St Catherine of Alexandria in Prison, relief panel, carved and painted alabaster, England, ca. 1450-1470

With her hands raised in prayer, Saint Catherine of Alexandrias looks through the window of a prison, where she had been imprisoned by Maxentius, the early fourteenth-century pagan emperor. She holds her hands raised apart in an attitude of prayer. While in prison, Christ appeared to Catherine in a vision, and a dove came from heaven to feed her. On the right is the figure of Christ with a large halo holding a cross staff; above Catherine's head is a descending dove carrying the host in its beak. On either side of the cell window is an angel, now damaged, holding a taper. At the left are two figures: the man is Porphyry, a Roman officer, and the crowned woman is Empress Faustia. Both the empress and Porphyry kneel in prayer, having been converted to Christianity after visiting Catherine in her cell. Scrolls with passages of biblical text (now missing) unfurl across the surface of the panel.

The arms and hands of the saint are damaged, and her face is badly worn. Part of Christ's staff is missing at the bottom. The top left-hand corner of the panel has been broken off. The heads of the two angels holding tapers at the top of the panel have been broken off. The face of the male figure is damaged. The top right corner of the panel has been restored with alabaster. 'Scrubbed'-looking darkened green paint remains at the bottom of the panel, with traces of the usual daisy pattern. There is red paint on the inside of Christ's shroud, on his halo, and the male figure's hood and on the angels' wings. The latter are decorated with white flecks in which are black dots. The back of the panel is incised with a number of small circles, three of which are patterned, one bearing the date '1791.' All appear to be of a later date than the panel. There are two original lead-plugged holes. The bottom has been cut away.

Given by Dr W. L. Hildburgh FSA

This panel comes from a church at Roscoff, Brittany, as part of an altarpiece dedicated ot the Life of St Catherine of Alexandria; Philip Nelson; acquired from Nelson by W.L. Hildburgh; given to the V&A by Hildburgh in 1946, having been on loan since 1926.

Though the sculpture is depicting ancient Romans here, no attempt has been made to historicize the subjects. The Christian message of Catherine's message was perceived as timeless and transcended historical boundaries, so the characters are shown in contemporary dress. A popular saint, Catherine was represented in alabaster many times.

This panel comes from an altarpiece that illustrated St Catherine's life and martyrdom, and belongs with another panel in the V&A's collection (mus. no A.119B-1946).

This alabaster panel was made in England in the second half of the fifteenth century, and was once part of an altarpiece showing scenes from the Life of St Catherine of Alexandria. The panel shows the saint looking through the window of a prison, where she had been imprisoned by Maxentius, the early fourteenth-century pagan emperor. While in prison, Christ appeared to Catherine in a vision, and a dove came from heaven to feed her. On the right is the figure of Christ with a large halo holding a cross staff; above Catherine's head is a descending dove carrying the host in its beak. On either side of the cell window is an angel, now damaged, holding a taper. At the left are two figures: the man is Porphyry, a Roman officer, and the crowned woman is Empress Faustia. Both the empress and Porphyry kneel in prayer, having been converted to Christianity after visiting Catherine in her cell. Scrolls with passages of biblical text (now missing) unfurl across the surface of the panel.

A.119A-1946