Netherlandish, Malines, 16th century

The present sculpture, is an early example of the exceptional work produced in Malines (Mechelen) in the Netherlands during the 16^th century. These sculptures were predominantly sold in Antwerp in the 16^th and early 17^th centuries, where a large market for luxury goods had developed. This type of independent sculpture (i.e. seemingly not for a larger retable), with figures carved fully in the round,  is an extremely rare type of carving for this region. Only examples of small-scale alabaster shallow reliefs with individual scenes, often set into large retables, are well-known because the production in Malines became serial later in the century and therefore, the works of art became less refined.