Head of a Saint (ca. 1600)

Wood (chestnut?), ca. 1600 AD, Portugal, 33 cm This sculpture stands out by its intriguing look in the eyes and stylized hair and hipster beard. It was sculpted in the Romanesque style but dates from a later period. It was, however, not unusual in the Iberian peninsula to model sculptures after Romanesque examples until deep into the XVIth century. The incisions on the lateral sides of the head as well as on the upper part of the head indicate that the head used to wear a silver crown or halo. The carving is extremely fine and has been done with utmost care for detail: the symmetry in both sides of the beard is stunning and on the back, the hair of the head seamlessy flows over in the woodgraining. The rectangular opening on the backside (with lost closing panel) might indicate that it contained a relic.