Crucifix - Pear - 1900-1910 - Crucifix pear wood

Specifications and features of the object:
Type: Monumental altar- or chapel cross on a rocky base (Golgotha).
Dimensions: Height 1.07 meters, width 56 centimeters.
Weight: Under 10 kilograms (completely dried-out wood).
Corpus construction: The hand-carved wooden Jesus figure (the corpus) is built in three parts; the torso is vertically carved and both arms are inserted as separate pieces with a tenon-and-mro connection (tenon-fit).
Cross and base: The cross is rustic in shape, fashioned like tree trunks. The base represents the rock of Golgotha and is manually planed and hollowed on the underside.
Metal applications: The cross is equipped with cast metal elements (tin or patinated bronze), including decorative end knobs on the crossbars, an INRI plaque at the top, and a Memento Mori skull with crossed bones beneath the feet of the corpus.

This crucifix was made in the period between 1880 and 1920 (late 19th or early 20th century). There are three clear reasons pointing to this specific period: The neo-styles: Around 1900 there was in Europe a huge revival of interest in older art forms (such as the Gothic Revival and the Neobaroque). This type very rustic cross, deliberately rough as a natural tree trunk, was very popular for churches and home altars in that period. The metal applications: The combination of a hand-carved wooden Jesus figure with industrially cast metal elements (such as the INRI roll, the skull, and the decorative end knobs) is typical of the late 19th century. In this period craftsmen often combined their woodcarving with finer metal cast pieces that became available in larger quantities. The provenance: This type of folk art and church inventory was produced very widely in specialized regions in southern Germany (such as Oberammergau), Austria (Tyrol), and northeastern France. The object is thus, at an age of about 100 to 140 years, a splendid and legitimate antique piece.

This type of crucifix comes from southern Germany (the Bavaria region), Austria (Tyrol), or eastern France. There are a few specific features that strongly point to these regions: The wood-carving tradition: The Alpine regions (especially places like Oberammergau in Bavaria and the Grödnertal in Tyrol) were worldwide known around 1900 for their high-quality, hand-carved religious art. Whole villages lived from the production of these kinds of church- and chapel crosses. The 'tree trunk' cross (Astkreuz): The particularly rough and natural form of the cross as a tree trunk with knots is a typical Germanic and Central European tradition. In the German-speaking countries this is called an Astkreuz. It symbolizes the 'Tree of Life'. The tin/metal applications: The combination of woodcarving with cast tin or bronze components (the skull, knobs, and INRI plate) was widely used in that period in both German and French religious ateliers to give the crosses an extra rich appearance.