Lot 422
THREE MALINES CARVED ALABASTER RELIEF PANELS DEPICTING SCENES FROM THE LIFE OF CHRIST, WORKSHOP OF JAAK VERHULST
CIRCA 1600
Auction: Five Centuries Day Two | Thurs 14th May | Lots 298 to 596
Description
one depicting the ‘Adoration of the Maji’, with some gilt highlights and bearing the initials ‘I. V. H.’, for the Jaak Verhulst workshop; the other depicting the ‘Adoration of the Shepherds’; together with a FRAGMENT OF PANEL depicting the ‘Circumcision of Christ’; all within later velvet mounts and giltwood box frames (3)
Dimensions
the larger panels approximately 12cm x 9.5cm, 24cm x 21cm [including frame]; the smaller fragment approximately 12cm x 7cm, 24.8cm x 19.5cm [including frame]
Provenance
From a private East Lothian collection
Purchased from Koos Limburg Antiques, Scotland in 1999 with provenance from Sir Nicolas Fairbairn, Fordell Castle, Fife, Scotland
Footnote
Mechelen (or Malines in French) is halfway between Antwerp and Brussels, and was the capital of the Low Countries between 1506 and 1530. From the mid 15th century to the mid 17th century Mechelen was a centre for alabaster carving, during the Flemish Renaissance. Carved relief panels were produced in various workshops in the city. They were generally fairly small, in giltwood frames, and mostly depicted scenes from the Old and New Testament. They were meant for private devotion and were exported all over Europe. Alabaster is softer than marble, making it easier to carve, and it has a good lustre when polished. As a porous stone it could support polychrome and gilt decoration. The alabaster used in Mechelen came from Nottingham in England. Because of the Reformation there, religious sculptures were no longer created and the alabaster was widely available for export. Many craftsmen specialised in the creation of these sculpted reliefs. Some reliefs were signed with a workshop mark or an artist's monogram. The ‘IVH’ marked in gilt on the ‘Adoration of the Maji’ plaque in the present lot relates to the Malinois workshop of Jaak Verhulst (1580-1643).