Carved Fragment

Stock No 2369 

English Oak carved fragment of outstanding quality, circa 1450 -1480, East Anglian, probably Norfolk. It is either the end of a Choir Stall, or part of the side of the Lectern section of a pulpit. As well as the handling of the subject, the colour and finish of the timber are typical of East Anglian Church woodwork of this period, and there are highly similar styles of work in the Choir Stalls of the two Churches, of St Mary’s, and St Germain, at Wiggenhall in Norfolk. The carving of St Gregory is in very high relief. His three tiered Papal Crown is exquisitely worked, and he has the Dove, representing the Holy Spirit, whispering in his ear, to symbolise the divine communication between God and his spiritual representative on Earth. His Papal staff is remarkably intact, with only a small loss at its base. His vestments have a plasticity that is exceptional, the outer cloak is fixed with a clasp ornamented with a trefoil. The fall of his robes together with the fringing has great movement and is superbly modelled. He is standing in a niche under an arch, shaped as a trefoil with enriched foliate ends. The back has the remains of a channel at the top, to take a sloped base to rest a Bible on. There is also a groove down the centre of the back which would originally have received a thin panel. The top has been sawn off, however, the patination that has since developed indicates that this occurred several hundreds of years ago. There are also two small “fill its”, one to the top and one on the bottom right hand side of the framing.

Dimensions: Height 87cm, Width 35cm, Depth 7cm

Price: £7500