Reliquary bust in walnut carved in the round, with opening s - Lot 11

Reliquary bust in walnut carved in the round, with opening skull and lid connected by a wrought-iron hinge. Male head with hair parted in the middle separating wavy locks falling in waves to the temples, snail-shaped ends. Oval face, almond-shaped eyes, slim nose, half-open mouth, bifid beard with wavy locks and equally curled ends. The shirt collar is scalloped, reaching under the chin. Opening on the pectoral with trilobes. This softly-expressed bust, stylistically close to 14th-century colonial busts, has a number of anomalies that suggest it was executed in the 19th century for prestigious collections. The scalloped collar under the chin is not at all in keeping with the iconography employed in the 14th century, and although the hair waves are in keeping with the Gothic spirit, the ends of the locks are not in keeping with the hairstyles of this type of bust, where the hair falls more freely at the back of the neck. In the 14th-century Cologne style. Some worming, restoration to base. H. 44 cm Provenance : - Marcel Roudillon Collection - Jean Roudillon Collection Exhibition and publication: - Le Crâne Objet de culte, Objet d'art - Musée Cantini-Marseille, March 13 to May 15 1972, reproduced catalog no. 11. - Tribal Art-Le Monde de l'Art Tribal N° 4 Hiver 2003, Dossier " à la rencontre des collectionneurs ", Jean Roudillon : L'histoire de l'œil jusque dans ses murs, Ph. Pataud Célérier, p. 86.