The Property of the Brethren (Trustees) of the Almshouse of Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist, Sherborne
The Master of the Sherborne Almshouse Triptych
A triptych with the five miracles of Christ
Auction Closed
December 3, 07:54 PM GMT
Estimate
2,500,000 - 3,500,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
The Property of the Brethren (Trustees) of the Almshouse of Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist, Sherborne
The Master of the Sherborne Almshouse Triptych
Active in Brussels c. 1480-90 in the circle of the Master of the View of Saint Gudule
A Triptych with the Five Miracles of Christ
central panel: The Raising of Lazarus
left wing: Christ healing the boy possessed by a demon, the healing of the blind Bartimaeus beyond
right wing: The raising of the son of the widow of Nain, the raising of Jairus's daughter beyond
exterior of left wing: Saints Paul and James
exterior of right wing: Saints Thomas and Peter
all oil and gold on panel, the exteriors in partial monochrome, in its original engaged frame
central panel: 99.1 x 127 cm.; 39 x 50 in.
wings: 99.1 x 58.4 cm.; 39 x 23 in.
By tradition, in the St. Johns' Almshouse, Sherborne, Dorset, since prior to the Reformation, when concealed and the outer shutters painted over with feigned wood grain, and then preserved in the old Board Room, until re-hung in the Hall in the early 19th century and later the Chapel.
London, Royal Academy, Exhibition of British Primitive Paintings (from the Twelfth to the early Sixteenth century), October – November 1923, no. 47 (as by an English or Flemish painter);
London, Victoria and Albert Museum, Gothic: Art for England 1400-1547, October 2003–January 2004, no. 346 (as Picardy(?) ca. 1480).
J. Hutchins, The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset: Compiled from The best and most antient [sic] Historians, Inquisitiones [sic] post Mortem, and other valuable Records and MSS. In the Public Offices, and Libraries, and in Private Hands (1815), 2nd edition ‘corrected, augmented, and improved’ by R. Gough and J-B. Nichols, F. L. S., 4 vols., London 1870, vol. IV, p. 144;
J. Hutchins, The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset (1774), 3rd edition ‘corrected, augmented, and improved’ by W. Shipp and J.W. Hodson, 4 vols., London 1870, vol. IV, p. 295 (as Flemish School);
W.B. Wildman, A Short History of Sherborne from 705 AD, Sherborne 1902, pp. 183–186;
W.G. Constable, Exhibition of British Primitive Paintings (from the Twelfth to the early Sixteenth century), exh. cat., London 1923, p. 40., no. 47 (as English School);
M. Conway, ‘British Primitives’, in The Burlington Magazine, vol. XLIII, 1923, p. 226, reproduced plate 1.B (as possibly a Westphalian artist);
W.G. Constable, Exhibition of British Primitive Paintings (from the Twelfth to the early Sixteenth century), exh. cat., 2nd edition, Oxford 1924, pp. 29–30, no. 37;
J. Fowler, Medieval Sherborne, Dorchester 1951, p. 256;
A.B. Gourlay, The Almshouse of SS. John, Sherborne, Sherborne 1967, p. 7, the central panel and left-hand wing reproduced pp. 8 and 12 (as Flemish School c. 1475);
C. Grössinger, ‘The Raising of Lazarus: A French Primitive in Sherborne (Dorset)’, in Journal of the British Archeological Association, vol. CXXXII, 1979, pp. 91–102, reproduced plate XIV (as Northern France, Picardy(?) c. 1480;
C. Grössinger, North-European Panel Paintings. A Catalogue of Netherlandish and German Paintings before 1600 in English Churches and Colleges, London 1992, pp. 194–98, no. 54, reproduced figs. 190–193 and 195–197 and colour plate XV (as Northern France, Picardy(?) c. 1480);
C. Grössinger, in Gothic: Art for England 1400-1547, exh. cat., R. Marks and P. Williamson (eds), London 2003, p. 453, no. 346, reproduced (as Northern France, Picardy(?) c. 1480);
S. Zdanov, 'Deux Résurrections de Lazare de l'entourage de Rogier van der Weyden, en Angleterre et en Espagne', in Annales de la Société royale d'archéologie de Bruxelles, vol. 77, 2021, pp. 137–69, reproduced figs 35–39, 42, 49 (as Anonymous Brussels School, second half of the 15th century).