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an old statue of a woman with a child on her lapan old statue of a man and a woman sitting on a benchan old statue of a man sitting on a rock with a dogan old statue of a man sitting on top of a rockan old statue of a man sitting on a chair with his head in his handsa statue of a man sitting on top of a rockan old statue of a woman sitting on a rock next to a statue of a manan old statue of a woman holding a baby in her armsan image of a piece of rock on a white background
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51 - Western Europe, probably France or a region under French art…

Estimate €9,500 - €12,000
Sale commission
Description
Western Europe, probably France or a region under French artistic influence. 14th century. Vestige of a gothic Sedes Sapientiae” Carved stone with original polychromy and traces of gilding. 50 x 33 x 25 cm. An important fragment of a Gothic sculpture originally depicting a Sedes Sapientiae (Throne of Wisdom), or Enthroned Virgin and Child, one of the most widespread Marian iconographies of medieval Europe. Although the work has survived only in a fragmentary state, it retains sufficient elements to reveal the exceptional artistic quality of its original execution. Despite the loss of the faces and a significant portion of the composition, extensive areas of the medieval polychromy remain, a particularly rare and valuable circumstance. Especially noteworthy are the deep blues of the Virgin’s mantle, the rich reds of the garments and the numerous traces of gilding still visible along the decorative borders. Of particular interest are the delicate floral motifs scattered across various surfaces of the sculpture, executed in red and green pigments and retaining a remarkable visual freshness after more than six centuries. The quality of the carving is equally evident in the angular and deeply cut folds of the drapery, characteristic of fourteenth-century Gothic sculpture, as well as in the delicacy of the surviving fingers and the compositional elegance of the remaining fragments. Even reduced to only a portion of its original volume, the work continues to convey the technical sophistication and aesthetic refinement associated with the finest medieval sculptural workshops. The sculpture also preserves traces of a painted heraldic shield on the base, a valuable witness to its original context and a possible indication of patronage or provenance, we see a depiction of a dog or greyhound shown in profile. Beyond its artistic and historical significance, the present work constitutes an exceptional material document of medieval polychromed sculpture. Rather than concealing the traces of its long existence, it displays them with singular power: fractures, losses and wear have become an inseparable part of its identity. Not everything that reaches us survives intact. Sometimes history is preserved only in fragments. And yet those fragments remain capable of conveying beauty, memory and emotion. This work represents not only what was once a great devotional image of the fourteenth century; it also embodies everything that has managed to survive the passage of time. Like an archaeological vestige rescued from history, it retains the ability to evoke the world that created it and the devotion for which it was conceived. It is precisely in this incomplete condition that an essential part of its beauty resides today. For what we are contemplating is not merely a medieval sculpture. It is the material trace of seven centuries of history.
About the sale Dialogues with the Past: Vestigia
Auction location
Auction time 07/02/2026 at 7:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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