Ceres Or Allegory Of The Harvest Circa 1600

This superb wooden sculpture, dating from the late 16th or early 17th century, embodies an allegorical figure linked to abundance and fertility. Finely crafted in a rustic style, the figure is dressed in a classical drapery, leaving the belly partially uncovered, evoking the characteristic mythological and symbolic representations.

The figure wears a crown of foliage, recalling the divinities of nature and harvests, and holds a bouquet of ears of wheat, symbols of fertility and abundance. These attributes give it a dimension that is both timeless and deeply rooted in the classical tradition, suggesting an allegory of nature or the harvest, more precisely a representation of Ceres, goddess of the harvest.

A remarkable detail of this sculpture is the richly carved puffed sleeve, typical of clothing fashions of the late Renaissance and early Baroque era. This stylistic detail adds a touch of majesty and elegance, and allows us to situate the work between the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century, a period when these motifs were particularly popular.