Carved alabaster Virgin of Sorrow, rough back, traces of pol - Lot 163

Lot 163
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800 - 1200 EUR
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Carved alabaster Virgin of Sorrow, rough back, traces of pol - Lot 163
Carved alabaster Virgin of Sorrow, rough back, traces of polychromy and gilding. England, Nottingham, second half of the 15th century H . 22.8 cm (some chips and slight accidents, missing parts) Pedestal Production of polychrome alabaster religious sculptures flourished in England from the 1350s, before declining under the impetus of the Reformation from the mid-16th century. Several workshops are attested in London, Chellaston, York and Burton-on-Trent, as well as in Nottingham; the raw material was mainly extracted from quarries located in central England, in particular near Tutbury (Staffordshire) and Chellaston (Derbyshire). Here, the figures of Christ and the Virgin are of compact proportions, with emaciated limbs. This treatment, typical of 15th-century English production, can be seen on several panels of the Nailloux Altarpiece, the work of a Midlands workshop active between 1450 and 1500, preserved in the church of Saint-Martin in Nailloux (Haute-Garonne). A similar schematic can be found on a Entombment in the Musée des Augustins in Toulouse (61.1.2), as well as three Passion panels in the National Museum in Copenhagen. The museum at Nottingham Castle holds a copy whose faces show similar modeling and expressions (NCM 1925-53). During the last phase of production (1460-1530), artists were particularly interested in tubular, deeply hollowed draperies. On our object, the oblique folds of the Virgin's robe are identical to those on a Coronation of Thorns in the Victoria Albert Museum, London (A 102-1946). The polychrome flower decoration on the lower part of the relief is a common feature, appearing notably on a panel in the Palais des Beaux-Arts, Lille, depicting the Supper at Simon's, and a Descent from the Cross in the Musée des Augustins, Toulouse (61.6.6). Works consulted : M. Debaene (ed.), Alabaster Sculpture in Europe, 1300-1650, London - Turnhout, Brepols, 2022. G. Dervaux-Van Ussel, Exposition de sculptures anglaises et malinoises d'albâtre, Brussels, Musées royaux d'art et d'histoire, Brussels, 1967. C. Prigent, Les sculptures anglaises d'albâtre au Musée national du Moyen Âge - Thermes de Cluny, Paris, RMN, 1998.
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