English, Nottingham, circa 1420-1430

the coat of arms of the Courtais de Rancinoux family of Brittany (ennobled in 1452) and Coublans of Franche-Comté

made for the Courtais de Rancinoux family, Brittany, circa 1420-1430;
private collection, Belgium;
private collection, London

There are some traces of colour in the crevices, notably to the collar of the reclining soldier and Christ's beard. There is weathering to the surface at the high points. The top left corner and the head of Christ were reattached and there are repaired fissures to the shaft of the staff of Christ and the spear of the soldier at the top left. There are losses to the top edge, tip of Christ's staff, His proper right hand and the tips of the soldier's spears. There are further minor chips to the high points and edges. There is some naturally occurring veining visible on the surface and there is a stable naturally occurring hairline fissure running up from the lower edge. Otherwise the condition of the relief is good. The modern metal mount is on the reverse and hooked around the sides with painted prongs. It can be used for hanging the piece and is in excellent condition.
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Notwithstanding some losses to the top edge the present Resurrection is still among the largest Nottingham alabaster reliefs of the Resurrection ever made. It is equally distinguished by the inclusion of the coat of arms of the Courtais de Rancinoux family. This is here divided per pale with another family which suggests it was carved in the 1420s, making it not only a very early example of such a relief but also one of the few that can be dated with any sort of accuracy.

The Resurrection is among the most popular images produced by the English alabaster carving workshops in the 15th century. Few surviving examples, however, display such an accomplished sense of depth, anatomy and execution of the clothes and attributes as here. Cheetham's extensive list of carvings (op.cit.) with this subject records 143 other examples.

RELATED LITERATURE
F. Cheetham, Alabaster Images of Medieval England, Woodbridge, 2003, pp. 134-141, figs. 74-83