Sculpted limestone lion's head. The head... - Lot 1 - Drouot Estimations

Lot 1
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Estimation :
4000 - 5000 EUR
Sculpted limestone lion's head. The head... - Lot 1 - Drouot Estimations
Sculpted limestone lion's head. The head of the animal is turned to the left, presenting it in a three-quarter view; beautiful expressiveness with large almond-shaped eyes with hemmed upper eyelids, short muzzle, slightly half-open mouth revealing the teeth, raised commissures drawing folds in a bulge, asymmetrical rounded ears, the left one wider than the right one, mane going backwards with tight curls above the skull and ending in a hook around the neck. Southern Burgundy, 13th century. H. 18.5 cm. - Width : 14,5 cm. - Depth : 17 cm. Slight erosions mainly at the end of the muzzle, hole in the base. Provenance: Albert Hubert Collection (1859-1903), Rully (Saône-et-Loire), Burgundy, great-great grandfather of the present owner. Albert Hubert was a prominent figure in his time in Rully, a rural commune near Salon-sur-Saône. He was not only a wealthy wine merchant but also a great lover of antiques as they were understood in the 19th century. His name appears as a collector, essentially in prehistory and archaeology, in scholarly journals such as the Mémoires de la Société d'histoire et d'archéologie de Chalon-sur-Saône, those of the Société d'archéologie de Beaune or in the Bulletin archéologique du Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques. According to family tradition, this beautiful head was recovered during the Revolution and came from the Abbey of Cluny. However, an analysis of the limestone used by the geologist Annie Blanc does not entirely corroborate this origin: on a very small fragment it is possible to recognize a white limestone containing rolled fossil elements. It is a Jurassic limestone from Burgundy, not used in construction in Cluny, but rather around Chalon-sur-Saône and Autun. The lion's head of the Hubert collection is a precious testimony of the Burgundian sculpture between the Romanesque and the Gothic ages. Expert : FLIGNY Laurence.
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