15th Century and Earlier Sculptures

This 15th century bishop - sculpted ca AD1460 - has a smile on his lips and a benevolent presence. He is also something of an Adonis - one tends to forget that in the medieval churc...

Figure of a Chanting Warrior Ceramic with bitumen highlights 300-600 CE (Classic Period) Mexico, Veracruz, possibly Nopiloa Veracruz Culture Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Vera Cruz culture...

Seated Shaman Colima culture Mexico ca. 300 BCE - 300 CE Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Colima, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. A hollow-cast and highly-burnished terraco...

They may be damaged and battered, but real historic objects will always give you a sense of awe. Can you sense it, looking at this ancient carved granite which depicts, as it is call...

Gypsum cast-medieval tile, inspired from Central Europe. Adjusted in a frame, ready to hang or install.

Virgin and Child with Goldfinch Workshops of Metz, Lorraine, circa 1330 Limestone carved in the round with remains of polychromy Height: 61 cm The sculpture of the Virgin and Child ...

Rare Vierge romane en majesté en pierre calcaire sculptée en très haut-relief. La Vierge tient l’Enfant entre ses deux genoux dans une parfaite frontalité, une caractéristique des pr...

Angel of the Annunciation Prague workshop from the circle of Master Theoderich (mentioned from 1359 to 1368) Around 1380/90 Carved & polychrome painted limewood Height 88 cm An ang...

ROMAN MADONNA “Sedes Sapientiae” Auvergne Around 1175/80 Pine wood Polychrome remains Height 40 cm This depiction of the Madonna is a masterfully carved, extremely early figure made...

Elegant 15th-century wooden sculpture of a finely executed infant missing his arms. The work, of central Italian provenance, recalls the Donatello manner in the delicacy of the featu...

Gypsum cast-medieval tile, inspired from Central Europe. Could be also adjusted in a frame, ready to hang or install ( price will be different).

Master in the circle of Michael Pacher (Mühlen ca. 1435 - 1498 Salzburg) Salzburg Around 1480 Carved limewood Old polychrome version Height 118 cm This Madonna is an outstanding ex...

APOTROPAIC DEVIL FIGURE Romansh South Tyrol or Grisons Around 1120/50 Carved pine wood Original version Height 151 cm This singular figure is a demonic, devil-like figure carved fro...

Beautiful late 15th-century Burgundian Netherlandish portrait of a woman. Carved walnut. Original polychrome has been removed with traces at base and lower portions of figure. Minor ...

ANCIENT ROMAN MARBLE RELIEF FRAGMENT Rome, 1st Century b.C. marble 23 x 15 x 5 cm without base 9 x 6 x 2 in

Very rare wooden helmet-bearing head, datable between the 13th and 14th centuries, extraordinary evidence of medieval material culture. This object, carved with essential and primiti...

Grande vierge en majesté de l'époque romane en bois polychrome. Cette Vierge à l'enfant inédite s'inscrit dans le corpus des Vierges romanes de Bourgogne. Marie est assise sur un trô...

"Roman Bronze Figure Of A Romping Dog" Roman Empire, circa 1st Century B.C.- 1st Century A.D. Bronze width 7 cm width 2 3/4 in Provenance: Leo Mildenberg (1913-2001) Private Collection, Zurich, prior to 1986 American Private Collection, acquired in 1991 Literature: A.P. Kozloff, et al., More Animals in Ancient Art...

Mother Goddess Figurine Early Indus Valley Civilization (circa 3500 - 2800 BC) Handmade pottery, 140 mm x 45 mm, 60 g Provenance: Prince Collection, 1990s-2014; Pierre Bergé Colle...

Corpus Christi around 1150/70 Southern France or Catalonia carved oak wood

 height 109 cm, width 96 cm Remains of polychromy

Gypsum cast - medieval tile, from Central Europe. Adjusted in a frame, ready to hang or install.

Rare Vierge à l'Enfant en bois polychrome de tradition romane, région du Fenouillèdes, représentant une Virgo Lactans. Avant cette découverte, seules 3 vierges allaitantes médiévales...

An evocative, 14th century, carved wood statue of a seated Mary with the Christ child in her lap. The piece with a beautiful patina featuring polychrome paint traces. Now mounted on ...

Wearing a chiton with a himation draped at the left shoulder, and a modius on the crown of his head, the god's characteristic luxuriant wavy hair falling in ri...

