A Finely Carved High Relief of St John

A Finely Carved High Relief of St John
Shown holding a candle together with a book
Superb colour and patina
Oak
England
17th Century

Size: 32.5cm high, 30cm wide, 11cm deep - 12¾ ins high, 11¾ ins wide, 4¼ ins deep

St John the Apostle, one of the first generation of leaders of Christians, is often considered the most important person after Jesus in the history of Christianity.
John’s own Gospel refers to him as ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved’ (see John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2), the one who reclined next to Jesus at the Last Supper, and the one to whom Jesus gave the exquisite honour of caring for his mother, as John stood beneath the cross: ‘Woman, behold your son… Behold, your mother’ (John 19:26b, 27b).
Carved from English oak in high relief, St John looks restful; he gazes to his right, wearing a long billowing cloak. The sensitivity of the carving and delicacy of the fingers holding the candle, together with the ‘downturned’ expression on John’s mouth, present us with a ‘mournful’ feeling to this carving, in contemplation perhaps of the moment when Jesus was crucified.