Early 17th-Century Antique Carved Oak Panel/Fragment Depicting Elijah's sacrifice on Mount Carmel, circa 1600

A rare carved oak relief panel depicting Elijah's sacrifice on Mount Carmel, Northern European, circa 1600.

The panel is carved in bold relief with the prophet Elijah standing to the left, robed and with curled hair, his attendant raven at his feet — the bird that fed him at the brook Cherith (1 Kings 17) and one of the prophet's defining attributes. Before him rises a coursed brick altar with an arched draught-mouth at its base, upon which lies the slaughtered bullock. Above the beast, stylised tongues of fire ascend: the fire of the Lord, fallen from heaven to consume the offering and so confound the prophets of Baal — the climactic miracle of the Carmel contest (1 Kings 18:38).

The subject is an uncommon one in vernacular oak carving. Fire descending to consume a sacrifice occurs only a handful of times in scripture, and the combination of bullock, built altar and solitary prophet identifies the scene unambiguously as Elijah on Carmel rather than the sacrifices of Gideon, David or Solomon. The presence of the raven supplies a second, independent attribute reinforcing the attribution.

Carved from a single oak board, the panel retains a deep, dry patina and shows honest age-related wear and surface loss consistent with great age, with old splits and erosion to the high points lending the relief considerable sculptural presence. Likely originally a component from an overmantel, chest front or item of ecclesiastical or domestic joinery incorporating Old Testament subjects.

A scarce and characterful survival, the dramatic Carmel narrative gives the piece strong appeal to collectors of early oak, devotional carving and biblical subject matter.

Provenance: Northern Europe, circa 1600.

Material: Oak

Condition: Please refer to the images. With a dry, untouched surface and some losses.

Dimensions: Height 25.5 cm (10 inches) x Width 16.5 cm (6.5 inches) x Depth 1.6 cm (5/8 inch)