Medieval Statuary, Sculpted Architectural Fragment – Faces Of Veiled Virgins – Late Period

Early 16th century – Circa 1500–1530 Southern France or Northern Spain Architectural fragment in fine-grained limestone, decorated with two opposing female faces, sculpted in the round. The closed features, closed eyelids, thin mouth, and meditative expression unambiguously evoke figures of virgins in prayer or nuns in meditation, characteristic features of European funerary and devotional art at the very end of the Middle Ages. Both heads are covered with a wimple, completely framing the face, a hairstyle typical of female representations in late Gothic religious sculptures. This headgear, closely associated with pious virgins, nuns, or widows, almost completely disappeared after the first third of the 16th century. It therefore constitutes a strong iconographic clue, which excludes any oriental or exotic influence, and confirms a western, Christian, and post-medieval anchoring. The trapezoidal block shape, with lateral recesses, clearly indicates that it was an element embedded in a religious building: probably a corbel, a rib drop, or the base of an altarpiece or sepulchre. The work, although sober, testifies to a skilled regional hand, in a Gothic tradition still active around 1500–1530 in the south of France (Occitanie, Languedoc, Auvergne) as in the north of Spain (Navarre, Aragon). The total absence of superfluous decoration (no foliage, no acanthus leaves, no Mannerist elements) argues against a dating later than the middle of the 16th century. We are here in an aesthetic of restraint, inherited from the end of the Middle Ages, marked by silent piety and interiority - very far from the dramatic effects of the Counter-Reformation. Historical and stylistic conclusion: This fragment, through its formal vocabulary, its iconography and its technique, is fully in line with a European tradition of late Gothic, still very much alive at the beginning of the 16th century. A sober work, rooted in Western Christian culture, probably resulting from a local religious commission. Dimensions: – Length: 28 cm – Maximum height: 23 cm Weight: over 20 kilos Condition: Very good general condition. Old stone, patinated. Some wear chips consistent with an earlier removal. Small accidents, not restored. Delivery exclusively via DHL, with secure packaging, tracking and insurance.