Live Auction 2818European Noble and Private Collections
A CARVED OAK FIGURE OF MARY MAGDALENE
Lot 423

A CARVED OAK FIGURE OF MARY MAGDALENE

FLEMISH, PROBABLY ANTWERP, EARLY 16TH CENTURY

Closed1 April 2009

Price Realised

EUR 7,500

Considering selling a similar item?

Discover its value with a complimentary estimate from our specialists.

More Information

How to sell

A CARVED OAK FIGURE OF MARY MAGDALENE
FLEMISH, PROBABLY ANTWERP, EARLY 16TH CENTURY
Depicted dressed in an elaborate costume and a winged head-dress, on an integrally carved base, one of the wings of the hair dress lacking, with inventory number PV Wgd 8 and with a label inscribed Feudalmuseum Schloss Wernigerode Staatliches Museum to the reverse
45 cm. high

Specialist note

In Christian iconography the richness of Mary Magdalenen costume can be read into the renouncement of her vanity. Her richly attired and her facial expression seems to symbolise her moment of conversion where she renounces her vanities and is transformed into the Christian symbol of the repentant sinner.
This sculpture is also representative of the artistic production in Antwerp towards the end of the 15th century. The Oriental style of the costume is a possibly reflection of Antwerp's extensive trading routes at the time.
A comparable Mary Magdalene is illustrated in M. Van Vlierden, Hout-en steensculptuur van Museum Catharijnecovent, Utrecht, 2004, p. 276.