The Miniature Altarpiece (or Miniature Altarpiece: Anna Selbdritt)[1][2] in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, is a small, 9.3 cm-high, Gothic boxwood miniature triptych completed in the Netherlands c. 1500–1520. The central carving is made from boxwood and shows a relief of the Virgin and Child attended by two saints, thought to be Anne (who is shown with wings and holding a large crucifix) and James the Great (who wears a hat and holds a staff).[3] The outer semi-circular wings and shell are lined with silver[4] and decorated with foliate designs. It stands on a silver plinth with pierced quatrefoils, and topped by a cherub's head and a statuette of God the Father. It is thought that the silver-work was added between 1550 and 1570.[1]
Two lay figures keel at prayer desks before the saints;[1] presumably these are the object's donors or commissioners.[4]The man on the viewer's left is presented by Saint James; the woman is on our right and is presented by Saint Michael.[1]
The sculpture's dimensions are 89.6 mm × 34.5 mm × 20 mm (3.53 in × 1.36 in × 0.79 in). It has the accession number 225-1866, having been acquired for £14 at the Le Charpentier sale at the Hôtel Drouot on 23 May 1866. There is no record of its provenance before this point. It is not currently on display.[1]
Notes
edit- ^ a b c d e "Miniature Altarpiece: Anna Selbdritt". The Boxwood Project, Art Gallery of Ontario. Retrieved 28 October 2019
- ^ The term Anna Selbdritt refers to a type of 14th- or 15th-century depiction of the Virgin and Child with Saint Anne.
- ^ The attendant saints were earlier identified as Saints Andrew and George.
- ^ a b "Miniature Altarpiece". Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 28 October 2019