Make your offer

🚚FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE

A rare and fascinating devotional and allegorical work, intricately crafted with hair, silk, paper, and textiles, depicting King David kneeling before the Angel of Death.

The scene draws on an Old Testament episode related to the census of Israel: David, repenting of his sin, receives the announcement of divine punishment through the intervention of an angel. The iconography is characterized by the presence of the angel bearing the attributes of death and judgment, including the skull and sword, while the king is accompanied by his characteristic harp.

The subject thus takes on a powerful Memento Mori quality: even the sovereign, the quintessential symbol of earthly power, must confront death and the fragility of existence.
The extraordinary uniqueness of this work lies primarily in its execution technique. The image is constructed through the painstaking workmanship of various materials, with hair or very fine fibers, silk, paper elements, and yarns expertly modeled and applied to create the figures, clothing, vegetation, and numerous ornamental details.

A close look at the work reveals remarkable craftsmanship: the fabrics of the clothing are rendered through intricate weaves and overlays, while the floral and plant motifs are achieved through small appliqués and very thin interwoven elements. This workmanship lends the composition a unique richness of texture and a suggestive, almost three-dimensional effect.

At the center of the scene is a skull, an iconographic element that immediately evokes the theme of transience and death.

The octagonal wooden frame is painted black and embellished with eight small skulls, distributed along the corners and sides of the structure, as well as the large upper ring for suspension. The repetition of the skull symbol on the frame further reinforces the funereal, meditative, and vanitas nature of the entire piece.
The back preserves the work's original structure, allowing us to appreciate the construction technique and the age of the materials.

An object of great interest for collectors of Memento Mori, Vanitas, devotional art, historical curiosities, and antique textiles, particularly suited to a cabinet of curiosities or a collection dedicated to the culture of death and memory.

Artwork Details

Period: Second half of the 18th century

Subject: King David before the Angel of Death

Technique and Materials: Hair/fiber, silk, paper, yarn, and textile applications on a textile support

Frame: Wooden, octagonal, painted black with eight applied skulls

Dimensions: 36 × 26 × 2 cm (14.2" x 10.2" x 0.8")

Weight: 1.3 kg

Condition: Good for its age, with natural signs of aging, wear, and fragility of the antique materials, as visible in the photographs.Invia commenti