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Statuette of Saint John

second half of 13th century
Object PlaceItaly
Medium/TechniqueGilded copper (100% copper, traces of zinc, lead and tin)
Dimensions8.1 x 1.9 x 1.6 cm (3 3/16 x 3/4 x 5/8 in.)
Credit LineH. E. Bolles Fund
Accession number56.501
On View
Not on view
ClassificationsMetalwork
Collections
Provenance1956, Walter Bornheim (b. 1888), Munich; 1956, sold by Bornheim, through August Laube, Zürich, to the MFA for $568. (Accession Date: October 11, 1956)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Walter Bornheim, a sculpture dealer based in Munich, is known for being one of Hermann Goering's most important art buyers. He was responsible for exporting many works of art from France to Germany during World War II. In addition, he took over the art gallery A. S. Drey when it was "Aryanized" in 1936. The United States Office of Strategic Services' Art Looting Investigation Unit (ALIU) issued a detailed interrogation report on his wartime activities as an art dealer in 1945. It is not known how this statuette -- at one time, probably part of a Crucifixion group -- came into his possession.