Circle of Lucas Faydherbe (1617-1697) Flemish, 17th century

with an old label to the base inscribed in ink: D106

Sotheby's London, 10 December 1981, lot 176
on loan to Museum Schnütgen, Cologne, September 2009 to December 2012

Overall the condition of the ivory is good with minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. There are a few stable hairline splits consistent with the material. There is a large partially restored split running across the Virgin's chest and down her proper right arm. There are a few further prominent splits, including through Christ and St. John. There are a few areas of paint restoration, including to the Virgin's neck and chest. The drapery at the Virgin's chest is carved separately. The Christ Child's proper left little finger is lost. There is a restoration to the underside of Saint John's proper left foot and to the Virgin's proper right foot. There is yellowing to the ivory at the back and there are a few dirt marks to the left side of the sculpture. The base is carved separately, and may be associated; there are minor glue residues to the joint. There is wear to the socle consistent with age.
"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."

This fine ivory group with the Virgin and Child and the Infant St. John compares with the work of the Flemish sculptor Lucas Faydherbe, who produced both large scale sculptures, as well as smaller carvings, including ivories. The monumental Virgin, with her heavy classicising drapery, terminating in swallow tail folds to one side, closely resembles a number of figures carved by Faydherbe, such as his St. Helen, dating to 1662, from the church of Sainte-Croix, Liège (Philippot, op. cit., p. 863, fig. 2). Like the Virgin in the present ivory, St. Helen stands in a contrapposto pose with her head angled to her left; see also Faydherbe's Mater Dolorosa from Sint-Jacobskerk in Antwerp for a similar pose and monumental drapery.

A number of Faydherbe's groups include infants gesturing in an analogous manner to the two children in the present ivory; see, for example, his seated Virgin and Child from the Rockoxhuis, Antwerp, in which Christ reaches out to his mother (inv. no. 77.18). The Infant St. John's pose finds a parallel in a winged putto that reaches up towards the figure of Time in the funerary monument to Archbishop André Cruesen in the Cathedral of St. Rombaut in Malines (Philippot, op. cit., p. 874, fig. 1). The most striking similarity between the current ivory and Faydherbe's work, however, can be found in a marble Christ Child, dating to circa 1652, in the Stedelijk Museum, Mechelen (see La sculpture...op. cit., no. 68). The large cranium and thin, straight, hair of the Christ Child, which is brushed forwards, is almost identically conceived as Christ's head in the present ivory.

The present group is also reminiscent of the work of François Duquesnoy (1597-1643), who commanded a strong influence on Flemish sculptors throughout the second half of the 17th century; Faydherbe, in fact, owned a group by François' brother, Jérôme (his Ganymede and the eagle). In the present ivory, the Virgin's slightly swaying pose is similar to that of François Duquesnoy's famous St. Suzanna from the church of Santa Maria di Loreto in Rome (Boudon-Machuel, op. cit., no. OE.34). Her face, with downward-cast eyes, is particularly close to a series of busts of the Virgin by Duquesnoy, in which the heads are similarly set at an angle (Boudon-Machuel, op. cit., nos. In.127 ex. 1-6). Finally, gesturing children are, of course, characteristic of the work of Duquesnoy and his followers, and the figure of St. John finds a model in a leaping Cupid by the sculptor (Boudon-Machuel, op. cit., no. In.119).

An ivory with a very similar composition and catalogued as Flemish, mid-17th century, manner of François Duquesnoy, was sold in these rooms on 5 July 1990, lot 248.

RELATED LITERATURE
La sculpture au siècle de Rubens dans les Pays-Bas méridionaux et la principauté de Liège, exh. cat. Musée d'art ancien, Brussels, 1977, p. 104, no. 68; P. Philippott, D. Coekelberghs, P. Loze and D. Vautier, L'architecture religieuse et la sculpture Baroques dans Les Pays-Bas Meridionaux et La Principauté de Liege 1600-1770, Sprimont, 2003, pp. 863-885; M. Boudon-Machuel, François du Quesnoy 1597-1643, Paris, 2005, pp. 327-328, 336-337, nos. In.119, In.127 ex. 1-6