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St. John the Baptist

Statuette
ca. 1340-1360 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Lower Rhine (made)

This is a statuette of a saint made in Lower Rheine or Meuse, about 1340-1360. This statuette is recognisable as John the Baptist because of the animal skin he is wearing. This, together with the statuette of two female saints (133, 134-1869), undoubtedly come from an altarpiece, or retable, and probably flanked seated figures of Christ and the Virgin. The selection of particular saints on any one altarpiece was usually determined by the dedication of the altar itself, and locally venerated saints were often represented alongside the more famous apostles.


Object details

Categories
Sculpture
Religion
Christianity
Object type
Statuette
TitleSt. John the Baptist (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Carved oak
Oak
Brief description
Statuette, oak-wood, St. John the Baptist, Mosan or Lower Rhenish, ca. 1340-1360
Physical description
Wood statuette; a seated figure of St. John the Baptist, in the breast of which is a receptacle for relics.
Dimensions
  • Height: 48.26cm
  • Width: 17.14cm
Object history
Bought from Dr. F. Bock, Cologne, in 1869; said by him to have come from the 'Confraternitus ymagorium, Cologne'.
Subject depicted
St. John the Baptist
Summary
This is a statuette of a saint made in Lower Rheine or Meuse, about 1340-1360. This statuette is recognisable as John the Baptist because of the animal skin he is wearing. This, together with the statuette of two female saints (133, 134-1869), undoubtedly come from an altarpiece, or retable, and probably flanked seated figures of Christ and the Virgin. The selection of particular saints on any one altarpiece was usually determined by the dedication of the altar itself, and locally venerated saints were often represented alongside the more famous apostles.
Bibliographic references
  • List of Objects in the Art Division, South Kensington, Acquired During the Year 1869, Arranged According to the Dates of Acquisition. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., p. 11
  • Pieper, Paul. Zwei Apostelfiguren des 14. Jahrhunderts (aus Lüttich?). Pantheon. 30, 1972, pp. 283-291, fig. 9
  • Didier, Robert. La Sculpture Mosane du XIVe Siècle. Namur, 1993, pp. 22, 24, 36, figs. 37-38
  • Williamson, Paul and Peta Evelyn. Northen Gothic Sculpture 1200-1450. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1988, pp. 102-109
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
132-1869

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Record createdAugust 26, 2008
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O166327/st-john-the-baptist-statuette-unknown/
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