Erotica, Curiosa – Anticlerical Sculpture – Folk Art – Lustful Priest – France

Late 19th century France. A singular folk sculpture depicting a clergyman wearing a square cap and a long, buttoned cassock. The figure, with its exaggerated and almost stern features, holds his hands clasped in a posture of contemplation. The frontal and impassive face evokes moral authority and restraint. At first glance, the whole exudes piety and discipline. However, the lower part of the body is removable: a section of the cassock can be pulled back to reveal an interior compartment carved from a single block of wood. Inside, a small articulated wooden element introduces a deliberately bawdy and subversive dimension. The contrast between the devout appearance and the hidden mechanism firmly places this piece within the anticlerical register of the late 19th century. In a context of tension between the clergy and civil society, folk art sometimes became satirical, playing on ambiguity and double meanings. Here, the figure of the priest becomes the vehicle for a subtle humor, reserved for a private circle. The sculpture is entirely executed with a knife. The forms are compact, the sleeves wide, the hair veined at the back with vertical striations. The buttons are marked by simple circular incisions. The work remains direct, without academic sophistication, but possesses a real expressive power. The wood has a beautiful warm brown patina, slightly satiny from repeated handling. An object of curiosity as much as a piece of folk art, this work illustrates the free and sometimes irreverent spirit of the late 19th century, where humor, satire, and craftsmanship converge in a single expression. Height: 11.5 cm. Condition: beautiful antique patina, signs of wear, natural cracks in the wood, stable structure. ALL DELIVERIES ARE MADE BY DHL EXPRESS ONLY.