A French sculpted limestone bust of a saint, possibly Saint Anthony Abbot, perhaps Champagne, 15th century, portrayed with with full beard, his head declined slightly to sinister, over a Bible held open at his chest, his pleated robes with a cowl worn down, 28cm high, 25.5cm wide Saint Anthony Abbot is regarded as the founder of monasticism in the West. He was born in Egypt in about 251, and died in the year 356. Artists have tended to favour showing the temptations he encountered - see, for example, the version of the subject by Carracci in the National Gallery, London, 'Christ appearing to Saint Anthony Abbot'. His attributes are a tau-shaped crutch (T), a pig, which probably refers to the animals bred by his followers in the Middle Ages, and a bell which may have been used to drive away evil spirits or to attract alms. However, these elements cannot be portrayed in a bust length representation, so the only specific identification features are the full beard, the cowl worn down, and the open Book, and these features could also suggest alternative attributions, for instance Saint John the Apostle
A French sculpted limestone bust of a saint, possibly Saint Anthony Abbot, perhaps Champagne, 15th century, portrayed with with full beard, his head declined slightly to sinister, over a Bible held open at his chest, his pleated robes with a cowl worn down, 28cm high, 25.5cm wide Saint Anthony Abbot is regarded as the founder of monasticism in the West. He was born in Egypt in about 251, and died in the year 356. Artists have tended to favour showing the temptations he encountered - see, for example, the version of the subject by Carracci in the National Gallery, London, 'Christ appearing to Saint Anthony Abbot'. His attributes are a tau-shaped crutch (T), a pig, which probably refers to the animals bred by his followers in the Middle Ages, and a bell which may have been used to drive away evil spirits or to attract alms. However, these elements cannot be portrayed in a bust length representation, so the only specific identification features are the full beard, the cowl worn down, and the open Book, and these features could also suggest alternative attributions, for instance Saint John the Apostle
Testen Sie LotSearch und seine Premium-Features 7 Tage - ohne Kosten!
Lassen Sie sich automatisch über neue Objekte in kommenden Auktionen benachrichtigen.
Suchauftrag anlegen
.jpg "Quelle: Christie's")
.jpg "Quelle: Christie's")
