Large 16th Century German Carved Basswood Saint Sebastian Sculpture
A large 16th Century German carved basswood sculpture of Saint Sebastian.
Probably lower Rhine, Germany . Circa mid to late 16th Century.
Well carved deep relief sculpture, with detailed & characterful face & hair. Nice patina to the wood. Impressive size.
Hanging plate at back for wall mounting.
Sebastian c. AD 255 – c. AD 288 was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this did not kill him. He was, according to tradition, rescued and healed by Irene of Rome. In all versions of the story, shortly after his recovery he went to Diocletian to warn him about his sins, and as a result was clubbed to death. He is venerated in the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church as the patron saint of athletics, archery, and plagues.
The belief that Saint Sebastian was a defence against the plague was a medieval addition to his reputation, which largely accounts for the enormous increase in his importance in the Late Middle Ages. The connection of the martyr shot with arrows and the plague reflects Sebastian being able to recover from his martyrdom as the arrow-wounds can resemble the symptoms of bubonic plague. Visually, "the arrow wounds call to God for mercy to us, as the symptoms of the infirm call for pity.
As protector of potential plague victims, Sebastian occupied an important place in the popular medieval mind. He was among the most frequently depicted of all saints by Late Gothic and Renaissance artists, in the period after the Black Death. The opportunity to show a semi-nude young male, often in a contorted pose, also made Sebastian a favourite subject. His shooting with arrows was the subject of the largest engraving by the Master of the Playing Cards in the 1430s, when there were few other current subjects with male nudes other than Christ.
Many religious images depict Saint Sebastian as an erotic or homoerotic martyr, with his strong muscular physique, symbolic arrows piercing the flesh, and in the throws of rapturous ecstatic pain.
Condition appropriate to age. Arrows missing. Some scuffs & possible historical wood worm holes.
H: 97cm x W: 23.5cm x D: 7.5cm
A large 16th Century German carved basswood sculpture of Saint Sebastian.
Probably lower Rhine, Germany . Circa mid to late 16th Century.
Well carved deep relief sculpture, with detailed & characterful face & hair. Nice patina to the wood. Impressive size.
Hanging plate at back for wall mounting.
Sebastian c. AD 255 – c. AD 288 was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this did not kill him. He was, according to tradition, rescued and healed by Irene of Rome. In all versions of the story, shortly after his recovery he went to Diocletian to warn him about his sins, and as a result was clubbed to death. He is venerated in the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church as the patron saint of athletics, archery, and plagues.
The belief that Saint Sebastian was a defence against the plague was a medieval addition to his reputation, which largely accounts for the enormous increase in his importance in the Late Middle Ages. The connection of the martyr shot with arrows and the plague reflects Sebastian being able to recover from his martyrdom as the arrow-wounds can resemble the symptoms of bubonic plague. Visually, "the arrow wounds call to God for mercy to us, as the symptoms of the infirm call for pity.
As protector of potential plague victims, Sebastian occupied an important place in the popular medieval mind. He was among the most frequently depicted of all saints by Late Gothic and Renaissance artists, in the period after the Black Death. The opportunity to show a semi-nude young male, often in a contorted pose, also made Sebastian a favourite subject. His shooting with arrows was the subject of the largest engraving by the Master of the Playing Cards in the 1430s, when there were few other current subjects with male nudes other than Christ.
Many religious images depict Saint Sebastian as an erotic or homoerotic martyr, with his strong muscular physique, symbolic arrows piercing the flesh, and in the throws of rapturous ecstatic pain.
Condition appropriate to age. Arrows missing. Some scuffs & possible historical wood worm holes.
H: 97cm x W: 23.5cm x D: 7.5cm
A large 16th Century German carved basswood sculpture of Saint Sebastian.
Probably lower Rhine, Germany . Circa mid to late 16th Century.
Well carved deep relief sculpture, with detailed & characterful face & hair. Nice patina to the wood. Impressive size.
Hanging plate at back for wall mounting.
Sebastian c. AD 255 – c. AD 288 was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this did not kill him. He was, according to tradition, rescued and healed by Irene of Rome. In all versions of the story, shortly after his recovery he went to Diocletian to warn him about his sins, and as a result was clubbed to death. He is venerated in the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church as the patron saint of athletics, archery, and plagues.
The belief that Saint Sebastian was a defence against the plague was a medieval addition to his reputation, which largely accounts for the enormous increase in his importance in the Late Middle Ages. The connection of the martyr shot with arrows and the plague reflects Sebastian being able to recover from his martyrdom as the arrow-wounds can resemble the symptoms of bubonic plague. Visually, "the arrow wounds call to God for mercy to us, as the symptoms of the infirm call for pity.
As protector of potential plague victims, Sebastian occupied an important place in the popular medieval mind. He was among the most frequently depicted of all saints by Late Gothic and Renaissance artists, in the period after the Black Death. The opportunity to show a semi-nude young male, often in a contorted pose, also made Sebastian a favourite subject. His shooting with arrows was the subject of the largest engraving by the Master of the Playing Cards in the 1430s, when there were few other current subjects with male nudes other than Christ.
Many religious images depict Saint Sebastian as an erotic or homoerotic martyr, with his strong muscular physique, symbolic arrows piercing the flesh, and in the throws of rapturous ecstatic pain.
Condition appropriate to age. Arrows missing. Some scuffs & possible historical wood worm holes.
H: 97cm x W: 23.5cm x D: 7.5cm
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