Northern Renaissance Limewood Religious Group

Flemish, Circa 1520 AD This intense scene of grief portrays a group of soldiers who originally at the foot of the cross were vying for the tunic of Christ (see John 19:23-24). The empty robe of Christ in the center of this figural grouping. The horizontal garment with deep drapery folds is surrounded by four male figures. Two figures behind looking forward, their hands raised to their eyes; another figure at the right. Some traces or woodworm. A rare iconography.  Compare with an illustration and detail from the Crucifixion in the famous Grimani Breviary, a famous Flemish manuscript of about 1520 now in Venice where the scene is depicted in the foreground.Size 10-3/8 inches Height x 13 inches Wide. Provenance: private collection, Manhasset, NY.    Choice and rare.