A unusual carved polychrome limestone figure group of an St… - Important Single Owner Auction – European Furniture and Decorative Arts - Mossgreen Auctions (No longer trading)

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Description:

A unusual carved polychrome limestone figure group of an St Anne teaching Mary to read, possibly Northern France, early 16th century. 32.5 cm high. The subject of St Anne teaching her daughter, the Virgin Mary, to read first emerges in English art in the fourteenth century when intense interest in the life of Mary prompted the creation of imaginative episodes showing her everyday life. It is represented sporadically throughout the late Middle Ages and Renaissance but found its greatest popularity in northern France and Flanders in the early sixteenth century. This example possibly dates from that period and region. The subject was especially popular as a devotional aid for women to use at home and it is likely that this small sculpture served that purpose. For literate or semi-literate women whose daily lives encompassed the reading of devotional texts like Psalters and Books of Hours such images presented the very act of reading as an exemplary activity since it is performed by Mary, the role model par excellence.1 Thus it elevated the everyday to a higher status, demonstrating that the act of reading was noble and spiritual in itself and indeed 'part of the story of salvation'.2 There are a number of iconographic variations on this theme in the history of art. At times Anne and Mary are shown standing, sometimes the Christ child is also present, and Mary is depicted variously at different ages from infancy to adulthood. Here, St Anne is seated, with Mary as a youth standing close to her mother. A distinctive gesture is the protective arm of Anne around her daughter. Mary is also shown wearing a necklace that likely represents coral since such necklaces were given to children as they were believed to have protective powers in averting the 'evil eye'. Both figures point to the book, indicating concentrated focus as well as demonstrating the importance of the activity to the viewer. It is noteworthy that Mary is crowned. This anachronistic feature demonstrates the conflation of imagery that was common and readily understood by spectators in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Dr. Bronwyn Stocks 1 W. Scase, 'St Anne and the Education of the Virgin: Literary and Artistic Traditions and their Implications' in England in the Fourteenth century: Proceedings of the 1991 Harlaxton Symposium ed. N. Rogers (Stamford, 1993); J. Lafontaine-Dosogne, Iconographie de L'Enfance de la Vierge dans L'Empire Byzantine et en Occident 2 vols. (Brussells, 1964-5) vol.II p.108. 2 Scase, 'St Anne and the Education of the Virgin', p.90.

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Category:

Unclassified