Dominican nuns of Sankt Katharinenthal - photo 1
Dominican nuns of Sankt Katharinenthal - photo 2

Dominican nuns of Sankt Katharinenthal

Lot 1
09.12.2020 00:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Starting price
£ 7 000
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 470148
Lot 1 | Dominican nuns of Sankt Katharinenthal
Estimate value
£ 7 000 – 10 000
Dominican nuns of Sankt Katharinenthal

St Catherine debating the Philosophers, Lake Constance, c.1320

ST CATHERINE DEBATING THE PAGAN PHILOSOPHERS, historiated initial 'A' on a leaf from an Antiphonal, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Lake Constance, Bodenseeraum, c.1320]



A magnificent unrecorded miniature from a monumental Antiphonal illuminated in the Bodensee region, likely made for the Dominican nuns at the convent of Sankt Katharinenthal.



166 x c.110mm (extending to c.160mm). The initial 'A' opening the Feast of Catherine of Alexandria, reverse with 3 fragmentary lines of text and music on a red stave (light smudging, some loss of pigment to the frame of the miniature, edge folded over). Mounted and framed.



Illumination: The expressive gesticulating figures, the vivid, fresh colours, and the bold compositional style is characteristic of early 14th-century Swiss illumination from the Bodensee. Two sister fragments survive: Historisches Museum des Kantons Thurgau T 9393 and T 9394 (an initial 'M' with the Annunciation and an initial 'Q' with the Death of the Virgin, both ex-Les Enluminures, Catalogue 3, 1994, nos 38a and 38b). Three further leaves were illuminated by the same artist or workshop: these are from the collection of the comte de Bastard d'Estang in the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris (AD 152G, PL 842-3, AD 150H, PL 51). The leaves in the d'Estang collection appeared in his 1848 catalogue and were then part of a complete, or at least more substantial, choirbook made for Cistercian use. All five fragments were exhibited in Paris in 1968 in 'L'Europe Gotique' and published by E. Beer, 'Ein Beitrag zur Buchmalerei des Bodenseeraumes', Zeitschrift für schweizerische Archäologie und Kunstgeschichte, 33 (1976), pp.250-67 (see also Buchmalerei im Bodenseeraum, 1997, nos. KE28a-b, 29a-c).



The cutting is also related in style to two miniatures depicting the Death of the Virgin and the Last Judgement, sold at Sotheby's, 7 July 2015, lot 20. The illumination was attributed to the workshop of the Dominican nuns at the convent of Sankt Katharinenthal on Lake Constance (see Buchmalerei im Bodenseeraum, 1997, nos. KE11, 11a-b). The present cutting must surely also be linked to the same convent: the miniature depicts the Emperor Maxentius summoning the best pagan philosophers and orators to dispute with Catherine, in the hope that they would refute her Christian arguments.

Genre:Religious genre
Place of origin:Switzerland
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
09.12.2020 – 09.12.2020
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.