SOUTH GERMAN, LATE 17TH OR EARLY 18TH CENTURY

Details

A SHAPED RECTANGULAR CARVED WOOD RELIEF DEPICTING THE ANNUNCIATION
SOUTH GERMAN, LATE 17TH OR EARLY 18TH CENTURY
Depicting God the Father at the top of the scene seated on a cushion of clouds and surrounded by winged cherubim, above the dove of the holy spirit and the archangel Gabriel; with the Virgin kneeling at prayer to the left; all in a classical domestic interior and framed by flanking columns; with insciptions in ink to the reverse 'Arnim-Boitzenburg [crossed out] Uckermark gehorig.', 'O.P.' surmounted by a crown and 'Joachim GfArnim-Boitzenburg Uckermark gehörig.'; very minor losses and a repair
20¾ x 12 7/8 in. (52.7 x 32.7 cm.)

Provenance

Joachim, Count von Arnim-Boitzenburg, Uckermark.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

The integration of the architectural setting in the present relief with a celestial vision - in this case of God the Father above, surrounded by rays of light, clouds and cherubim - is a concept first popularised in Italy by artists such as Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598-1680). The practice spread north and was still being employed by South German sculptors such as Ignaz Gunther (1725-1775) in the mid 18th century. In the present instance, the more ample proportions of the Virgin, along with details of the domestic interior such as the window, bedstead and lecturn suggest a dating in the late 17th or early 18th century.

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