Currently not on view
Saint Thekla,
ca. 1425–50
French
y1958-2
This small sculpture of Saint Thekla was probably a devotional work that stood within a niche. A disciple of Saint Paul in Iconium (present-day Turkey), Thekla was widely venerated in the Eastern and Western Churches. The saint is shown with a small bouquet in her right hand. The instruments of martyrdom, in her left—a flame, scourge, and serpent—allude to her condemnation to the stake, scourging, and being thrown to wild beasts. The pose of the sculpture once lead to suspicions it was a recut image of the Virgin and Child. The attributes in the saint’s left hand have now been examined under ultraviolet light. This procedure can indicate changes—including recutting—made to old sculptures. In this instance, the attributes and body of the sculpture fluoresce identically, indicating that the image has not been altered.
Information
Title
Saint Thekla
Dates
ca. 1425–50
Medium
Stone
Dimensions
61 × 27 × 20 cm (24 × 10 5/8 × 7 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, gift of Carl Otto von Kienbusch, Class of 1906, for the Carl Otto von Kienbusch Jr., Memorial Collection
Object Number
y1958-2
Place Made
Europe, France, Burgundy
Culture
Type
Materials
Subject
(Georges DeMotte, Paris); 1958 purchase by Princeton University Art Museum.
- "Recent Acquisitions," Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 18, no. 1 (1959): p. 40-42., p. 40
- Robert A. Koch, "A Gothic sculpture of the Ascending Christ", Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 19, no. 1 (1960): p. 37-43., p. 37
- "The Carl Otto von Kienbusch, Jr., Memorial Collection," Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University, vol. 36, no. 2 (1977): p. 24-32., p. 28
- Susan L. Zilber, " A statue of Saint Thecla: its iconography and relation to Claus Sluter and the School of Dijon", Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 36, no. 2 (1977): p. 16-21., p. 16-21; p. 16 (illlus.)
