GERMAN, UPPER RHINE OR FRANCONIA, CIRCA 1490-1500 | Relief with the Adoration of the Magi

With Bresset, Paris, by 1972;
private collection, Belgium

Brussels, Société Générale de Banque, Les Sculptures médiévales allemandes dans les Collections Belges, 1977, no. 64

J. Boccador and E. Bresset, Statuaire médiévale de collection, 1972, vol. 2, p. 196 and fig. 212;
R. Didier and H. Krohm, Les Sculptures médiévales allemandes dans les Collections Belges, exh. cat. Société Générale de Banque, Brussels, 1977, pp. 145-146, no. 64

Overall the condition of the relief is good, with minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. Much of the polychromy and gilding appears to be late, certainly the blue ground. There are minor losses to the polychromy throughout. The background of the relief is composed in sections and four vertical joints are visible. The figures and attributes are carved separately and have been applied to the background. There are slightly open joints including at Christ's proper left arm and proper right wrist, at Saint Joseph's proper left shoulder and hat and the kneeling King's back. There are a few further joints. There is some minor evidence of past non active worming including in the Virgin's drapery. A piece of ground at the bottom on the right side is carved separately and is a little loose.
"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."

Didier and Krohm (op. cit.) convincingly compared the present Adoration to a relief with the Holy Family in Guebwiller, which is thought to have been made in the Upper Rhine region in the late 15th century (Karlsruhe, op. cit., pl. 64). The Virgin's features and hair, the male figures' heads with short necks, as well as the drapery style, are closely analogous to the figures of Mary and Joseph in the Guebwiller relief. While this indicates a common geographical origin, the present Adoration also relates to similar representations from Franconia, such as a relief of the same subject photographed in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum in 1932 (Bildarchiv Foto Marburg, 
https://www.bildindex.de/document/obj00023715). 

RELATED LITERATURE
Spätgotik am Oberrhein: Meisterwerke der Plastik und des Kunsthandwerks 1450-1530, exh. cat. Karlsruher Schloss, Karlsruhe, 1970, pl. 64 and cat. no. 66