Europe's Oldest Wooden Statue ?
June 22 2020
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
ArtDaily has reported that an eight foot tall wooden crucifix known as 'Volto Santo de Lucca' might be Europe's oldest surviving wooden statue.
The sculpture had previously been thought by scholars to date to the 12th century. This was based on stylistic grounds, assuming the piece may have been a copy of a much older original. New carbon dating undertaken in Florence, taken from several areas of the work, suggests that the wood dates:
“to the end of the seventh century and the middle of the ninth,”
Accompanying photos suggest to me that the statue must have had several makeovers during the past few centuries.
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