English, Nottingham, first half 15th century

with remnants of a red label on the reverse

Redemptorist Monastery, Saint Truiden, Limburg, Belgium, after 1866;
Dr. Albert Figdor, Vienna, before 1890 - until 1930;
his sale, Paul Cassirer Berlin, 29-30 September 1930, vol. IV, lot 142, pl. LXXVII;
European noble family;
and thence by descent to the present owner

W.H.J. Waele, Instrumenta ecclesiastica, Brussels, 1866, no. 10;
J. Helbig, La sculpture et les arts plastiques au pays du Liège et sur les bords de la Meuse, Bruges, 1890, p. 119, pl. XVII;
J. Destrée, Annales de la Société d'archéologie de Bruxelles, vol. 23, 1909, p. 456, fig. 7;
P. Clemen and J. Baum, Belgische Kunstdenkmäler, Munich, 1923, vol. I, fig. 153;
W.L. Hildburgh, 'Further notes on English alabaster carvings', Antiquaries Journal X, 1930, p. 43;
Illustrated London news, September 1930, illustrated;
W.L. Hildburgh, 'Medieval English alabaster figures of the Virgin and Child - I: Our Lady standing', Burlington Magazine LXXXVIII, 1946, p. 32, pl. G;
F. Cheetham, English medieval alabasters. With a catalogue of the Victoria and Albert Museum, Oxford, 1984, p. 191;
F. Cheetham, Alabaster images of medieval England, Woodbridge, 2003, p. 89, no. 5

Overall the condition of the alabaster is good, with dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. There is dirt to the surface throughout. The partial gilding and polychromy survives in several places, notably the hair, the bunch of flowers, and several folds of drapery. There are a few chips, including to the spikes of the crown, and to a few edges of the drapery, notably around the proper left arm and around the proper right leg. There are particular chips and minor losses to the base. There is a fresher chip to the drapery around the proper right elbow. There is some rubbing to the surface in several areas, notably the faces, hands, and the Christ Child's toes. There are numerous scratches and some remnants of paper on the reverse.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This large and extraordinarily well-preserved alabaster Virgin and Child first appeared in the art-historical literature as early as 1866 and has been in most surveys of Nottingham alabasters since. Even though it was thought to have stemmed from the Netherlands up until the great sale of the collection of Albert Figdor in 1930, the statue has taken its place among the best standing Virgins from 15th-century England since Hildburgh’s first survey of this rare type of free-standing sculpture (op.cit.).

Both Hildburgh’s and Cheetham’s publications illustrate the varieties among these alabaster Virgins (op.cit.). Firstly, they were carved with the Child on either their right or left arm. Then the sculptors employed different attributes: on occasion Christ handles a bird whilst the Virgin either holds her drapery, a sceptre, or the flower seen here. Sizes, lastly, vary from 38 to 139 centimeters. Both iconographically and stylistically the Virgin that compares most closely to the present figure is the much smaller example in the former Diözesanmuseum of Cologne illustrated by Hildburgh (1946, op. cit., pl. F). A version that no longer has her attribute in the Victoria and Albert Museum has similarly executed facial features and cascading swathes of drapery under the arms (inv. no. A.140-1946). Despite these resemblances none of the Virgins retain so much of their original surface as the present statue nor do they possess such details as the virtuoso articulation of the fingers or the nearly fully undercut drapery under the proper left hand.

Alabaster was quarried near Derby, west of Nottingham, from the Middle Ages onwards. Initially it was used in tomb carving and although unsuitable for outdoor use its popularity increased and it was carved as figures and reliefs illustrating the Life of Christ and the Saints. It was easy to carve as well as to paint with vivid medieval paints, which in many instances remain. By the fifteenth century, an international trade for such reliefs was in existence with examples reaching as far north as Iceland and as far south as Spain and the Mediterranean (see the magnificent altarpiece from Castropol in Spain, which was sold at Sotheby's on 5 December 2012, lot 13). Although these sculptures were carved in a number of places, such as Burton-on-Trent, Chellaston, York and even London, it was Nottingham that was the major centre for production. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, the industry suffered as the number of commissions shrank away, dying out completely by the end of the reign of King Henry VIII in 1547.

RELATED LITERATURE
W.L. Hildburgh, 'Medieval English alabaster figures of the Virgin and Child - I: Our Lady standing', Burlington Magazine LXXXVIII, 1946, pp. 30-33 and 35;  F. Cheetham, English medieval alabasters. With a catalogue of the Victoria and Albert Museum, Oxford, 1984, p. 191, no. 118; F. Cheetham, Alabaster images of medieval England, Woodbridge, 2003, p. 89-90