Auction Industry

Microsculpture but maxi marvel!

By La Gazette Drouot

Published on Jan 23, 26

This boxwood triptych depicting the Last Judgment scene in meticulous detail is unprecedented in the corpus of devotional microsculptures produced in the Netherlands.

Hollande, Delft, vers 1520-1525. Triptyque, micro-sculpture en buis figurant Le Jugement dernier, h. 22,5 cm, l. 14 cm (volets ouverts).
Estimation : 200 000/300 000 € — Hollande, Delft, vers 1520-1525. Triptyque, micro-sculpture en buis figurant *Le Jugement dernier*, h. 22,5 cm, l. 14 cm (volets ouverts). Estimation : 200 000/300 000 €

From a private collection in Brittany, this rare triptych is one of a number of devotional microsculptures made in boxwood in the Netherlands in the first third of the16th century. The choice of boxwood is easily explained : although it is particularly hard, its dense, fine structure can be worked in all directions. If you look closely at the countless details on this lavish object – whose main scene is the Last Judgement – you’ll notice that some elements measure barely 1 mm… and wonder how the artist’s hand managed to sneak in to create the background elements. According to expert Laurence Fligny, “there are just over a hundred of these works, which can take a variety of forms : prayer nuts, diptychs or triptychs as shown here, but also a wide range of objects such as monstrances, altarpieces, rosaries, coffin-shaped boxes or knife handles”.

Priced between €40,000 and €60 ,000 , this champlevé, engraved, enamelled and gilded copper shrine, enhanced with glass cabochons (20.1 x 23.5 x 8 cm) was made in Limoges in the first third of the13thcentury. It belongs to the type known as “châsse aux poupées”, characterized by half-relief figures applied to the front and roof, a decoration that appeared in Limoges production towards the end of the12thcentury and developed in the following century. The richness and vibrancy of its enamel colors date it from before 1230, a period considered to be at its peak. This liturgical object can also be compared to a shrine in the Metropolitan Museum, which was donated to the New York institution by Pierpont Morgan.

Hosting a chimera among other animals – rooster, partridge, falcon, pheasant, dove and rabbit – this fragment of millefleurs tapestry (140.5 x 187 cm) from the Southern Netherlands, woven in the fourth quarter of the15th century ,is emblematic of late medieval aesthetics. From a collection in Bruges that highlights Gothic art, and preserved in exceptional condition, it provides an insight into the art of living in refined circles. The silk highlights also testify to its quality. This piece is emblematic of the imaginative medieval bestiary, with animals treading a carpet of flowers whose essences, though stylized, are identifiable. Lily of the valley, fritillaries, marigolds, carnations, campanulas, daisies, strawberries and pansies line up in tight rows. An invitation to an enchanted garden priced between €40,000 and €60,000 .

Prayer nuts are the most numerous of these little marvels : large beads used for private devotion. According to researchers, they exerted such a fascination on their owners that they led them into a deep state of meditation. Triptychs, particularly ambitious, are the rarest of all. Obviously, such pieces were time-consuming to produce, quite expensive and destined for an elite. We know that Marguerite of Austria, Regent of the Netherlands, Albert V, Duke of Bavaria, and Henry VIII, King of England, all owned them. Under the influence of the Reformation, their production came to a halt. This one, moreover, is unpublished and does not appear in The Boxwood Project database. The incredible meticulousness of their production has attracted particular interest from historians over the last decade. An international research program led to exhibitions in Canada (Art Gallery of Ontario), the United States (Metropolitan Museum) and the Netherlands (Rijksmuseum) in 2017. These were aptly entitled “Small Wonders”…