16th Century Figurative Sculptures

SHOGUN portrays the famous military leader Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542 - 1616). While reading a Japanese history book, I came across an intriguing photo of an antique sculpture. The piece...

KINGYO presents a young lady from the Edo Period of Japan wearing a flowing jacket decorated with embroidered goldfish. The Edo Period, beginning in 1603 and lasting for over 250 yea...

Lovely pair of heads of small cherubs carved in white Carrara marble. The chubby faces adorned with admirable hair with abundant tight and deep curls with a quiff on the forehead. Th...

A finely carved 16th or early 17th century large hard stone pendant cameo of Christ the Redeemer in profile. Set in period a gilt bronze frame. Possibly Italian. The profile view of...

Stone bas-relief sculpture - Madonna and Child. Italy, 16th century. 43 x 27 x 4.5 cm. Entirely made of stone, there is a repair in the center. - The lawful provenance of the scul...

Adriaen de Vries 1556-1626 Dutch Laocoön and His Sons Bronze A remarkable feat of artistry and skill, this bronze sculpture was created by famed Dutch artist Adriaen de Vries. Full of the swelling emotions and dramatic posing so quintessential to the period, the bronze is a masterclass in Baroque sculpture. The original Laocoön marble sculpture, after which this remarkable bronze was modeled, unquestionably influenced the lives and works of countless artists, authors, popes, kings and emperors since its re-discovery in 1506. Famously, Michelangelo declared the sculpture, created circa 35 BC, as the “greatest piece of art in the world.” Adriaen de Vries, an apprentice of the great sculptor Giambologna, undoubtedly sought to prove his skill and creative voice with his own depiction of this most famous scene. Known for his virtuosic casting technique, this rare and important sculpture embodies de Vries’ mastery. The story of Laocoön is one of the most famous in all of literature. As told by the poet Virgil, the Greeks, after an unsuccessful ten-year siege on the city of Troy, the Greeks craftily left a giant wooden horse outside the gates...

Corpus Christi Perimeter Guglielmo della Porta Porlezza 1500 - 1577 Rome Italy or South German 2nd half 16th century Boxwood Height 20 cm

HANS SIXT VON STAUFEN Perimeter "Birth of Christ" Upper Rhine Around 1520 Wood relief Length 58 cm, height 50 cm, Depth 18 cm This museum relief can be attributed to the circle of the late Gothic master sculptor Hans Sixt von Staufen, who demonstrably worked from about 1515 to 1532, this being evident from archival evidence. In Staufen he probably ran a workshop, influenced by the carvings of the Würzburg School. He was probably also familiar with works by Tilmann Riemenschneider (ca. 1460-1531), who elaborately executed the surfaces in a similar manner. The Holy Family is depicted in the foreground: Mary and Joseph frame the baby Jesus lying on Mary’s cloak. Between them are shown two figures in religious habitus, greatly reduced in size in meaning, who are possibly to be identified as the donors of the relief. Behind it, the ox and donkey look down on the central action from behind the fence of the stable...

RELIEF OF A RARE REPRESENTATION "The Visitation od. Meeting of the two pregnant women Maria & Elisabeth" Bavaria Around 1500 Lime wood carved in relief Remains of the original ...

REMARKABLE SCULPTURE “St. Sebastian” Tyrol/South Tyrol Around 1500 Lime wood carved Remains of the original polychromy Height 70 cm The figure of Saint Sebastian (70 cm) was made in the Alpine region around 1500. The naked youth is depicted with typical golden loincloth and a rare high hat as well as tied to a tree trunk. His stigmata on arms, torso and legs are exposed, the arrows with which he was pierced are not preserved here. Sebastian served as an officer for Emperor Diocletian and was martyred for his Christian faith: he was tied to a tree where he was shot by numerical archers. Since he was thought to be dead, he was left behind; however, the arrows had not been able to kill him. A benefactress named Irene nursed him back to health; later, Sebastian again appeared before the emperor, who finally had him whipped to death and thrown into the Cloaca Maxima, Rome’s sewer. The nature of the martyrdom, as well as the marks left behind, place his martyrdom in the following of Christ. The youthful body of the martyr is slightly bent; his right hand above his head and his left hand behind his back tied to the tree. The most distinctive feature is the high hat, which may represent a piece of armor. This hat is found especially in southern German/alpine Sebastian depictions of the late Gothic period. His detailed curls are hidden under the headgear; the face with half-open eyes, high cheekbones and slightly open mouth looks upwards in rapture. In French Burgundy, similar sculptures were created with softly modeled bodies and clinging loincloths; however, the boyish figure of Sebastian is also related to Donatello’s David...

LATE GODLY RELIEF “Adoration of the Child in the stable at Bethlehem”. Lower Rhine Around 1500 Oak wood, plastically carved Original, polychrome versi...

Bas-relief sculpture (France, 16th century) - Evangelist. 60 x 23 cm. Entirely in finely carved oak wood. Condition report: Good state of conservation of the sculptural work, ther...