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Discoid stele, from a limestone funerary monument. Romanesque. 12th - 13th centuries.
Discoid stele, from a limestone funerary monument. Romanesque. 12th - 13th centuries.
49 x 50 x 15 cm.
Magnificent specimen decorated as usual on the front and back. In this case one side is displays a large cross fleury with the hand of the Salvator Mundi giving blessing in its interior, and around it are four other similar crosses of smaller size. On the other side there is Mudejar decoration based on a central star with six points.
Regarding the discoid stele, there is some very interesting information in Francisco Javier Zubiaur Carreño's "¿Qué es una estela discoidea?" (What is a discoid stele?), a text published in the catalog of the exhibition "Estelas Discoideas de Sangüesa y su Merindad" (Discoid Steles from Sangüesa and its county), in the town's Cultural Center. As Zubiaur affirms, “A discoid stele is a stone funerary monument that was nailed into the ground in front of the tomb, before the custom of using the cross as a Christian symbol became generalized. The discoid stele up to that moment had incorporated either the cross or other Christian symbols into its decoration, as an expression of the faith of our ancestors in a God in whom they believed and hoped. It is called stele because it is the sign with which the memory of the deceased is made to last and discoid because of its circular shape, that is to say, of a disk”.
Regarding the decoration, the author continues, “the craftsman who sculpted them rarely invented the decoration that he would put on the stelae. Most of the time, he simply imitated, following the tastes of the moment, sculpting motifs that everyone could understand. As he knew the artistic environment in which he lived well (his church or at least the nearest ones), he often repeated designs that were familiar to him, even if he did not understand them. This explains, as sculptural motifs, the stars and crosses, whose type was largely inspired by the coins of the time, the anagrams of Christ and, above all, the instruments of labor. In this way, we would almost say unconsciously, decoration used for funerary purposes by the Romans, who in turn had inherited them from other peoples of the East, continued to be used for centuries.”
Reference Bibliography:
- Zubiaur Carreño, Francisco Javier. (1982). "¿Qué es una estela discoidea?". Caja de Ahorros de Navarra - Institución Príncipe de Viana. https://www.zubiaurcarreno.com/una-estela-discoidea/
Discoid stele, from a limestone funerary monument. Romanesque. 12th - 13th centuries.
49 x 50 x 15 cm.
Magnificent specimen decorated as usual on the front and back. In this case one side is displays a large cross fleury with the hand of the Salvator Mundi giving blessing in its interior, and around it are four other similar crosses of smaller size. On the other side there is Mudejar decoration based on a central star with six points.
Regarding the discoid stele, there is some very interesting information in Francisco Javier Zubiaur Carreño's "¿Qué es una estela discoidea?" (What is a discoid stele?), a text published in the catalog of the exhibition "Estelas Discoideas de Sangüesa y su Merindad" (Discoid Steles from Sangüesa and its county), in the town's Cultural Center. As Zubiaur affirms, “A discoid stele is a stone funerary monument that was nailed into the ground in front of the tomb, before the custom of using the cross as a Christian symbol became generalized. The discoid stele up to that moment had incorporated either the cross or other Christian symbols into its decoration, as an expression of the faith of our ancestors in a God in whom they believed and hoped. It is called stele because it is the sign with which the memory of the deceased is made to last and discoid because of its circular shape, that is to say, of a disk”.
Regarding the decoration, the author continues, “the craftsman who sculpted them rarely invented the decoration that he would put on the stelae. Most of the time, he simply imitated, following the tastes of the moment, sculpting motifs that everyone could understand. As he knew the artistic environment in which he lived well (his church or at least the nearest ones), he often repeated designs that were familiar to him, even if he did not understand them. This explains, as sculptural motifs, the stars and crosses, whose type was largely inspired by the coins of the time, the anagrams of Christ and, above all, the instruments of labor. In this way, we would almost say unconsciously, decoration used for funerary purposes by the Romans, who in turn had inherited them from other peoples of the East, continued to be used for centuries.”
Reference Bibliography:
- Zubiaur Carreño, Francisco Javier. (1982). "¿Qué es una estela discoidea?". Caja de Ahorros de Navarra - Institución Príncipe de Viana. https://www.zubiaurcarreno.com/una-estela-discoidea/
The origins of an Antiquarian · Passion for sculpture
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From 50.-€ to 200.-€…………………………………………..at 10.-€
From 200.-€ to 500.-€…………………………………… …25 in 25.-€
From 500.-€ to 1.000.-€………………………………..…..….50 in 50.-€
From 1.000.-€ to 2.000.-€………………………………..…100 in 100.-€
From 2.000.-€ to 5.000.-€……………………………….….250 in 250.-€
From 5.000.-€ to 10.000.-€…………………………………500 in 500.-€
From 10.000.-€ to 20.000.-€……………………………1.000 in 1.000.-€
From 20.000.-€ to 50.000.-€……………………………2.500 in 2.500.-€
From 50.000.-€ to 100.000.-€…………………………..5.000 in 5.000.-€
From 100.000.-€ to 100.000.-€………………………10.000 in 10.000.-€
From 200.000.-€ to 200.000.-€………………………25.000 in 25.000.-€
From 500.000.-€ to 500.000.-€………………………50.000 in 50.000.-€
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