Gilt Bronze Relief, French, circa 1600

Attributed to Barthélemy Prieur (Berzieux, Champagne 1540-1611, Paris)
Relief of a Sacra Conversazione
Circa 1600
Dimensions: 17.3 x 13.2 cm. / 6 7/8 x 5 1/4 inches

This outstandingly well-realised narrative plaque, showing Zachariah presenting the infant John the Baptist to the Christ-child, the Virgin and St Anne, was clearly designed to be framed for devotional purposes.

Prieur was a French sculptor working in stone and marble who - especially towards the end of his life - specialized in casting bronze statuettes in commercial series. The present relief can be attributed to Prieur on the basis of internal evidence. An attentive examination, involving the comparison in style and physical type of all five diverse figures involved in the Sacred Drama independently of one another, leads ineluctably to the conclusion that it is almost certainly a masterwork by Barthélemy Prieur; surprisingly, it may indeed be the first narrative relief to be identified as by him (only two bronze heads in relief are recorded in his inventory of 1583).

We are grateful to Dr Charles Avery for his expertise on the present relief, which is available on request.