The Annunciation

Low Counties, possibly Meuse Valley

Late Gothic | First quarter of the 14th Century

Bronze, cast and chiselled | On a later wooden base

H. 16,2 cm. (excl. base)

PROVENANCE

Private collection, United Kingdom

REFERENCE LITERATURE

Williamson, P. (2002). Netherlandish Sculpture. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, cat. nr. 3

CATALOGUE NOTE

The subject depicted is the Annunciation, described in the Bible in Luke 1: 26-28, when the angel Gabriel tells the Virgin Mary: ‘You shall conceive and bear a son, and you shall give him the name Jesus’. These hollow statuettes were probably made to adorn a pinnacle, possibly of an altar screen. The metalworkers of the South Netherlands were active throughout the Middle Ages. The foundries of the Meuse Valley were particularly famous, especially those of Dinant. Brass work became known as ‘Dinanderie‘ as a result of their fame.