Lot 1845 Dα

Austria circa 1360/1365

An Austrian sandstone figure of Saint Margaret, circa 1360/1365.

Carved in the round. With partially overpainted older polychromy. A full-figure depiction of the Saint on an octagonal moulded plinth with quatrefoil decor. She is shown with a martyr's palm frond in her left hand, but the cross staff which she would originally have held in her right hand and driven into the head of the dragon at her feet is now lost. The figure stands in contrapposto, leaning back at the waist to form a balanced S-shaped curve with her body, which is accentuated by the vertical pleats of the gown and counterbalanced by the compressed, horizontal folds of her cloak. In the older expertise provided for the figure, it is proposed that it may originate from the altar of Saint Margaret which formerly stood on the gallery of Saint Stephan's Cathedral in Vienna, the artist of which is recorded as "Heinrich der Warenhofer".
The dragon's head broken. Wear with minor losses. Height 95 cm.