Lot 1569 D‡α

Matthias Steinl, attributed to

An ivory figure of Saint Sebastian attributed to Matthias Steinl.

Carved in the round and partially freestanding. The slender, youthful saint is depicted nude and bound to a tree stump growing from a flat plinth and terminating in two branches. The saint's right leg is extended, whilst the left is tied to the tree trunk behind him. The naturalistically depicted movement of the figure is accentuated by the raised and lowered positions of the arms. The attribution to Matthias Steinl, who was Imperial ivory carver in Vienna as of 1688, originates from a statement by Adolf Feulner; the figure was bought for the previous owner James Simon by Wilhelm Bode.
The left elbow broken and subsequently reattached. The right forearm, the dowel-mounted upper section of the left brach of the tree stump and the arrows lost. A crack below the left knee. Vertical hairline cracks. Yellowing to the reverse. Height 22 cm.