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VENETIAN-BYZANTINE ART, 12th century
See original version (French)
10
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VENETIAN-BYZANTINE ART, 12th century
See original version (French)
Estimate €6,000 - €8,000
Voluntary lot
Description
VENETIAN-BYZANTINE ART, 12th century
Panel decorated with the Tree of Life and facing birds
A rectangular panel of travertine limestone, finely carved in bas-relief with a symmetrical design.
Dimensions: 42.8 x 57.5 x 5.8 cm
At the centre is a fluted vase from which emerges a stylised tree, its foliage unfolding in volutes on either side of the composition. The foliage, rendered in superimposed registers, winds around in opposing spirals to form circular medallions. Within these spaces and along the foliage are pairs of facing birds (peacocks), their bodies carved in shallow relief, pecking at bunches of grapes carved in high relief and alternating with stylised vine leaves. The whole is enclosed within a moulded frame with a double fillet.
This type of composition, centred on the Tree of Life motif flanked by facing animals, has its origins in the Sassanian and Byzantine ornamental repertoire, which spread to Northern Italy and the Adriatic region from the early Middle Ages onwards. The flat, graphic treatment of the decoration, the use of a trepan to emphasise the contours, and the preference for plant-based interlacing populated by birds, are characteristic of 11th- and 12th-century Venetian-Byzantine sculpture, which is found in particular on pulpit parapets, chancel panels and elements of liturgical furniture. Another example similar to ours can be found in Venice, at Torcello, in the church of Santa Maria Assunta.
Provenance: Pierre Bergé sale, Paris, June 2021, lot 3.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale
Day 1: Major Classical Art Auction – Old Master Paintings, Sculptures, Furniture, Archaeological Artefacts, Asian Art, Curiosities, Glassware, Silverware
Auction location
Auction time
11/11/2026 at 2:30 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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