with later metal stand.

Collection Tastet, Normandy
Galerie Gabriela and Matthieu Sisman, Paris

Wear, abrasions, and chipping throughout. Losses include: a portion of top of bridge of nose and portion of proper right nostril. Some losses to ends of beard (particularly on proper right side) which are visible in the catalogue image. Loss to a circa 1 1/2 inch length of a lock of hair on proper right side. Some losses to neck (as seen in catalogue image). The head is sensitively carved and is beautiful quality.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This fine head of an apostle bears remarkable similarity to a group of heads from the abbey at Jumièges in Normandy (Fastes du Gothique, op. cit., nos. 12-14). The Jumièges sculptures have several distinctive features, including: finely carved eyes of demi-lune shape emphasized with a swelling under the lower lids, long, undulating s-curved locks of hair framing the faces, distinctive compact curls at the crown of the heads, parting of the beard and prominent, high cheek bones.

Another apostle head from Jumièges, in the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore (Set in Stone, op. cit., cat. no. 25), has been associated with the abbey based on stylistic evidence as well as neutron activation analysis of the stone, indicating consistency with that of the quarries used for the Jumiéges carvings. In the early 1330s, the Abbot Guillaume le Jeune rebuilt the church of Saint-Pierre at Jumièges and commissioned a series of the apostles for the interior. In 1792 tꦫhe last monks were forced out of the abbey which was then nationalized; the sculptures were dispersed.

A further comparison of the present lot to a head of Christ or an Apostle, probably from Amiens Cathedral, circa 1230-50 and now in a private collection (Set in Stone, op. cit., cat. no. 24) and another from Amiens in a group of the arrest of Christ in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Set in Stone, op. cit., fig. 55) has been disဣcussed. The simplicity of the facial features as well as the realistic lines around the eyes and forehead are notable and may indicate an origin further to the east, in Amiens.

RELATED LITERATURE
L'Art au temps des rois maudits Philippe le Bel et ses fils 1285-1328, (exh. cat.), March 17 - June 29, 1998, Réunion des Musées Nationaux, cat. no. 56
Les Fastes du Gothique Le siécle de Charles V, (exh. cat.) Les Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, 9 October 1981- 1 February 1982, Paris, cat. nos. 12-14
Charles Little, 'Monumental Gothic Sculpture from Amiens in American Collections' in Pierre, lumière, coleur: Études d'histoire de l'art du Moyen Âge en l'honneur d' Anne Prache,  Paris, 1999, pp. 243-53
Set in Stone, (exꦬh. cat.),  September 26 - February 18, 2007, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New Haven and L🎶ondon, 2006,  cat. no. 22