German, Cologne, circa 1335-1340

possibly from the Clarenaltar, Franciscan Church of St. Clare, Cologne, until 1811;
probably Alexander Schnütgen, Cologne, probably sold before 1912;
on loan to the Kunstgewerbe Museum, Cologne, early 20^th century;
Rudolph Neumeister, Munich, October 1970, lot 593;
with Reinhold Hofstätter , Vienna, 1976
with Albrecht Neuhaus, Würzburg, 1979;
from whom acquired by a private collector, Frankfurt am Main;
and thence by descent to the present owners

F. Lübbecke, Die gotische Kölner Plastik, Straßburg, 1910;
E. Lüthgen, Die niederrheinische Plastik von der Gotik bis zur Renaissance, Straßburg 1916/17, pp. 193 and 548, pl. XVII, fig. 4;
R. Hamann and K.-W. Kästner, Die Elisabethkirche zu Marburg und ihre künstlerische Nachfolge. Bd. 2. Die Plastik, Marburg, 1929, S. 205;
M. Tosetti, Die Darstellung der thronenden Muttergottes in der kölnisch-niederrheinischen Plastik von etwa 1300-1380, D.Phil. thesis, Cologne, 1944, pp. 50-51 (unpublished; copy in Museum Schnütgen, Cologne);
Kunst und Antiquitäten. Sonderheft zur 10. Westdeutschen Kunstmesse Köln, März 1979, p. A82;
R. Müller-Mehlis, ‘Kunstmarkt’, Handelsblatt 210, 30 October 1979, p. 26

Overall the condition of the wood is good. There is some wear and dirt to the surface consistent with age. Most of the polychromy has been lost, revealing some sheets of linen covering joints and splits at the top of the throne and around Her proper left shoulder and arm and some naturally occurring stable splitting to the reverse in particular. One narrow section at the Virgin's back has come loose due to the splitting and is held in place by an old nail. There is some worming to the surface consistent with material. There are losses to the back (3 by 12.5cm) and top left corner of the throne. Her crown and proper right hand and His left forearm and right arm are lost. There are a few minor chips including to the corners of the front of the throne and the drapery at Her proper right shin. The lower section of the throne is a replacement. There are several old nails to the reverse of the throne.
"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."

The present group stands out among 14^th-century carvings of the Virgin and Child Enthroned from Cologne for the delicate precision with which it was carved. Mary and the Christ Child are strikingly characterful and possess a courtly elegance not seen in any other such groups. The V-shaped composition is masterfully continued in the arrangement of the Virgin's legs and drapery. Freely interpreted details such as the flowing drapery under the Virgin’s proper right knee equally set the group apart from comparable groups in museums. The statue appears in important surveys of Lower Rhenish sculpture from 1910 onwards such as those of Lübbecke (1910, op.cit.) and Hamann (1929, op.cit.).  In 1917 Lüthgen (op.cit.) records it as having belonged to Alexander Schnütgen, the founder of the eponymous museum of medieval art in Cologne.

Around 1310 major changes made to Cologne Cathedral's choir set in motion a break with stylistic tradition that inspired many further church refurbishment projects in the area during the following decades. Sculptures carved during this period are readily recognisable by their broad, smiling faces and symmetrically arranged hair. The standing Christ Child, the cushioned throne and the polygonal base are characteristics particular to the groups of the Virgin and Child enthroned. Examples of comparable quality are kept in the Museum Schnütgen (inv. nos. A64 and A773), the Germanisches Nationalmuseum (inv. no. Pl.20), and the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum (inv. no. SK2). These statues are somewhat stockier, and their carver has also not taken full advantage of the movement created by the slight twist of the Virgin’s torso and the continuation of the diagonal line of the Virgin's pose.

In 2000 Schneider (op.cit.) proposed that the smaller Virgin and Child in the Museum Schnütgen (inv. no. A773) might be the lost central group from the famous altarpiece of the Poor Clares in Cologne Cathedral. This large altarpiece was moved into the cathedral from the Franciscan Church of St. Clare in 1811 and contains a wonderful series of 12 wood reliquary busts carved in Cologne around 1335 in its lower register. The central niche in the upper register contains a statuette of the Saviour, which was placed there in 1861. It is thought that this niche would have contained a Virgin and Child of the present type and since the space measures 77 by 35.5 by 28 centimetres the example in the museum is a good candidate at 56.5 centimetres. Most others are either stylistically incongruent or too large. The Schnütgen example’s colour scheme, chiefly consisting of white, red, black and gold, equally matches the rest of the altarpiece. However, at 61 centimetres and with the same colours on the reverse, the present statue would also fit the niche on the so-called Clarenaltar and leave less of a gap above it. The slightly less pronounced smile of our group compares well to those of the reliquary busts on the altarpiece.

Despite being mentioned as being in the collection of Alexander Schnütgen by Lüthgen in 1917 and recorded in the Denkmälerarchiv der Rheinprovinz (Landeskonservator Rheinland, Bonn) under no. 25483 as being in the Kunstgewerbe Museum in Cologne prior to that time, the Virgin and Child Enthroned does not appear in Witte’s 1912 catalogue of Schnütgen’s collection (op.cit.). Nevertheless the statue was clearly a well-known object since it was illustrated in four different publications before coming to auction in 1970.

RELATED LITERATURE
F. Witte, Die Skulpturen der Sammlung Schnütgen, Berlin 1912; H. Stafski, Die Mittelalterlichen bildwerke Band 1. Die bildwerke in Stein, Holz, Ton und Elfenbein bis um 1450, cat. Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, 1965, pp. 210-212, nos. 188-189; E.G. Grimme, Europäische Bildwerke vom Mittelalter zum Barock, cat. Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum Aachen, Cologne, 1977, pp. 15-16, no. 8, pl. 7; U. Bergmann, Die Holzskulpturen des Mittelalters (1000-1400), cat. Schnütgen-Museum, Cologne, 1989, pp. 263-265, 292-295 and 316-318, nos. 62, 78 and 89; G. Fabian, Die Skulpturen vom 12. bis 18. Jahrhundert, cat. Mittelrhein-Museum, Koblenz, 1993, pp. 30-31, no. 10; G. Schneider, ‘Eine thronende Madonna aus dem Clarenaltar im Kölner Dom’, Kölner Domblatt 65, 2000, pp. 113-124