Object Description
These exquisitely carved marble relief plaques, are notable for their large size and fine detailing, and were made after two famous plaques of the Baroque period, which can now be seen in the Louvre Museum, Paris. Both of the plaques – which likely originate from either France or Italy – are of oval form, and their subjects are bordered in scrolled foliate motifs.
The first plaque is sculpted after a 17th Century piece by Pierre Mazeline (1633-1708), which secured his entry to the French Royal Academy in 1668, and where it was met with great acclaim. It shows St John facing upwards with long, waved hair as he puts a quill to a sheet of parchment. To his right hand side is an eagle, which is a common symbol of St John.
The second plaque depicts St James the Less after the Baroque sculptor Jean-Jacques Clerion (1637-1714), which, like Mazeline, was Clerion’s entry work to the Royal Academy in 1689. St James the Less was Jesus Christ’s cousin and a member of the twelve disciples, and he is depicted here as an elderly man, in profile, with curling hair and long beard. In his left hand he holds a parchment paper, and his draped clothing is swathed across the front of the portrait to rest on his right hand.
Both plaques have a metal rim and hanging loop, and would make impressive additions to a collection of fine marble sculpture.