Lot 96: - Circle of David Heschler (1611-1667), South German, third quarter of the 17th century , a fruitwood flagellation group

Christ bound to a column decorated with acanthus leaves, each flagellator with a scourge in his raised arm and a coiled rope around his lower hand, on perspex bases

measurements note christ: 15cm., 5 7/8 in. base: 3cm., 1¼in. left flagellator: 15cm., 5 7/8 in. base: 2cm., ¾in. right flagellator: 15.5cm., 6 1/8 in. base: 2cm., ¾in.

The present Christ at the column, flanked by his flagellators can be compared to the work of David Heschler (c.1611-1667). Active in Southern Germany and in Switzerland, his work was inspired both by Italian sculpture and Flemish painting, particularly the work of Peter Paul Rubens. The German carver Georg Petel was another important influence. Although he is known to have worked on monumental altarpieces, Heschler became best known for his small-scale figures in ivory and fruitwood.

The rippling drapery and taut musculature of the present lot is also seen in a group of the same subject carved by Heschler and preserved in his native Ulm, illustrated by Schädler. There again the rather bovine features and stocky physiques of the cruel flagellators contrast with the idealised form of Christ. Another comparison can be made with the work of Heschler, with a single figure of a flagellator in Cologne's Kunstgewerbemuseum. The Cologne figure resembles the present left-hand flagellator in the pose and description of physique, particularly in the lowered left hand.

However, the present work has been given a very distinctive treatment, especially in the treatment of the faces and their expressions and it was probably carved by a talented individual working within the sphere of David Heschler's influence.

RELATED LITERATURE
A. Schädler, 'Der Ulmer Bildhauer und Elfenbeinschnitzer David Heschler (1611-1667)', Festschift Theodore Müller, 1965, pp. 293-301, pl. 8, 9