Statuette

This boxwood statuette group representing Lot and one of his daughters was probably made in Netherlands or Lower Rhineland in about 1525-50. Such decorative carvings intended for both aristocratic and merchant customers were being produced from about 1520 onwards by Netherlandish workshops which had formerly carved wooden altarpieces. Although the subject is from the Old Testament, it shares with themes such as the Judgement of Paris an erotic quality that made it a common choice for inclusion in private 'cabinets of curiosities'.