Lot 174: A RECTANGULAR CARVED WALNUT RELIEF DEPICTING MOSES CROSSING THE RED SEA

BY ANTOINE-MARIN MELOTTE (1722-1795), MID-18TH CENTURY
Moses stands on a rocky crag to the centre of the scene pointing with his staff to the pursuing Egyptians, to the right are the saved Hebrews; inscribed to the bottom right corner 'PASSAGE DE LA MER ROUGE PAR A. MELOTTE STATUAIRE A. LIEGE; in a contemporary wood frame with a paper label to the reverse inscibed in ink '{Lord Lo....ale}'[Lonsdale?], and a further circular paper label to the reverse of the relief inscibed in ink '412 £ Vtr=z'; very minor worming
28 x 19 1/2 in. (71 x 49.5 cm.); 30 5/8 x 22 1/2 in. (77.8 x 57.2 cm.) the frame

THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN

A pupil of Simon Cognoulles, Antoine-Marin Melotte matriculated from the Guild of Carpenters at Liege in 1739 and by 1746 was described as a 'marchand sculpteur'. Like Cognoulles, his reliefs were often based on graphic compositions derived from print sources; among his favourite themes were the battles of Alexander the Great after the painter Le Brun, and, as is evident in the present lot, in similarly complex biblical stories.

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.