Beautiful Saint Eloi in carved oak with slight... - Lot 36 - Giquello

Lot 36
Go to lot
Estimation :
20000 - 25000 EUR
Beautiful Saint Eloi in carved oak with slight... - Lot 36 - Giquello
Beautiful Saint Eloi in carved oak with slight traces of polychromy, rough back. Seated on a curule chair, the patron saint of goldsmiths and farriers is depicted mitred, blessing with his right hand and holding his crozier with the other; at his feet is an anvil on which is placed a horse's severed leg; he is richly dressed, his miter and his vestments overloaded with cabochons and strings of pearls. Limburg, attributed to Jan van Steffesweert (Maastricht, ca. 1460 - ca. 1531), ca. 1510/20 Height: 82,5 cm Old fragmentary label on the back with inscription Patron [ ... ] and [...] X[...] (left armrest of the chair redone, old but later stock) This representation of Saint Eloi is a masterpiece of the Limburg late Gothic period, due to the quality of the oak used, its excellent state of preservation, the perfect precision of the facial features, the complexity of the drapery and the ornamental overloading of the clothes. These characteristics are often found in the works of a Maastricht sculptor, Jan van Steffeswert, who left his name on a few dozen of them. One of the remarkable characteristics of this artist is the use of pearl and cabochon motifs to emphasize the magnificence of the clothes. This is the case of the Virgin and Child in Oscott College in Birmingham (fig.a) and the St. Joseph in the church of St. Nicholas in Heythuysen (fig.b), both signed, as well as the spectacular Mary Magdalene in the church of St. Matthew in Maastricht (fig.c) which is attributed to him. A few years ago, the Musée des Bons-Enfants in the sculptor's native city acquired a boxwood statuette that recognizes this particular taste in the luxuriance of its hairstyle (fig.d). Works consulted: Exhibition Sint-Truiden 1990, Laast-gotische beeldsnijkunst uit Limburg en Grensland, Provincial Museum of Religious Art, cat. Exhibition Maastricht 2000-2001, Op de drempel van een nieuwe tijd: de Maastrichtse beeldsnijder Jan van Steffeswert, Bonnefantenmuseum, cat.
My orders
Sale information
Sales conditions
Return to catalogue