Jan Claudius de Cocke 1667-1735 - Allegorical Figure

Provenance: Rous Lench Court, Worcestershire.

The present sculpture displays all of the hallmarks of the gifted
sculptor Jan Claudius de Cocke 1667-1735 and almost certainly made in Antwerp circa 1700.
The iconography may be that of an allegory of Truth or of one of the Four Seasons but seems to be related to the host and the consecration
during the Mass, given the sun on her chest and the lilies in her hand
and the dynamic putto probably served as decoration of an altar or
tabernacle. The present figure is typical of his playful style, and shows the influence of Francois Duquesnoy in the three-quarter turn of the head and facial characteristics. It relates closely to a drawing of Aurora by de Cocke, dated circa 1700, in the Royal Library of Belgium (inv. SV 76649). A particularly lovely aspect is the well studied anatomy of a
fleshy child rendered in an elegant contraposto, the wood in its subtlety
carved far more like marble.