Crucifix ivory and wood with metal fixings thumbnail 1
Crucifix ivory and wood with metal fixings thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Europe 1600-1815, Room 3

Crucifix ivory and wood with metal fixings

Crucifix
ca. 1700-1730 (made)
Artist/Maker
Heermann, Paul (made)
Place of origin
Dresden (made)

The ivory crucifix figure and INRI scroll are fixed onto a later wood cross, which is inlaid with metal strips and marquetry. The loincloth is signed with an elided PH on the top layer of folds running down Christ's right thigh. Paul Heermann was a sculptor of wood, stone and ivory, who worked in Prague, Rome and Dresden.The virtuoso handling of the anatomy is comparable with Heermann’s large-scale stone sculptures. Such devotional ivory crucifix figures were made in some numbers during the baroque period. It is comparatively rare to find a signed example.


Object details

Categories
Sculpture
Religion
Christianity
Death
Object type
Crucifix
TitleCrucifix ivory and wood with metal fixings (named collection)
Materials and techniques
Carved ivory
Ivory
Carving
Brief description
Crucifix, carved ivory on later wood cross, with dead figure of Christ, by Paul Heermann, Germany (Dresden), ca. 1700-1730
Physical description
The loincloth is signed with an elided PH on the top layer of folds running down Christ's right thigh. Christ is crowned with thorns, and is represented as dead on the cross. The loincloth is held to the body by a cord, and hangs in folds on the right side. The cross is decorated with floral devices.
Dimensions
  • Overall height: 68cm
  • Of crucifix figure height: 38.5cm
  • Scroll height: 6.3cm
Marks and inscriptions
'PH' (on the edge of the loincloth)
Translation
The monogram is that of the sculptor, Paul Heermann.
Gallery label
CRUCIFIX German (Dresden); about 1700-1732 Ivory By Paul Heermann (1673-1732) The figure of Christ is mounted on a contemporary cross inlaid with metal strips and marquetry. (1993 - 2011)
Object history
Bought from Mr. Arthur Einstein, for £150, in 1956.
Subject depicted
Christ
Summary
The ivory crucifix figure and INRI scroll are fixed onto a later wood cross, which is inlaid with metal strips and marquetry. The loincloth is signed with an elided PH on the top layer of folds running down Christ's right thigh. Paul Heermann was a sculptor of wood, stone and ivory, who worked in Prague, Rome and Dresden.The virtuoso handling of the anatomy is comparable with Heermann’s large-scale stone sculptures. Such devotional ivory crucifix figures were made in some numbers during the baroque period. It is comparatively rare to find a signed example.
Bibliographic references
  • E.D. Schmidt, 'Paul Heermann's ivoren Samson en twee Filistijnen naar Michelangelo', Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum, Jaargang 45, 1997, no. 2, pp.135-51b and p. 140, fig. 5
  • C. Theuerkauff, Die Bildwerke in Elfenbein des 16.-19. Jahrhunderts (Die Bildwerke der Skulpturengalerie Berlin, II), Berlin, 1986, p. 374, note 14
  • A. Radcliffe, M. Baker and M. Maek-Gérard, The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection: Renaissance and Later Sculpture, London, 1992, p. 392
  • E. von Philippovich, Elfenbein, Munich, 1982 (2nd revised edition), p. 231
  • Theuerkauff, Christian, ed. Elfenbein, Sammlung Reiner Winkler, Vol I, 1984, pp. 58-59
  • Schmidt, E. D., Paul Heermann (1673-1732). Meister der Barockskulptur in Böhmen und Sachsen. Neue Aspekte seines Schaffens, Munich, 2005, p. 69
  • Trusted, Marjorie, Baroque & Later Ivories, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 2013, cat. no. 68
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
A.65-1927

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Record createdMay 6, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O229982/crucifix-ivory-and-wood-with-crucifix-heermann-paul/
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