Jan Borman, circle of - A carved wood relief with the adoration of the Magi, circle of Jan Bormans

Jan Borman, circle of

A carved wood relief with the adoration of the Magi, circle of Jan Bormans

Oak carved three-quarters in the round and partially pierced. The reverse flattened and with chamferred edges. With exposed original polychromy and gilding. A pierced relief depicting the Virgin enthroned against a fragmentary architectural backdrop. She holds the Christ Child upon her lap and is shown surrounded by the Three Magi, recognisable due to their Oriental attire. The missing lower section of the relief would presumably originally have included the kings' gifts. The relief is thought to have originally formed part of an altarpiece depicting the life of the Virgin. The charming relief, which captivates further now that its original polychromy has been unveiled, is a Flemish work from the time around 1500/1520 and can be allocated to the immediate circle of the carver Jan Borman from Brussels. It can be compared, for example, to his sculpted reliefs of the Holy Kinship on an altarpiece from Auderghem (today housed in the Musées Royaux d´Art et d´Histoire in Brussels, inv. no. 327).
The left arm of the Child and the left hand of the king on the right missing. Otherwise in good condition. 25 x 23 x 7 cm.

Provenance

Acquired from a Belgian private collection.

Literature

Brigitte D´Hainaut-Zveny (ed.), Miroirs du sacré. Les retables sculptés à Bruxelles. XVe-XVIe siècles. Production, formes et usages, Brussels 2005, p. 58.