Alessandro Abondio, attributed to - A wax Pietà relief, attributed to Alessandro Abondio - image-1
Alessandro Abondio, attributed to - A wax Pietà relief, attributed to Alessandro Abondio - image-2
Alessandro Abondio, attributed to - A wax Pietà relief, attributed to Alessandro Abondio - image-1Alessandro Abondio, attributed to - A wax Pietà relief, attributed to Alessandro Abondio - image-2

Lot 2197 Dα

Alessandro Abondio, attributed to - A wax Pietà relief, attributed to Alessandro Abondio

Auction 1197 - overview Cologne
21.05.2022, 11:00 - Old Masters
Estimate: 20.000 € - 25.000 €

Alessandro Abondio, attributed to

A wax Pietà relief, attributed to Alessandro Abondio

This relief is based on a painting by the Antwerp artist Willem Key (currently housed in the Munich Alte Pinakothek) that has been in the possession of the dukes of Bavaria since around 1615 (Ill. 1). The wax devotional image is of a level of precision found among objects produced for courtly Wunderkammern, or "cabinets of curiosities". It depicts the Virgin with the body of Christ against Mount Golgotha painted on panel in the background. The figures were cast from wax, carved for more detail and then painted. The lower edge of the image contains further attributes not made from wax and natural elements such as tiny wrought metal nails, the Crown of Thorns made from twigs, grass from bristles, stones, snails, shells and moss. The relief is housed in the original period frame. Peter Volk (op. cit.) suggests that the work, which was produced for the imperial collection, can be dated to around 1653 and attributed to Alessandro Abondio, who arrived in Munich from the imperial court of Prague in 1617.
In good overall condition. The lower edge of the landscape with some hairline cracks. The wooden panel with some insect damage. The frame closed with a mobile pane of glass. Relief on panel 47 x 35.5 x 7 cm, frame 61 x 50 x 11.5 cm.

Provenance

Prince Joseph Clemens of Bavaria (1902-1990). - Private ownership.

Literature

Peter Volk: Ein Münchner Wachsrelief von 1632 nach Willem Key. Höfisches Andachstbild und Kunstkammerobjekt, in: Weltkunst, 1st October 1992, issue 19, p. 2722-2724.