Lot 1647 D‡α

Leonhard Kern, attributed to

A carved ivory piggyback group attributed to Leonhard Kern

Carved in the round and partially freestanding. This charming and finely carved work depicts a naked boy carrying another child on his back, holding it tightly in his arms. The children are depicted in a manner characteristic of Leonhard Kern, one of the most important German ivory carvers of his era. Comparable works from around 1630 include an almost identical group in the Würth collection (Schwäbisch Hall, inv. no. 8619), also attributed to Leonhard Kern.
Fine hairline cracks to the shoulder of the upper child and feet of the lower. Some localised yellowing. Mounted on a modern wooden plinth. Height 12 cm (without the wooden plinth).