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拍品专文
Saint James, the patron saint of pilgrims, is depicted wearing his characteristic pilgrim’s hat adorned with a cockle shell badge, and holding a prayerbook, staff and satchel. Produced in the first quarter of the fifteenth century by the jet workshops of Santiago de Compostela, this figure reflects the material’s prized protective and apotropaic associations, which made such carvings especially desirable to pilgrims visiting the saint’s shrine in the north-west of Spain.
Though only a small number of these jet sculptures survive, the present example is notable for its scale and refinement, suggesting it was made for a wealthy pilgrim. A closely related figure is preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. no. 65.67), while a further comparable example, complete with two kneeling figures at the saint’s feet, is in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool (inv. no. 16.7.74.1).
Though only a small number of these jet sculptures survive, the present example is notable for its scale and refinement, suggesting it was made for a wealthy pilgrim. A closely related figure is preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. no. 65.67), while a further comparable example, complete with two kneeling figures at the saint’s feet, is in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool (inv. no. 16.7.74.1).