Large Virgin and Child in carved wood, carved back. Sitting on a throne bench, Mary carries Christ seated on her left knee. The Virgin has a face with stylized features with semicircular eyebrow arches, almond-shaped eyes with protruding eyeballs. Marie is wearing a belted dress with a simple neckline and a coat with a flap that goes back to the front. Tiny traces of polychromy. Romanesque influences are still present. With her protruding eyes, she can also be compared to the statuary of Lake Constance. Our Virgin, rare for its size, nevertheless presents strong analogies with the Italian Sedes Sapientiae...

Madonna and Child, polychrome stucco relief, workshop of Luca della Robbia. Second half of the 15th century. Modeled as half-length, the Child holds his mother's veil in one hand, th...

A Chinese, Tang Dynasty, Sancai-glazed, three colors of brown, green and creamy, sculpture of a horse with a cut fur blanket. This Chinese, Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), glazed earthenw...

MUSEUM CORPUS CHRISTI Spain/Catalonia or Asturias Around 1250 Corpus hardwood, arms softwood Remains of the original polychrome setting Height 109.5...

ITALIAN RENAISSANCE CAPITAL WITH MYTHOLOGICAL FIGURES, 15th Century marble H 18 x Diam 33.5 cm H 7 x Diam 13 1/4 in

Head of apostle or Christ in carved limestone. Elongated face with a large forehead and long hair with thick wavy locks on the sides. The almond-shaped eyes are underlined by the hem...

Magnificent standing figure, Costa Rica, ca. 1000-1500. Carved volcanic stone. Measures 16.5 x 9 x 5.5 inches. Outstanding condition with no damage. The figure represents a captured...

Roman marble altar fragment with cupid Provenance: Nicolas Koutoulakis (1910-1996), Paris and Geneva

Rare, Late Roman Empire (3rd to 5th centuries, C.E.), solid marble bust of a young man. Beautiful patina. Mounted on a later, Carrara marble base.

Upper Italy 2nd half 12th century Maple Original version Height 67 cm

A bronze Thai Bell from the Dongson Culture (1000 BC-200 AD). The work is unsigned.

Extraordinary collection of 12 gilded copper plaques with glass paste eyes, originating in Limoges, France, and dating from the early 13th century. These fine plaques, each about six...

A set of figurative sculptures, ceramic in greens and browns by an unknown Chinese artist. The piece is from the Ming Dynasty and is unsigned.

This piece is a pot made by an unknown artist in Pre-Columbian Peru. It takes the shape of an owl and has a circular handle with the opening on its back. This pot is a light beige an...

Sensitively carved, solid marble bust of a young boy mounted on a custom, Lucite base. Carved fully in the round, though originally the figure was pa...

A schist stone carving from 2nd/3rd Century Gandhara depicting scenes from the life of Buddha. Provenance: Spink and Sons LTD, 1985.

ROMAN RED JASPER APPLIQUE OF TRAGIC ACTOR Rome, 1st Century A.D. 5.5 x 4.2 cm the mask 2 1/4 x 1 3/4 in Provenance Penicuik House, Midlothian, acquired by either Sir John Clerk, 2nd...

Sitting Madonna Central Italy/Tuscany or Marche Around 1420 Poplar wood carved Original version Height 31 cm Charming Madonna sculpture from the heyday of the Soft or International...

4x3 Ceramic Ancient clay perfume jug from the Iron Age discovered in Jerusalem.

This Chinesco bowl was from a pre-Columbian society from around 300 BCE. It features abstract, geometric designs in red and black. The diameter is 8".

Late 15th Century Florentine School Madonna with Child Bas-relief Pietra serena (a blue-gray sandstone) 85.5 x 60.5 cm Provenance: - via Stefano Bardini purchased in 1896 by Prince ...

Catalan School of the 13th century. Bishop statue in polychrome wood. Large polychrome wooden statue representing a holy bishop carrying a crosier and ma...

This muscular male torso probably comes from a larger relief, which would have decorated the front part of a sarcophagus. It likely represents the figure of a satyr, standing, with t...

Splendid polychrome wooden sculpture depicting the Blessing Child Jesus, made by a Central Italian master in the 14th century. The work, 66 cm high, is distinguished by its harmoniou...

A gray sandstone head of Avalokiteshvara, Khmer, Cambodia, Bayon Style from the 13th century. The artwork is unsigned. Provenance: Charles Craig, Privat...

This young saint or angel has suffered over the centuries, but his spirit has not been broken - and miraculously, his beautiful face has remained intact. With a gentle face and an al...

Grande Vierge à l'Enfant en chêne de la fin du 13ème siècle ou début du 14ème siècle. La plastique des visages et du Christ évoque le 13ème siècle (le visage de la Vierge évoque le visage de la Sedes Sapientiae...

