Old Master Sculpture & Works of Art

Old Master Sculpture & Works of Art

View full screen - View 1 of Lot 10. FRENCH, PROBABLY LORRAINE, CIRCA 1380 | VIRGIN AND CHILD.

FRENCH, PROBABLY LORRAINE, CIRCA 1380 | VIRGIN AND CHILD

Auction Closed

December 3, 02:41 PM GMT

Estimate

40,000 - 60,000 GBP

Lot Details

Description

FRENCH, PROBABLY LORRAINE, CIRCA 1380

VIRGIN AND CHILD


polychromed limestone, on an associated 14th-century limestone capital base

Virgin: 116cm., 45⅝in.

capital: 39cm., 15⅜in.

Christie's Amsterdam, 14 & 15 December 2005, lot 579;

private collection, Europe

This beautifully carved group of the Virgin and Child, with a slender and elegantly curved body, has the rounded facial features, almond-shaped eyes, and enigmatic smile that is apparent in many Virgins of the Lorraine-type dating to the 14th century. The seated Christ child, holding a bird, is also frequently seen in these statues, compare for example to a North-Eastern French Virgin, dated to the mid-14th century, sold at Sotheby's New York, 25 January 2001, lot 20. 


One of the features that distinguishes the present Virgin is her slender shape and abundant drapery, with a shorter fold of drapery slung over her proper right arm, terminating just below the hip. In these details, it is different from the Lorraine Virgins which are of more square shape, with ample waists and heavy pleated folds. The drapery of the present lot compares best to two Virgins published by Schmoll gen. Eisenwerth (op. cit. nos. 336 and 337), which are catalogued as 'Lorraine under western influence' and dated 1370/1380. Virgins from Ile-de-France, such as one in the Louvre (inv. no. RF 1632), would have influenced the more elongated and slender appearance of the present Virgin.  


RELATED LITERATURE

J. A. Schmoll gen. Eisenwerth, Die Lothringische Skulptur des 14. Jahrhunderts, Ihre Voraussetzungen in der Südchampagne und ihre ausserlothringischen Beziehungen, Petersberg, 2005, pp. 506-507