Winged Cherub Carving, Skillfully Modeled, Possibly French 17th Century

Description

This piece is carved from a single piece of walnut or oak. The central feature is a serene, almost saintly … more This piece is carved from a single piece of walnut or oak. The central feature is a serene, almost saintly face, with rounded cheeks and a sensitive half smile. The face is surrounded by meticulously carved curls, below which is a pair of wings clasped together in a prayerful position. These taper downward gracefully with layers of incised feathers. Above the cherub’s head the curls become larger and connect with another pair of wings flowing upward that end in a central shelf-like piece that provides a kind of visual top frame. Overall the piece has a calm, devotional quality, suggestive of its use in a church or home religious setting.

The overall curvilinear quality of the carving, its size and probable use as devotional piece, suggest that it was made in the Baroque or Rococo periods. It is not dissimilar to carvings in France and Belgium. Further analysis of the wood and the carving might yield a more precise origin.

The rear of the piece is lighter in color, having not been exposed to the air. It is totally flat and smooth. In the middle of the back there is a set of six parallel straight slashes, probably a carver's mark. There are six round holes for nails, three of which have remnants of nails embedded. None poke out beyond the wood.

The piece belonged to an interior designer based in New York City who traveled extensively in Europe in the 1960's and 1970's. She bought decorative arts works on her journeys that she kept for years in her private collection. In recent years the piece has been in storage.

Dimensions: H: 12.5"; W: 5.75"; D: 3" less