English, probably Nottingham, 15th century

The Resurrection is among the most popular images produced by the English alabaster carving workshops in the 15th century. In this fine panel the subject is depicted with the usual iconography of four sleeping soldiers and Christ emerging from the tomb with one foot placed on the reclining soldier – a convention which Cheetham (op. cit. 1984, p. 272) has argued may have been inspired by the contemporary mystery plays. Retaining much of its polychromy and gilding, the present relief compares in both style and composition to a panel in the Musée des Antiquités, Rouen (Cheetham, op. cit. 2003, pl. XVI).

RELATED LITERATURE

F. Cheetham, English Medieval Alabasters, Oxford, 1984, pp. 272-281; F. Cheetham, Alabaster Images of Medieval England, Woodbridge, 2003, pp. 134-141, figs. 74-83