Relief

This piece representing the Pieta has certain distinctive characteristics: the city rising up behind, blocking out any sky, the strange plants growing on the rocky ground, almost certainly with symbolic intent, and the finely carved head of Christ, with his hair flowing upwards over the Virgin's supporting hand. There are four known other versions of this relief, and this suggests that a workshop, probably specialising in alabaster, was producing a number of similar pieces relatively cheaply. It is known that certainly during the 15th century Spanish alabasters were being exported to Germany. A precise attribution is not possible, but like the others this relief probably dates from around 1530, although it is reminiscent of a slightly earlier style; it is likely to have been made in Castile.