Scuola europea (XX) - Mater Admirabilis

Iconography & Historical Provenance:

The front of the solid wood panel features a finely detailed devotional rendering of "Mater Admirabilis" (Mother Most Admirable), inspired by the famous 1844 fresco painted by Pauline Perdrau at the Trinità dei Monti monastery in Rome. The composition displays the young Virgin Mary seated in a serene Roman portico, reflecting in deep contemplation beside her spindle, wool basket, and a blooming white lily symbolizing her absolute purity. The lower register is adorned with elegant, hand-rendered Gothic liturgical calligraphy reading: "† Mater Admirabilis †".

Masterful Architectural Woodworking:

The painting is housed within an architectural frame meticulously hand-carved in a sharp Gothic lancet arch style. The true testament to the piece’s absolute rarity and elite craftsmanship is found on the reverse panel. Rather than utilizing a cheap modern attached leg, the 19th-century master carpenter hand-cut an elegant Gothic arch easel leg directly from the main wooden backplate.
Connected via an original flush-set brass hinge, this support leg folds outward seamlessly to let the piece stand as a tabletop altar icon, or folds perfectly flat and flush into the panel for flush wall hanging via its original top brass ring loop.

Technical Specifications:

Era: Late 19th Century to early 20th Century (Circa 1880–1920), Napoleon III Period)
Subject: Mater Admirabilis / The Virgin Mary at the Temple
Materials: Solid European Walnut (or fine fruitwood), Original Brass Hardware, Tempera/Fine Art Transfer Media with hand-painted accents.

Total Dimensions:
e.g., 11.34 inches / 28.8 cm Height x 5.5 inches / 14 cm Width x 0.8 inch / 2 cm Depth

Superb antique condition, museum-grade preservation. The premium wood choice has aged beautifully, retaining a rich, deep honey-brown patina with no structural warping or woodworm damage.
The front artwork is beautifully preserved with vivid pigments and crisp details.
The rear brass hinge mechanism functions well considering its age, closing perfectly flat into the recess.
The front panel top shows faint, stable micro-cracking (craquelure), consistent with natural atmospheric exposure over the last 100-plus years. These minor age lines do not impact the wood's structural integrity or the beauty of the artwork. Crucially, no repairs or restorations have been made to this piece; it remains in its pure, unaltered original state, to preserve its historical authenticity and investment value for serious collectors.

Collector note: This piece comes from the estate of a long-established French bourgeois family and was acquired following the settlement of an inheritance.