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Deer Hunting
Descriptioncarved partly in the round, perhaps once part of a door jamb or staircase judging by the drill holes at either ends, one small split in number two recently filled (just left of front paws of dog), extremely good condition. CommentaryA rare and dramatic representation of the favourite pastime of kings, here divided into two moments of a hunt. The first stages the sigthing of a majestic stag emerging from a very deeply carved wood, whilst the second shows one of the dogs biting at the heels of a deer which has its tongue hanging out and is about to go down. At the same time another animal, perhaps a rabbit, disappears down its hole. The mixture of realism and stylisation (of the leaves) and the style of the deer place this group probably in the second half of the 16th century, in Northern France or Flanders. There are close analogies with the kinds of tapestries made in Brussels at the time.
ProvenanceFrench collection |