Lot 104
  • 104

Southern German, late 17th/ early 18th century

Estimate
25,000 - 35,000 GBP
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Description

  • Personification of Death with a Scythe
  • fruitwood and metal
  • Southern German, late 17th/ early 18th century

Provenance

With Galerie Neuse, Bremen, September 1987

Exhibited

Brussels, Musée de la Maison d'Erasme, Anatomie des Vanités, 2008

Literature

A. Vanautgaerden (ed.), Anatomie des Vanités, exh. cat., Musée Maison d'Erasme, Brussels, 2008, p. 44

Condition

Overall the condition of the wood is good, with minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. There are a few minor losses, notably to the hood at the top, to several bones of the rib cage, four fingers of the proper left hand, and the proper left toes. The quiver is loose, but may be attached to the figure using the pin as there are small holes to facilitate this. There is a reattachment at the proper right elbow with some glue residue visible. The piece is carved in sections, and a few stable joints are slightly visible, in particular at the back. There is minor stable splitting to the wood in areas, notably slightly open splits to the terrasse at the back and to the proper right side of the head. The thumb of the proper right hand is attached to the scythe and is slightly loose, but stable. There is some dark spotting to the wood in areas. The metal wiring around the bow and arrow is likely to be later. There is some oxidation and warping to the metal of the scythe. Some glue residue is slightly visible where the feet of the base are attached. The base rocks slightly on an even surface.
"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."

Catalogue Note

Representations of memento mori motifs – reminders of the fleetingness of life – gained currency in the Renaissance, particularly in Reformation-led Germany. Acting as moral guardians with connotations of sin, decay, and the afterlife, such objects were valued equally as curiosities, satisfying the Renaissance obsession with human anatomy and the grotesque. The early 16th century saw the rise of skeletons personifying death – so-called Tödlein ('little deaths') – as an independent genre in Southern German small-scale sculpture. Perhaps the earliest of these is a figure by the Bavarian sculptor Hans Leinberger of circa 1520 (Beck, op. cit., fig. 63), which defines the type as a skeletal body in an advanced state of decomposition, with remnants of skin acting as stand-in clothing, and equipped with death-bringing attributes such as a bow and arrow or an hour glass. Further 16th-century examples following this scheme are illustrated in Bange (op. cit., pls. 72-73).

The present skeleton dates from the 17th century, when the popularity of this type of carving was renewed by sculptors within the Dürer Revival movement (Beck, op. cit.). While it relates to other known Tödleine in the characteristic attributes of a bow and quiver, our figure introduces the scythe as a less common motif and exhibits a menacingly long-limbed physique. The ornate base covered with trophies is not seen in known examples dated to the first half of the 17th century, indicating perhaps a later dating.

RELATED LITERATURE
E. F. Bange, Die Kleinplastik der Deutschen Renaissance in Holz und Stein, Florence and Munich, 1928, pls. 72-73; H. Beck and B. Decker (eds.), Dürers Verwandlung in der Skulptur zwischen Renaissance und Barock, exh. cat. Liebieghaus, Frankfurt am Main, 1981, pp. 298-304