TABERNACLE WITH THE SAINTS PETER AND PAUL
carved, sculpted, painted and partially gilt wood
This refined tabernacle takes the form of a small sacred architecture, a sort of devotional tempietto that encapsulates the formal balance and scenographic taste characteristic of sixteenth-century artistic culture. It is not merely a liturgical object, but a symbolic space designed to exalt the sacred: the structure, inspired by the classical orders, is conceived to ennoble the central compartment, originally intended to house the Eucharist or relics of particular veneration.
On stylistic and structural grounds, the work can be attributed to a Sicilian workshop of the sixteenth century, a context in which the tradition of gilded wood carving achieved remarkable results, especially in the production of liturgical furnishings and small tabernacles intended for private chapels and domestic oratories.
The architectural structure, of clearly classicizing taste, is characterized by fluted Ionic columns resting on high plinths, which support an entablature enriched—like the base—with strongly projecting molded cornices, creating a lively interplay of light and shadow.
On the sides of the tabernacle, within painted niches, appear the figures of Saints Peter and Paul, rendered with rich pictorial decoration and enveloped in ample draperies. Saint Peter, identifiable by his light mantle over a dark tunic, holds the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven; on the opposite side stands Saint Paul, depicted with an austere and contemplative demeanor and traditionally associated with the sword, symbol of his martyrdom and of the power of the evangelical word. The two figures, placed in dialogue on either side of the tabernacle, are not accidental: together they represent the pillars of the Church and allude to the universal spread of the Christian message.
The entire surface of the object is enriched with exuberant foliate decorations executed using the ‘estofado’ technique, which animates the gilding with refined vegetal motifs. At the center opens a small door, on which the figure of the “Agnus Dei” is still discernible; it gives access to the inner compartment, itself decorated with scrolling foliage that echoes and extends within the rich ornamentation of the exterior.
Sicily, end of the 16th century
cm. 63x73x44
