Lot 9
16TH CENTURY ENGLISH SCHOOL
HEAD OF CHRIST
Auction: 28 September 2011 at 12:00 BST
Description
Inscribed extensively see notes, oil on panel
Dimensions
27.5cm x 20cm (10.75in x 8in)
Footnote
Note:The inscription reads (sic): This present figure is the similitude of our lorde ihv our saviour imprinted in amirald by the predecessors of the grete turke and sent to pope innosent the viii at the cost of the great turke for a token for this cause to redeme his brother that was taken prisoner.
This depiction of Jesus in profile is derived from an image engraved on the Emerald Vernicle in the collection of the Vatican. Like St.Veronica's Veil and the Mandylion Edessa, the Emerald Vernicle, though not claimed as miraculous, was accepted as a portrait of Christ.Around 1429, Sultan Bajazet 11 of Constantinople, The Great Turk, gave the emerald, carved with the profile of Jesus, to Pope Innocent VIII. Bajazet proffered the emerald to ensure that his brother would remain in Papal custody, thus securing his own unhindered accession to the throne. The inscription below the portrait relates to this story, although the painter has changed the intention behind the gift.