CIRCLE OF CHRISTOPH DANIEL SCHENK (1633-1691), SECOND HALF 17TH CENTURY

Details

A RECTANGULAR CARVED BOXWOOD RELIEF OF ST. MARY MAGDALEN
CIRCLE OF CHRISTOPH DANIEL SCHENK (1633-1691), SECOND HALF 17TH CENTURY
depicted half-length, looking heavenward and holding a book in her hand; on a later, rectangular, velvet-covered ground
6 1⁄8 in. (15.6 cm.) high; 4 in. (10.2 cm.) wide, the relief; 8 ¾ in. (22.3 cm.) high; 6 ¼ in. (16 cm.) wide, the velvet backing

Provenance

Hôtel Drouot, Paris, February 9 1948, lot 151.
Alain Moatti, Paris,
Acquired from the above by the Blaquier-Arrieta Family.

Literature

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
Christoph Daniel Schenck, 1633-1691, Sigmaringen, 1996, p. 265.

Conditions of sale

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Charlotte Young Associate Director, Specialist

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Lot Essay

Variants of the present relief exist in both private and public collections, including the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich (inv. no. LR 5230). Characterised by an exceptional quality of carving and intricate details, the attributions of the individual reliefs within the group of existing Schecnk Magdalenes remains a subject of scholarly debate.

Some have described them as the circle of Christoph Daniel Schenck, whilst others have proposed his workshop as the correct attribution. The present example was likely carved by an artist in Schenck’s circle and a comparable, signed example was exhibited at TEFAF, Maastricht by Kunstkammer Georg Laue in 2019.

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