Large & Impressive Late 15th Century French Antique Carved Wood Sculpture of Saint Martin of Tours

An impressive-sized late 15thC antique carved wooden sculpture depicting Saint Martin of Tours.

Saint Martin of Tours (c. 316, Savaria, Pannonia – November 8, 397, Candes, Gaul) was a bishop of Tours who has become one of the most famous and recognizable Roman Catholic saints.

As a soldier in the Roman army, Martin shared his cloak with a freezing beggar and received a vision of Christ which moved him to renounce military life and become a monk. He later became an abbot and then a bishop. He is known for his stand against heresy and destroying pagan shrines. In his monastic and clerical life, he simultaneously exhibited high standards of Christian humility and compassion. His life was recorded by a contemporary, Sulpicius Severus, a Christian writer who attributed many miracles to Martin.

Following his death, Martin's shrine soon became an well known pilgrimage site, and he was a particularly important figure to the Merovignian and Carolingian kings. Many traditions of European and Latin American folklore developed also around him. The Catholic Church celebrates his feast day on November 11.

The Basilica of Saint Martin of Tours was attacked and sacked as an object of idolatry during the Protestant Reformation and destroyed during the French Revolution. Its location was unearthed in the twentieth century, and a new church has now been built on the site. He is a patron saint of France and of soldiers, as well as a figure often cited by pacifists justifying their conscientious objection to war.

This figure stands an impressive 3 feet in height. Depicted wearing a hat and cloak and with a beggar at his feet.

There are some minor traces of the original polychrome.

Condition - as per the images. Traces of old worm. No longer active and treated too as a precautionary measure. The Saint's right hand is missing. There is minor restoration to the back of the beggars head. All in all, this sculpture displays incredibly well.

Size: Height 91.5cm (36")