Johann Benedikt Witz - The Queen of Bohemia Confessing to Saint John of Nepomuk - image-1

Lot 1370 Dα

Johann Benedikt Witz - The Queen of Bohemia Confessing to Saint John of Nepomuk

Auction 1132 - overview Cologne
18.05.2019, 11:00 - Fine Art
Estimate: 5.000 € - 6.000 €
Result: 6.448 € (incl. premium)

Johann Benedikt Witz

The Queen of Bohemia Confessing to Saint John of Nepomuk

Carved pear wood, the reverse flattened. The relief in the centre of this work depicts Saint John of Nepomuk hearing the confession of the wife of King Wenzel IV of Bohemia. According to legend, the saint's refusal to divulge the secrets of her confession led to his martyrdom and death. On the left side we see the king holding shackles, and to the right we see the scene of the saint being thrown into the Moldau river from the Karlsbrücke in Prague. In the upper section we see an angel with a palm frond and martyr's wreath. The banderole inscribed "qUORUM ReMISeRITIS PeCCaTa ReMIttUNtUR eIS go: c20." The work can be dated to around 1765 - 1767 and is a pendant to the previous lot.
Minimal wear. 31.5 x 23.5 x 3.5 cm.

Provenance

Private ownership, Mainz. - Private ownership, Wiesbaden. - Lempertz auction 540, Cologne, 16.11.1974, lot 1455. - Rhenish private ownership.

Literature

Hans-Peter Trenschel: Fränkische Kleinplastik des Rokoko. Johann Benedikt Witz (1709-1780), Würzburg 1980 (Publikation zur Ausstellung des Mainfränkischen Museums Würzburg), p. 82-83, no. 58, illus. 41.