Johannes Zeckel (active 1691-1728), German, Augsburg, 1696-1705

stamped: IZ and twice with the Augsburg city mark

Galerie Steinitz, Paris, 2005

Overall the condition is good. There is some dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age and handling. There are signs of oxidization throughout, which has affected the patina in some areas. It is possible that the skin was originally frosted and the loincloth burnished. The gilding of the crown of thorns is tarnished throughout and there may be some losses to the gilding beneath the tarnishing. There is a large dent to the proper left of the thorax and a possible repaired dent to the proper right breast. There are stable original joints running through the figure. In some areas the solder between the joints has worn away leaving gaps. The joint at the proper left shoulder has come apart but is stable. There is damage to the proper left hand including a crack at the base of the fingers. The screws pinning the drapery to the proper left leg at the reverse and, at the front, the screws attaching the rope to the drapery, are probably modern. There is some greening to the loincloth between the figure’s legs, particularly visible at the rear, to the joints of the fluttering drapery and at the top of the back of the figure’s head. There is some residue of silver polish at the ankles and feet.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Throughout the seventeenth and into the eighteenth centuries Augsburg was a major European centre for gold and silversmith work. The extent of the trade is witnessed by the city's records of 1615 in which 185 goldsmiths were registered as opposed to only 137 bakers. Catholics and Protestants worked alongside each other in the Augsburg goldsmith's guild. Johannes Zeckel was a Catholic and concentrated on ecclesiastical commissions, of which his best known is the Lepanto Monstrance of 1708. His mark is seen on the present corpus to the back of the perizonium.

Zeckel became a goldsmith in the year 1691, the same year he married. He was the third husband of Anna Maria Spemmenberger, whose previous husbands had both been silversmiths. The correlation between the date of the wedding and Zeckel's professional status is no coincidence. He inherited the workshop and commissions of his predecessors – the few recorded commissions of Anna Maria's first and second husbands were for religious works.

Although there is no evidence that Zeckel trained as a sculptor, he produced a number of silver sculptures. It has been suggested that he worked with the sculptor Ehrgott Bernhard Bendl (c. 1660 – 1738) who may have created the models on which Zeckel's silver sculptures were based. An example of Zeckel's silver sculpture is his Saint Aquilinus in the Marienkapelle at Wurzburg. Like the present Corpus, Saint Aquilinus's head is turned sharply to his proper right and his face conveys great anguish. There is a careful delineation of the facial features seen in both models, with strong lines around the eyelids and the fingernails.

RELATED LITERATURE
J. Rowlands, 'Augsburg Baroque', The Burlington Magazine, vol. 110, no. 786, September 1968, pp. 537-42; H. Seling, Die Kunst der Augsburger Goldschmiede 1529-1868, Munich, 1980, pp. 271-2