HEAD OF SAINT IN CARVED WOOD

This striking carved and polychrome wooden head of a saint comes from Germany and likely dates from the late 18th or very early 19th century. It represents an elderly man, his face marked by age and contemplation—probably a hermit, a prophet, or a patriarch. The gaze, of remarkable intensity, is undoubtedly the most striking feature of the piece: large open eyes, rimmed in black, with golden pupils, staring at the viewer with an almost supernatural presence. This gaze, both fixed and alive, penetrating to the point of discomfort, gives the figure a hypnotic dimension, as though the saint were piercing through the wood to reach the soul of the beholder.

The face shows a receding forehead, pronounced brow ridges, a prominent nose, and a slightly open mouth sculpted with tension. The beard is long, bifurcated, and deeply etched with vertical lines, extending to the base where a few small wormholes bear witness to the passage of time, without compromising the integrity of the sculpture. The hair, treated in thick locks, is swept back and shaped in a rounded volume, emphasizing the baldness of the crown and the monastic austerity of the figure.

The head rests on a turned base of blackened wood, added in the late 19th century. This pedestal transforms the piece into a true cabinet object. Its strong sculptural presence, aged patina, and striking expressiveness make it as suitable for a sacred art collection as for a cabinet of curiosity . It fascinates as much by its religious character as by its plastic strangeness.

Due to its lack of attributes but mystical intensity, this figure could evoke Saint Anthony the Great, Saint Jerome, Elijah, or any other hermit or prophet of the Christian tradition. But above all, it is the powerful, solemn, and inhabited gaze that dominates, giving this head a unique, almost animated aura—between the sacred and the uncanny.

PERIOD: Late 18th or very early 19th century
DIMENSION with stand: 30cm
SIZE with stand: 11.8"