Wooden Sculpture: Judith And Holofernes, Veneto, 1500s.

Wooden Sculpture: Judith and Holofernes, Veneto, 1500s.

16th-century wooden sculpture depicting the Biblical scene of Judith and Holofernes.

This is how Judith, a young Jewish girl from Bethulia, comments in the Bible on her heroic act that led Israel to the liberation of her people from the siege of Nebuchadnezzar's army. Judith had shown up at the camp of the cruel Holofernes, leader of the enemy army, dressed in her best clothes, pretending to want to ally with him. The Assyrian general, struck by her beauty, invited her to a rich banquet in his tent. After eating and drinking, Holofernes, drunk, falls asleep in his bed, giving Judith the opportunity to snatch his scimitar and deliver the fatal blow.

Epoch: 1500s.
Very rare biblical iconography of this subject.
Presumably from the Veneto area.

Measurements: 34 x 23 cm - height 92 cm.