Ceres Or Allegory Of The Harvest - Circa 1600

This superb wooden sculpture, dating from the late 16th or early 17th century, embodies an allegorical figure linked to abundance and fertility. Finely crafted in a rustic style, the figure is dressed in a classical drapery, leaving the belly partially uncovered, evoking the characteristic mythological and symbolic representations. The figure wears a crown of foliage, recalling the divinities of nature and harvests, and holds a bouquet of ears of wheat, symbols of fertility and abundance. These attributes give it a dimension that is both timeless and deeply rooted in the classical tradition, suggesting an allegory of nature or the harvest, more precisely a representation of Ceres, goddess of the harvest. A remarkable detail of this sculpture is the richly carved puffed sleeve, typical of clothing fashions of the late Renaissance and early Baroque era. This stylistic detail adds a touch of majesty and elegance, and allows us to situate the work between the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century, a period when these motifs were particularly popular.