Saint Anthony The Hermit In Polychrome Walnut, Late 15th Century

Sculpture in the round depicting Saint Anthony the Hermit (or Saint Anthony the Great), dating from the late 15th century.

According to his iconography, the saint is shown as an elderly man, dressed in a cloak and a coarse woolen robe with parallel folds.

His head is slightly inclined forward, his eyes turned towards the ground in profound serenity.

He wears the long beard of hermits and holds the Book, symbol of Knowledge, in his left hand.

Flames are depicted at his feet; indeed, the saint was invoked against "St. Anthony's Fire" (a type of gangrene caused by ergot of rye) and later against the plague after 1348.

Saint Anthony has always been an admired saint. His cult arrived around the mid-11th century in the Dauphiné region of France, at an abbey that became famous as Saint-Antoine-en-Viennois or Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye.

Dimensions:

H. 86 cm x W. 29 cm x D. 22 cm

France

Polychrome walnut

Late 15th century

One hand is missing