Doe and Hope

Description

The well carved Corpus Christi showing traces of the original gilding, and blooded highlights to the carved gesso elements, the carcass in pine, and the whole being of large size, having been an altar piece in an ecclesiastical setting or Italian provincial church, and surviving from the second half of the eighteenth century.

This decorative corpus is in fair to good overall condition. There are losses to two fingers to one hand, a fissure to one upper arm at the shoulder, and some chips to the gessoed surface as photographed. It remains largely intact and has a pleasing patination with no attempted repair or restoration and proving very decorative.

This carvings detail is of good quality, the way the ribs are showing and the expression on Jesus’ face are both deft and highly skilled. The fact that this example is not in ivory and is of large size are both big pluses, with many examples being problematic when carved in ivory and many being a lot smaller in scale.

A particularly large and hugely decorative example of religious art.