18th Century Italian Renaissance Life-Sized Wood Carving of the Virgin Mary

This is an outstanding Italian 18th century carved wood polychromed sculpture of Virgin Mary. The Sculpture is hand painted with some remains of a gold gilt in few places and originated until lately in a private Villa in Tuscany (Italy). The colors are typical red, blue and green are spectacular on this large figure. The Virgin's hands are joined together in a prayer, while standing on a pedestal on the both sides of which are devil's horns (bottom left side horn missing ) symbolising Holly Mary defeating the Evil, protected by the Holly Ghost and an Angel. A story tells the pose of the Virgin Mary sculpture...

18th century continental baroque style poly chrome decorated wood carving.

A delicate limestone sculpture of the Virgin Mary, belonging to the 17th-century Italian school. The figure depicts the Virgin standing in a contemplative pose, with a serene and dev...

Completely hand-crafted in 18th century Spain, this sculpture of the Virgin stands 1.5 meters / 5 feet tall and was most certainly created for devotional purposes, to be displayed in a church or chapel. Besides its impressive size this sculpture is an excellent, museum-quality example of the Spanish “Estofado” polychrome technique, developed during the Gothic period to imitate rich brocade fabrics. The finely carved “fabric” areas of the sculpture would be first covered in gesso, and then a layer of gold leaf would be applied. The gold leaf would then be painted over with various colors of tempera paints. Once dry, the painted surface would be incised or scratched away in patterns, revealing the gold beneath. The sculpture was professionally restored in 2022 by a firm that is often hired by the Spanish government to work on historic building interiors and museum pieces. The virgin was carefully cleaned, repaired and its condition stabilized. A complete and fully-illustrated restoration report will be included with purchase. Often confused with the virgin birth of Jesus, the belief that the Blessed Virgin Mary herself was conceived “immaculately” without original sin has been variously defended and debated within the Catholic Church since the pre-Middle Ages. For centuries, artists struggled to create an acceptable visual representation of this highly abstract concept, in part taking inspiration from the Book of Revelation and other scriptural sources. We see the Virgin standing on a half moon (biblically inspired, though also an ancient symbol of chastity) with her long natural hair loose down her back, another indication of purity. Both her white tunic and flowing blue mantle...

12th century extremely rare romanesque wood sculpture of the Virgin Mary. Magnificent wood hand carved sculpture of the Virgin Mary holding a book to her chest. It is an extremely rare survivor of the 12th century. The style is European, possibly French or English. This statue is a testimony to beautiful religious art from about 1150. A truly rare Romanesque sculpture...

15th Century Italian Renaissance Giltwood Carving . This magnificent 15th century Italian Renaissance gilt wood carving with a serpent is displayed ...

16th century Italian carved and polychromed figure of a male saint or prophet with a wonderful presence. Shown holding an open book in his right hand with flames at his feet, mid-16t...

18th Century wooden carvings. Decorative detailing of various flora and fauna, and carved mermaids.

18th Century Pilaster Carving is a marvel of the wood sculptor's art! Hand-carved from a solid block of old-growth oak to last for centuries, the artist has skillfully depicted angel...

Magnificent wood statue of St. Joseph, hand-carved of solid oak with intricate draped cloths and a beautiful, lifelike facial expression. A rare and exquisite work of 18th century re...