Lintel with Sts Catherine or Barbara, Olaf and Anthony

anonymous, c. 1500 - c. 1525

  • Artwork typedeurkalf
  • Object numberBK-18838
  • Dimensionsheight 31 cm x width 107.5 cm x depth 10 cm
  • Physical characteristicsoak

Identification

  • Title(s)

    Lintel with Sts Catherine or Barbara, Olaf and Anthony

  • Object type

  • Object number

    BK-18838

  • Inscriptions / marks

    • coat of arms, at the left, in relief: parted per pale, 1. a hunting horn; 2. a triangular harrow
    • coat of arms, at the right, in relief: parted per pale, 1. three roses; 2. a fish, crowned and vertically aligned

  • Part of catalogue

Creation

  • Creation

    sculptor: anonymous, Guelders

  • Dating

    c. 1500 - c. 1525

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Material and technique

  • Physical description

    oak

  • Dimensions

    height 31 cm x width 107.5 cm x depth 10 cm

Acquisition and rights

  • Copyright

    Public domain

  • Provenance

    …; ? Zaltbommel;{A. Pit, _Catalogus van de beeldhouwwerken in het Nederlandsch Museum voor geschiedenis en kunst te Amsterdam_, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1915, no. 171.} first recorded in the museum in 1904{A. Pit, _Catalogus van de beeldhouwwerken in het Nederlandsch Museum voor geschiedenis en kunst te Amsterdam_, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1904, no. 114.}

Documentation

Persistent URL

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anonymous

Lintel with Sts Catherine or Barbara, Olaf and Anthony

Guelders, c. 1500 - c. 1525

Inscriptions

  • coat of arms, at the left, in relief: parted per pale, 1. a hunting horn; 2. a triangular harrow
  • coat of arms, at the right, in relief: parted per pale, 1. three roses; 2. a fish, crowned and vertically aligned

Technical notes

Carved in high relief and originally polychromed.

Condition

Cracked, with damage in numerous areas. The polychromy has been removed with a caustic.

Provenance

…; ? Zaltbommel;1A. Pit, Catalogus van de beeldhouwwerken in het Nederlandsch Museum voor geschiedenis en kunst te Amsterdam, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1915, no. 171. first recorded in the museum in 19042A. Pit, Catalogus van de beeldhouwwerken in het Nederlandsch Museum voor geschiedenis en kunst te Amsterdam, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1904, no. 114.

Object number: BK-18838

Entry

Three figures adorn this wood-carved door lintel: at the far left, a female saint (Catherine or Barbara), depicted with a sword and standing on her oppressor (Emperor Maxentius or Dioscoros, respectively); at centre, the saintly king Olaf II of Norway, with a sceptre and goblet in his hands and a personification of the pagan religion he fought against lying at his feet; and at the far right, St Anthony Abbot, accompanied by his pig. Pit reported that the lintel originated from the city of Zaltbommel, but without further documentation.3A. Pit, Catalogus van de beeldhouwwerken in het Nederlandsch Museum voor geschiedenis en kunst te Amsterdam, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1915, no. 171. Nevertheless, stylistic elements such as the broad, sharply defined faces, the wild hair and profuse drapery folds indeed corroborate a Guelders origin. Attempts to determine the donor’s identity on the basis of the escutcheons have as yet proved unsuccessful. Equally elusive is an explanation for the combined appearance of these three saintly figures – possibly patron or name saints – and to whom or what they might refer as depicted on the lintel.

Bieke van der Mark, 2024

Literature

J. Leeuwenberg with the assistance of W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1973, no. 899, with earlier literature

Citation

B. van der Mark, 2024, 'anonymous, Lintel with Sts Catherine or Barbara, Olaf and Anthony, Guelders, c. 1500 - c. 1525', in F. Scholten and B. van der Mark (eds.), European Sculpture in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/20036335

(accessed 31 juli 2026 15:04:48 UTC+0).

Footnotes

  • 1A. Pit, Catalogus van de beeldhouwwerken in het Nederlandsch Museum voor geschiedenis en kunst te Amsterdam, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1915, no. 171.
  • 2A. Pit, Catalogus van de beeldhouwwerken in het Nederlandsch Museum voor geschiedenis en kunst te Amsterdam, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1904, no. 114.
  • 3A. Pit, Catalogus van de beeldhouwwerken in het Nederlandsch Museum voor geschiedenis en kunst te Amsterdam, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1915, no. 171.