Triptych, microsculpture, in boxwood depicting the Last Judg - Lot 83

Triptych, microsculpture, in boxwood depicting the Last Judgment. Central part: circular at the top, in the form of a brace with hooked rampants, furnished with intersecting branches symbolizing the crown of thorns, flanked by Gothic pinnacles and topped by a lozenge-shaped pediment with a mobile ring; lunette at the bottom. The scene of the Last Judgement features several deep planes animated by numerous figures in the round or semi-round. The celestial tribunal at the top, with Christ the Judge enthroned in majesty on a circular arc, surrounded by ten angels bearing the Instruments of the Passion, the one with the Cross below him, and flanked by the twelve Apostles; On the horizontal line symbolizing the separation of the Chosen and the Damned are the crowned Virgin Mary and St. Joseph holding the lantern; at their feet is a procession of sixteen kneeling saints, including Mary Magdalene, St. Lawrence, St. Stephen and St. James; to the left and right are the mouthing angels blowing trumpets to wake the dead. Lower down, the naked Damned are agitated and desolate, men carrying their bags of gold personifying the sin of Avarice, women with loose hair that of Lust, some chained are dragged towards Gehenna by demons, another is bitten by a monster; in the lower part, a female demon hurls a fallen soul through the gateway to Hell; the frame, enclosed in a semicircle, depicts a furnace with, in the center, a devil standing in a cauldron amidst the damned, surrounded by flames devouring others, gesticulating or lying on grills. Inscriptions in Gothic letters border the central panel: to Christ's right, Gaudia uos iusti nunquam peritura subite ("You righteous ones, enter into joys that will never perish"); to his left, Vos angis aeternum coquat intolerabilis ignis ("You serpents, may the intolerable fire burn you eternally"). Lateral shutters carved in bas-relief, depicting the commissioning couple kneeling before a prie-Dieu, accompanied by their respective coats of arms and patron saints, with a finial at the bottom. Left flap: Jean Caulier (circa 1455/1460-1533), Saint John the Baptist at his side, holding the book on which the Lamb lies, blazon quarterly, 1st and 4th [azure] three étrilles [argent] within a bordure [or]; 2nd and 3rd [gules] semé de lys [or]. Right flap: Hélène Le Tailleur († after 1547), second wife of Jean Caulier, St. Michael at her side wearing breastplate and holding a cross, blazon parti bearing to the dexter her husband's arms and to the sinister a quarterly, to the 1 and 4 [argent] a bend [azure] charged with three flying pigeons [or], to the 2 and 3 [sable] semé de lys [or] ; sur le tout an escutcheon [argent] à trois lions [sable]. Straight flap with movable ring. Openwork foot resting on a base with scalloped edge, triangular and three-lobed upper register with three adjoining brackets, transi resting on one of the lobes, edged with the inscription in Gothic letters hac pie pastor que ducad ovile suum ("here, may the Good Shepherd lead him who is of his flock"); this base is carried by three reclining lions, their front paws bent, the hindquarters raised, under which the tails pass back against their flanks. With its original embossed leather case with lozenge decoration, belt loops and straps. Holland, Delft, circa 1520/1525. H. 22.5 cm - W. (open flaps) 14 cm (left pinnacle and one console redone, slight accidents and restorations, small missing case) This lot benefits from an export certificate for cultural property. Estimate on request Provenance : - Private collection, Brittany This precious triptych is one of the devotional microsculptures made in boxwood in the Netherlands during the first third of the 16th century. There are more than a hundred of these works, which can take a variety of forms: prayer nuts, diptychs or triptychs like this one, but also a wide range of objects such as monstrances, altarpieces, rosaries, coffin-shaped caskets or knife handles. Over the last decade, these objects, fascinating for their meticulousness and iconographic invention, have benefited from an international research program that culminated in exhibitions held in Canada, the United States and the Netherlands in 2017. This triptych from a private collection in Brittany has never been seen before. For example, it does not appear in The Boxwood Project database set up ten years ago by the Art Gallery of Ontario.