I'm just forwarding an inquiry that I hope will ring a bell with one or
more the art historians on this list.
SR
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>Date: Sun, 12 Sep 1999 00:10:12 -0400
>From: Alan Wilkinson <[log in to unmask]>
>
>Greetings from Kingston, Ontario, Canada,
>
> I recently purchased a very interesting image of
>what appears to be a Christian saint in an antique shop. It is small - 9
>cm tall and 6.5 cm wide. Under 10X magnification it has the appearance
>of a nineteenth century chromolithograph. There is no evidence of
>conventional photographic reproduction with half-tone screens, benday
>dots, etc. What makes this image even more interesting from a technical
>standpoint is that it appears to have been printed on very fine gessoed
>canvas that has been attached by hand to a cedar panel approximately 1
>cm in thickness. The figure is female, clothed in a green robe with a
>red cloak. Both the cloak and robe are bordered in gold. The background
>is gold with subtle patterning on it. There is a halo consisting of two
>red circles and one gold one. The hair is brown, wavy, and is neatly
>styled. The nose and neck are elongated and the yes large and deeply
>set. It has a somewhat Byzantine effect.
>
>The image itself poses the most important question that I cannot seem to
>answer. The figure holds in her right hand what appears to be a long
>handled gold spoon. In the left hand she holds an open gold box that is
>too small to hold the spoon. The box is open and a cross is visible on
>the underside of the open lid. I'm quite sure that I am not mistaking
>the spoon for pincers or tongs. Is this a saint? If so, which one? I
>have checked a number of standard reference books such as The Oxford
>Dictionary of Saints and cannot find this saint. Can you give me any
>help identifying this figure?
>
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