The Adoration of the Shepherds
Sicilian (Trapanese) School
Category
Art / Sculpture
Date
c. 1650 - 1700
Materials
Alabaster
Measurements
600 mm (H); 580 mm (W); 185 mm (D)
Place of origin
Trapani
Order this imageCollection
Oxburgh Hall, Norfolk
NT 1210493.1
Summary
Sculpture, alabaster; The Nativity with the Adoration of the Shepherds; Italy, Sicily, Trapani; c. 1650-1750. A sculpture carved in alabaster in Trapani, Sicily, c. 1650-1750, depicting the Nativity of Christ with the Shepherds, with Mary displaying the Christ Child to a crowd of astonished shepherds gathered around. The background is formed from a ruined arch above which fly rejoicing angels. Now mounted on a modern marble base. Previously thought to date from the 1800s and to have been made in Britain, this beautiful relief is in fact a remarkable work from the prolific alabaster workshops that flourished in the Sicilian city of Trapani from the sixteenth through to the late eighteenth centuries.
Provenance
Oxburgh Hall, to 1951, when sold; Bryan Hall, The Old Rectory, Banningham, Norfolk; The Contents of the Old Rectory, Banningham, Norfolk, Bonhams, Banningham, 22-24 March 2004, lot 1148, £11,162; bought at the sale by the National Trust with funds provided by the Eastern Region and a private donor.
Makers and roles
Sicilian (Trapanese) School, sculptor British (English) School, sculptor