiece, the tomb of the Duke of Clarence (1892-1928), which dominates the Albert Memorial Chapel at Windsor Castle. Notably the present statuette stands on a base of swirling clouds and dragon scales which compares directly to the base of St George, the most celebrated Saint from the series, of which a cast sold in these Rooms on 11 December 2014, lot 5 (£338,000).
Although the tomb does not include this representation of St Catherine, two separate figures for St Catherine of Alexandria and St Catherine of Siena dated to circa 1926-8 are installed upon it. The date of the first known cast of The Miraculous Wedding was as early as 1900 and it presumably therefore served as a preliminary model and gives fascinating insight into Gilbert’s creative process. Ever short of money Gilbert was in the habit of casting, on the sly, reductions of his Saints for sale. This was much to the grievance of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra who had commissioned the tomb for their son in 1898 but neither would live to see Gilbert complete it in 1926. An alternative hypothesis therefore is that Gilbert’s production for sale of the present composition of St Catherine negated its suitability for use on the tomb. In 1900, O’Neill cast a version of this group sold to a Mrs Richardson which is today in a Scottish church. Additional casts are in the Birmingham Art Gallery and the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and one sold Sotheby’s, London, 20 November 1997, lot 131.
It was conceived by Gilbert in his working of figures of Saints to surround his masterpiece, the tomb of the Duke of Clarence (1892-1928), which dominates the Albert Memorial Chapel at Windsor Castle. Notably the present statuette stands on a base of swirling clouds and dragon scales which compares directly to the base of St George, the most celebrated Saint from the series, of which a cast sold in these Rooms on 11 December 2014, lot 5 (£338,000).
Although the tomb does not include this representation of St Catherine, two separate figures for St Catherine of Alexandria and St Catherine of Siena dated to circa 1926-8 are installed upon it. The date of the first known cast of The Miraculous Wedding was as early as 1900 and it presumably therefore served as a preliminary model and gives fascinating insight into Gilbert’s creative process. Ever short of money Gilbert was in the habit of casting, on the sly, reductions of his Saints for sale. This was much to the grievance of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra who had commissioned the tomb for their son in 1898 but neither would live to see Gilbert complete it in 1926. An alternative hypothesis therefore is that Gilbert’s production for sale of the present composition of St Catherine negated its suitability for use on the tomb. In 1900, O’Neill cast a version of this group sold to a Mrs Richardson which is today in a Scottish church. Additional casts are in the Birmingham Art Gallery and the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and one sold Sotheby’s, London, 20 November 1997, lot 131.