St John Nepomuk
Statuette
ca. 1745-75 (made)
ca. 1745-75 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This statuette depicts the martyred Bohemian St John Nepomuk, who was canonised in 1729.
St John Nepomuk had been depicted in numerous paintings and sculptures before he was officially canonised, including the bronze statue on the Charles Bridge in Prague after a model by Matthias Rauchmiller (1645-1686) of 1683. This statue is similar in pose to the present ivory, and indeed served as a prototype for other sculpted representations of the saint, such as the lifesize wood figure by the Mainz sculptor Burkard Zamels (c.1690-1757) in the Museum collection, inv. no. A.14-1957. It is difficult to date the present piece precisely, and so a broad date span is given here. Its style of carving, as well as the initials on the back, means that it is certainly an autograph work by Hencke.
St John Nepomuk had been depicted in numerous paintings and sculptures before he was officially canonised, including the bronze statue on the Charles Bridge in Prague after a model by Matthias Rauchmiller (1645-1686) of 1683. This statue is similar in pose to the present ivory, and indeed served as a prototype for other sculpted representations of the saint, such as the lifesize wood figure by the Mainz sculptor Burkard Zamels (c.1690-1757) in the Museum collection, inv. no. A.14-1957. It is difficult to date the present piece precisely, and so a broad date span is given here. Its style of carving, as well as the initials on the back, means that it is certainly an autograph work by Hencke.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | St John Nepomuk (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Ivory |
| Brief description | Statuette, ivory, Saint John Nepomuk, by Peter Heinrich Hencke, Germany (Mainz), ca. 1745-75 |
| Physical description | Ivory statuette of St. John Nepomuk. He is represented in an ecstatic pose, trampling underfoot Treachery, who writhes in agony, his right hand clasping snakes. The saint, clothed in a cassock with flying panels, rochet, stole, fur mantle and a biretta, looks up towards his left, his left hand across his breast, his right hand falling to the right. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label | ST. JOHN NEPOMUK
German (Mainz); middle of the 18th century
Ivory
Signed PH for Peter Hencke (d. 1777)
Purchased under the bequest of Captain H. B. Murray
(1993 - 2011) |
| Credit line | Purchased with funds from the bequest of Capt. H. B. Murray |
| Object history | Bought for £250 (Murray bequest) from Mr. A. Spero, London in 1958. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | This statuette depicts the martyred Bohemian St John Nepomuk, who was canonised in 1729. St John Nepomuk had been depicted in numerous paintings and sculptures before he was officially canonised, including the bronze statue on the Charles Bridge in Prague after a model by Matthias Rauchmiller (1645-1686) of 1683. This statue is similar in pose to the present ivory, and indeed served as a prototype for other sculpted representations of the saint, such as the lifesize wood figure by the Mainz sculptor Burkard Zamels (c.1690-1757) in the Museum collection, inv. no. A.14-1957. It is difficult to date the present piece precisely, and so a broad date span is given here. Its style of carving, as well as the initials on the back, means that it is certainly an autograph work by Hencke. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.2-1958 |
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| Record created | January 15, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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