Lot 145b, Auction 4/12/2026: 19th C. Painted Wood Group – St. Nicholas Legend

$390.00

In stock

Europe, ca. late 19th to early 20th century CE. A haunting and deeply narrative painted wood sculpture depicting three nude boys arranged upon a barrel-like base, representing the children from the legend of Saint Nicholas and the pickled children, a story both unsettling and redemptive that held a powerful place in medieval European imagination. The figures kneel with hands clasped in prayer, their softened features and worn polychrome surface lending the group a quiet, almost reverent stillness. According to the legend, during a time of famine three children, lost and seeking shelter, were welcomed into the home of a butcher whose kindness concealed darker intent. In the night, he murdered them and concealed their bodies within a large salting barrel, intending to pass them off as preserved meat. Years later, Saint Nicholas, traveling through the region, perceived the crime and demanded to see what lay within the vessel. Size: 2.2″ L x 7.5″ W x 7.4″ H (5.6 cm x 19 cm x 18.8 cm)

At his command and through divine intervention, he made the sign of the cross over the barrel, and the children rose restored, as if waking from sleep.

Though not part of the earliest accounts of the saint’s life, this story became one of the most enduring and widely depicted episodes associated with him, particularly across France and Western Europe. Artists returned to the image again and again, often reducing the narrative to its essential symbols – the saint, the barrel, and the three children – until the grouping itself became instantly recognizable as an emblem of protection, resurrection, and innocence preserved.

The present sculpture captures that distilled moment. The barrel beneath them serves as both setting and symbol, while the children’s prayerful pose suggests the threshold between death and miraculous return. The weathered surface, with its remnants of original pigment and visible age, enhances the emotional weight of the piece, carrying forward a story that once moved audiences with equal parts horror and hope.

Condition: Losses to head of proper right-most figure. Chipping, losses, nicks, and abrasions as shown, as well as some small areas of old, inactive insect damage. Rich patina and liberal remaining pigments.

Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection; ex-Sotheby’s Parke Bernet, ca. 1975

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all purchases.

We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.