Standing angel with banner Flemish Around 1450/60 Sandstone 60 x 21 x 15 cm This museum figurine shows a standing angel with a banner in his right hand and a small box in his left. The youthful, ageless figure wears a coat held together with a triangular, floral brooch in front of the chest over a long robe. The angel’s gaze is directed forward, his head tilted slightly to the left. The elongated face is sculpted: the large almond-shaped eyes with accentuated upper and lower eyelids are alertly open and sharp eyebrows lead directly into the root of the nose. The straight nose above the pronounced mouth completes the idealized oval face of the angel and his calm, internalized facial expression. What is particularly remarkable, however, is the magnificent curls, which are only partially tamed by a simple headband. As if puffed up by the wind, the hair, which is sometimes streaked in parallel, sometimes wildly twisted and richly curled, stands out dynamically from the ears. The tilted head with these sideways protruding waves of hair thus conveys an immediate impression of movement. The physicality of the sculpture is expressed particularly through this organic, lifelike movement of the loosened hair. The lively overall impression of the figure is further enhanced by the multiple rolled banners that the angel presents to the viewer. The outstretched palm of the right hand appears both intimate and confidential as well as mystically revealing. This banderole winds in gentle curves in front of the figure’s body, throws a fold over the second attribute in the angel’s left hand and falls downwards in a loose manner. The volute-shaped rolled up end of the banner clearly shows the fine texture of the banner and at the same time draws the viewer’s attention to the small cube-shaped box that the angel is holding in its slender, long-limbed fingers. The cube is decorated with a Gothic quatrefoil motif, which is often seen in the architectural tracery of windows, but was also often used to decorate caskets and other small treasures. The sweeping gestures in the presentation of the attributes suggest three-dimensionality, in contrast to the tubular folds at the base of the neck and the intricate draperies in flat and multiple overlapping garment sections. The soft curves of the folds give the impression that the clothing is made of a heavy fabric that falls diagonally down the front and is laid in several bowl folds under the right hand. Overall, the sculptural work testifies to the highest artistic skill, which emphasizes the virtuosity of sculpture in its precious and representative overall impression. The memorable characteristics recognizable here can be seen in comparable pictorial works from Utrecht around the middle of the 15th century, when sculptural art – especially stone sculpture – was characterized by a remarkably high quality. Particularly noteworthy is the accentuated Utrecht head type with an elongated oval face, almond-shaped eyes with heavy lids and dense, vividly protruding tufts of hair framing the head. For example, the figure is comparable to a capital of an angel on the east side of the rood screen of the Joriskerk in Amersfoort (province of Utrecht) from the second quarter of the 15th century. Not only the physiognomy and hair, which in the comparative example stand somewhat more horizontally to one side, but also the garment puff above the girdle are similar. Even more related motifs, such as the cleverly placed bowl folds, can be found on the limestone figure...

Large catalan Virgin of the Annunciation in polychrome wood. Our Virgin is represented in the phase of the Conturbatio, Mary expresses her amazement a...

Large romanesque capital with water leaf in red Verona marble. This type of capital is typical of 12th century Cistercian abbeys and represents a tr...

Carved wooden tribal mask 7 x 20 x 10 cm height with base: 38 cm

A Sancai, tri color glazed pottery figure of a Tang Dynasty official. Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD).

TERRACOTTA FIGURINE OF A COMIC ACTOR , Greece, c. 350 B.C. Labeled to the reverse, 'LAWRENCE COLL./LOT 426. SOTHEBY./APR. 1892. P. 816.'; Terracotta height 15.2 cm height 6 in Prove...

Relief with saint Georges France, 15th Century limestone 26 x 20 cm (10 1/4 x 7 3/4 in) without base

This bronze sculpture is an exquisitely detailed representation of the god Dionysos, whose cult was one of the most popular in ancient times. Here, the god is nude, with a mantle that gently lies on his right leg. He is holding a bunch of grapes with his left hand, and a rhyton (drinking horn) with the right. The god is youthful and joyfully gazes forwards, with a crown of ivy leaves set upon his long flowing hair. These features clearly resemble those of the life-size Roman marble sculpture of Dionysos exhibited at the British Museum, acc. no. 1861,0725.2 . This statuette was probably part of a larger composition and used as a decorative element applied to a piece of furniture. Its finely wrought details, as well as the attractive olive-green patina led to its inclusion in the collection of the Fitchburg Art Museum for thirty years. PROVENANCE English Private Collection (Sotheby’s, London 17-18 July 1985, Lot 204) Royal Athena...

Roman Marble Altar fragment from the 1st/2nd Century A.D. with the typical element of Roman rituals. Provenance: Nicolas Koutoulakis (1910-1996), Paris...