South Germany or Tyrol, 16th century: "Head of John the Bapt - Lot 72

South Germany or Tyrol, 16th century: "Head of John the Baptist", called "Johannesschüssel" or "Caput Johannis in disco", round-body and carved bowl in polychromed wood (small accidents and flight hole). Diameter: 16,3 cm and D.7,5 cm. This man's head, with a clear cut in the neck, belongs to St. John the Baptist, the last of the prophets and the first of the Christian martyrs, precursor and baptizer of Christ. This saint has a special place in Christian worship: he is the only saint who is venerated, like Christ, on his birthday, June 24. The feast of his martyrdom, the Decollatio Baptistae, is also included in the liturgical calendar on August 29. This intriguing representation of his severed head belongs to a very specific typology of cult objects in medieval iconography and recalls his martyrdom: he was decapitated during a banquet at the request of Herodias' daughter who wanted to be offered John's head on a platter. According to legend, Herodias and her daughter then buried the head, which was rediscovered in the 4th century and brought to Constantinople by Emperor Theodosius. Having become one of the main relics of the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, the head of St. John the Baptist was stolen during the Fourth Crusade (1199-1204). While several relics of the head of the Baptist arrived in Western Europe in the same period, the mummified skull resting on a silver bowl set with precious stones and pearls preserved (description of 1491) in the cathedral of Amiens since 1206, became the prototype of a new kind of cult object: the representation of the head of John the Baptist deposited in a large tray. Reliquary for some, object of devotion for others, or finally scenic and dramatic accessory during the representations of Mysteries and other stagings instituted by the Church, these objects of devotion spread especially from the turn of the 16th century in Southern Germany and the Tyrol. Experts: LACROIX JEANNEST.