From my longtime collections, this exquisite and large 8.5" tall Christ is a late 1700s French hand carved figure from the Master carvers of Dieppe, on the west coast of France. You've seen ones like it in museums, including the Vatican Museums and those which used to be on display in the small museum of Notre Dame, Paris. The exquisite form, detail, anatomical sculpture herein is all in exceptional condition all toes and fingers intact, as well a his crown of thorns, missing only the tip of index finger on his left hand. As noted the period hand carved 19" x 12" frame is in very good condition, far better than most. Both frame and Christ are superb works of art in their own right. Over the years we've had and sold many of these masterpieces, some as large as 14" for the Christ figure. Now it is almost impossible to either buy or sell them, and we are restricted as noted below*.
Excellent condition for age and type, the form, anatomically and in relation to his original hand carved frame make for a truly exceptional devotional. Suffering in agony, shown in the entire body's tension, Christ is not yet expired. Some carvings show him at different stages of the crucifixion, but this one seems the most popular from that era - full suffering, but eyes plainly looking toward his Father in Heaven. In some, as in this one, his gaze is heavenward, pleading, and it feels like "Why has thou forsaken me?". In another popular pose his eyes are downcast, and I think of "Forgive them, for they know not what they do" in this posture.and finally there are those which show an expired Christ with head hanging, muscles less taught form, having given all. I imagine the Master carvers of Dieppe, and the skill of these sculptors, and the thoughts they had as they did their art. Heavy solid ivory. The entire frame is wood, all hand carved, gilded over a coating of gesso. A splendid offering - SO rare! I will be listing those I have crated for nearly a decade. I will never locate nor find others, I'm sure*.
*IMPORTANT NOTE regarding antique tortoise shell or ivory: We are great supporters of protection for endangered species in our modern world. We never buy or sell anything 100 years or newer; we donate to anti-poaching organizations; we don't hunt; we conserve in ways that impact global warming (we're totally solar at home), knowing those measures also protect the animals in the wild today. We also recognize the vast cultural history we preserve with our care and reverence for these antique objects, and agree with CITES that objects over 100 years of age have nothing whatsoever to do with species depletion in our current world.
Our offering exceeds the age limitation of "more than 100 years of age", and is well within the exemption for CITES regulation. If imported, met the CITES regulation. This item will be handled and shipped from our Utah business, and is not available for shipment internationally, nor within the USA to California, NY, Nevada, Hawaii, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington if it contains ivory, sorry. Please see our small print for more details.
