Christ as Man of Sorrows with a chalice
Figure
1480 (made)
1480 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This figure was probably originally fixed onto a tabernacle door. It is highly likely that it was produced in Luebeck because of its close stylistic affinities to the statuette of Christ as a Man of Sorrows attached to the tabernacle of the sacrament house in the church of St Mary in Luebeck.
Object details
Category | |
Object type | |
Title | Christ as Man of Sorrows with a chalice (generic title) |
Materials and techniques | Solid cast bronze |
Brief description | Church plate, Continental |
Physical description | Christ, with shoulder-length hair, wearing the crown of thorns and a loin-cloth, stands on a flat hexagonal base, his right foot projecting slightly over the edge. He raises his left arm to show the wound in his hand, and holds a chalice with his right hand into which flows a jet of blood from the wound in his side. The statuette is a solid cast; the thorns of the crown and the wire indicating the jet of blood pouring into the chalice are made separately. A triangular indentation at the front of the base probably facilitated fixing. A hole of 0.05cm has been drilled into the top of the head. |
Dimensions |
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Gallery label |
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Object history | Purchased from the Reverend D. J. S. Scorer, Newhaven, Sussex, for £50 in 1958. Historical significance: This bronze monument was commisioned in 1476 by the church elders, and completed in 1479 by the founder Claus Grude (active 1466-93) after models provided by the goldsmith Claus Rughese (active 1469-about 1491) (Rosenberg 1923, no. 3156; Hasse 1983, pp. 99-100, fig. 53.2). Although the present piece represents a different iconographic type (the Man of Sorrows in Lübeck points with his left hand to the wound in his side), and is of a different size (h. approximately 45cm), the facture (it is also a solid cast), and certain details, such as the distinctive rib-cage and the facial features, closely link the pieces in London and Lübeck, and they may have originated in the same workshop in Lübeck. |
Historical context | On acquisition it was suggested that the present figure, which was probably originally fixed onto a tabernacle door, was produced in Lübeck because of its close stylistic affinities to the statuette of Christ as Man of Sorrows attached to the tabernacle of the sacrament-house in the church of St Mary in Lübeck (Register file in the Department of Metalwork, Silver and Jewellery). |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | This figure was probably originally fixed onto a tabernacle door. It is highly likely that it was produced in Luebeck because of its close stylistic affinities to the statuette of Christ as a Man of Sorrows attached to the tabernacle of the sacrament house in the church of St Mary in Luebeck. |
Bibliographic references |
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Collection | |
Accession number | M.20-1958 |
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Record created | November 21, 2002 |
Record URL |
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