Sculpted alabaster bas-relief with polychrome... Lot 40

Sculpted alabaster bas-relief with polychrome remains depicting the Entombment. Several figures, including the Virgin Mary at prayer, assist Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea as they lay Christ's body in the tomb; Mary Magdalene is seated lower left beside her ointment vase, facing a thurifer angel. York ? second half of the 15th century H. 40 cm - L. 26 cm Mounted on a red velvet base (accidents, missing parts and erosion). Although fragmentary, this alabaster is interesting for its original composition. Often, Mary Magdalene and the thurifer angel are depicted in the foreground, while Joseph of Arimathea, who places Christ's body in the tomb, stands behind (Cl. 19322 and Cl. 19324). While Joseph of Arimathea is in the foreground, facing Mary Magdalene, the angel disappears (Cl. 19325). Here, all three figures are depicted in the same plane. Works consulted : - C. Prigent, Les sculptures anglaises d'albâtre, au musée national du Moyen Âge Thermes de Cluny, Paris, 1998, p 85 to 87. - F. Cheetham, Alabaster images of medieval England, The Association for Cultural Exchange and The Boydell Press, 2003, pl. Life of Christ, no. 67 to 71. - F. Cheetham, English medieval Alabasters with a catalog of the collection in the Victoria and Albert Museum, The Association for Cultural Exchange and The Boydell Press, 2005, p 266 to 270.