Master of the Leckeren Schnutchen Netherlandish, Limburg or Lower Rhine, circa 1520

Museum van Stolk, Haarlem, before 1912;
its sale, Frederik Muller, the Hague, 8-9 May 1928, lot 101;
Giroux Brussels, 8-9 February 1946, lot 63
Mr. Damen, Maastricht, until 1972;
with Peter’s Oude Kunst, Tilburg. 1973

Delft, 25^e Oude Kunst- en Antiekbeurs, 1973;
Uden, Museum voor Relieuze Kunst, Heilige Anna, grote moeder, 1992, no. 91

Catalogue des sculptures, tableaux, tapis, etc. formant la collection d’objects d’art du Musée van Stolk, The Hague, 1912, p. 47, no. 643;
Heilige Anna, grote moeder. De cultus van de Heilige Moeder Anna en haar familie in de Nederlanden en aangrenzende streken, exh. cat. Museum voor Religieuze Kunst Uden, Nijmegen, 1992, no. 91, fig. 100

Overall the condition of the wood is good with dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. There is non-active worming throughout. There are traces of original polychromy at the lips. Christ's arms and hands are lost. St. Anne's proper right hand is carved separately and is loose and their are losses to her sleeve. There are a few further small chips and losses including a larger loss to the proper right side of St. Anne's skirt at the front. There is stable splitting to the wood consistent with material. There is restoration to splits in and around St. Anne's proper left arm (visible particularly at the back where there are later inserts). There are two metal pins securing a piece of wood in St. Anne's seat at the back.
"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."

The realism and light-heartedness with which the present group is carved is derived from mid-15th century groups from the Cologne School such as the Saint Anne and the Virgin acquired by the Schnütgen Museum in 1999 illustrated by Karrenbrock (op.cit., no. 29). This detailed and lively manner of representing the education of the Virgin and Child by Saint Anne became popular in the Rhineland and the Netherlands in the following decades. The slight restraint in the drapery and the grassy base with rounded corners suggest the group was carved in the Eastern Netherlands, probably Limburg or Upper-Gelre. The attribution to the "Master of the pleasant faces" seems to be a stroke of creativity of the cataloguer of the great Van Stolk sale of 1928.

RELATED LITERATURE
R. Karrenbrock, Die Holzskulpturen des Mittelalters II, 1. 1400 bis 1540. Teil 1: Köln, Westfalen, Norddeutschland, cat. Museum Schnütgen, Cologne, 2001, pp. 222-227, no. 29;