Roof Boss with an Angel Supporting an Escutcheon

Northern Netherlands, c. 1490 - c. 1500

Object data

oak

height 12 cm × width 12.5 cm × depth 6.5 cm

Technical notes

Carved and originally polychromed. The reverse is flat and contains two holes for attachment.

Condition

Part of the left wing is missing. The polychromy has been removed.

Provenance

…; donated, with BK-KOG-1337-A and -B, by L.J.F. Janssen (1806-1869), to the Koninklijke Oudheidkundige Genootschap, Amsterdam, 1859; on loan to the museum, since 1885

Object number: BK-KOG-1337-C

Credit line: On loan from the Koninklijk Oudheidkundig Genootschap

Entry

This is one of a set of three oak roof bosses (for the other two, see (BK-KOG-1337-A and -B). They all consist of a flat background in the shape of a heptagon, the lower point of which is slightly out of plumb. On each of these backings is, in high relief, an angel with outspread wings and raised knees, holding up an escutcheon. Remnants of polychromy indicate that these roof bosses were once completely painted. According to an exhibition catalogue of 1858, they ‘came from the keystones of a vault’.¹ Unfortunately, no further information was given about their exact provenance. Their small size suggests they derive from a relatively low vaulted ceiling. In terms of style, the angels – with their compact bodies, fleshy faces and stringy hair – are in keeping with the sculpture of the Northern Netherlands. For example, the middle stile of a richly decorated cabinet from Alkmaar (BK-KOG-656) ends at the bottom in a related, escutcheon-bearing angel (fig. a).²

Bieke van der Mark, 2024

Literature

J. Leeuwenberg with the assistance of W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1973, no. 76, with earlier literature

Citation

B. van der Mark, 2024, 'anonymous, Roof Boss with an Angel Supporting an Escutcheon, Northern Netherlands, c. 1490 - c. 1500', in F. Scholten and B. van der Mark (eds.), European Sculpture in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.24351

(accessed 25 November 2024 23:20:56).

Figures

fig. a *Escutcheon-bearing Angel*, fragment of the *Sideboard from the Provenhuis Paling en Van Foreest in Alkmaar*, c. 1520-30. Oak, 147 x 110 x 80 cm. Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. BK-KOG-656