Group of Six 19th Century German Hand-Carved Ivory Musicians

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...

This matched pair of 19th century Spanish mirrors have carved giltwood frames with a simple flower and ribbon border design. The mirrors have hangers in two places on the back, and c...

This charming 19th century French 18-piece cased dessert silverware / flatware set, with its unique, slightly grotesque satyr mask motif and warm ve...

This highly decorative silver holy water font or stoup, is stamped with hallmarks placing its manufacture in Aspiazu, Bilbao, Spain during the l...

A pair of 19th century Hindu temple fragments. This pair of antique fragments were elements of a section of hand-carved wood frieze, within a...

19th century hand carved gold gilt cherub/putti fragment A high-quality hand carved 19th century gold gilt paint over sectioned pine example. This wonderful piece details realistic human features, which suggests it was carved for a special interior section of sorts. Likely to have been part of a larger collective at some point. It would look delightful and highly decorative positioned over a doorway entrance. Size in inches: H 10” x W 15” x D 5” Origin: France Material: Pine Date: 1850 - 1880 Completely solid in structure and form without any breaks. Detail loss across the painted surface as shown. We sell antique...

A pair of 19th century Hindu temple fragments. This pair of antique fragments were elements of a section of hand-carved wood frieze, within a...

16th century German hand carved painted wood St. Sebastian.