Marble Falcon, Evoking Medieval Falconry, Presented As 13th-14th Century

Marble sculpture depicting a stylized bird in the round, figured standing, wings folded and body compact. The head is treated synthetically, with a well-defined hooked beak. The work on volumes favors a frontal reading and a simplification of forms, particularly in the treatment of the wings and plumage. The whole piece rests on a rectangular base in black stone, which has probably been added.

By its general appearance, the sculpture may evoke certain representations of birds in antiquity, particularly in the repertoire of the Roman Empire, where animal figures are sometimes treated in a schematic and symbolic manner. However, this reading is nuanced by the presence of a collar around the bird's neck.

This detail points more towards the identification of a falcon, in line with falconry practices, known and developed in the Middle Ages. The object is thus presented as being able to date back to the 13th-14th centuries according to expertise.

Size: 17cm x 15cm (without base- 20 cm with base)