17th Century Malines Jonah and the Whale in Alabaster

A charming and well carved alabaster relief of Jonah and the Whale taken from the bible. At the top of the composition the subject is being thrown overboard from the ship on the stormy ocean into the mouth of the whale and at the bottom he is spat out of the belly of the inventively carved fearsome fish, his hands in a gesture of grateful prayer. With the initial GN at the bottom, likely those of Gillis Neins active in the Mechelin/ Malines region in 1640. The highly lucrative cloth trade gained Mechelen wealth and power during the Late Middle Ages and it became the capital of the Low Countries yet with Spanish and French occupation as in the present relief it belied the artistic influences of the great carvers of Burgundy and Spain such as Gil de Siloe. Gilding and frame are both likely original. Total size with frame is 22 x 19 cm.