Romanesque marble head Saint-Michel de Cuxa Abbey. Element from the 12th-century choir screen. Main view of the sculpture

Romanesque marble head Saint-Michel de Cuxa Abbey. Element from the 12th-century choir screen. View number 1

Romanesque marble head Saint-Michel de Cuxa Abbey. Element from the 12th-century choir screen. View number 2

Romanesque marble head Saint-Michel de Cuxa Abbey. Element from the 12th-century choir screen. View number 3

Romanesque marble head Saint-Michel de Cuxa Abbey. Element from the 12th-century choir screen.

Rare and significant Romanesque marble sculpture with pink and yellow veins, representing a female head in almost full-round. The oval-shaped face exhibits fine chisel work in the eyes and the corners of the lips. The eyes, with lead inlays in their cavities, give the sculpture a unique intensity, emphasizing the sober and hieratic expression of the face. The hair, combed into stiff strands, falls asymmetrically over the forehead. These formal characteristics, combined with the material used, a marble from the Pyrenees probably extracted from the Bouleternère quarries, confirm the prestigious origin of this piece, undoubtedly from the choir screen of the Abbey of Saint-Michel de Cuxa or that of the Priory of Serrabona in Occitania.

References Consulted:
Les tribunes de Cuxa et de Serrabona, deux clôtures de choeur exceptionnelles de l’époque romane, DRAC Languedoc Roussillon, 2014.
Les ateliers de Cuxa-Serrabone : 1130-1155, Deux ateliers de sculpture en Roussillon, Gérard Vidal, 2015.

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Origin: Occitania, France.

Medium: Marble.

Size: H: 20 cm.

Period: 12th century.

Condition: Wear, minor chips.

Price: on demand

Ref.254