A Copper Processional Crucifix Limoges, 13th century

Centered by a figure of Christ mounted by nails to hands and feet, the trefoil terminals mounted with casings inset with hardstone and rock crystal cabochons; the aureole and beams engraved to front and back with elaborate foliate scrolls and the whole with allover traces of gilding, mounted on a later wood stand.

H: 19 3/4, W: 10 in. (crucifix only); H: 24 1/2 in. (overall on stand)

Note

For a similar example, see Freeman's, Philadelphia, October 18, 2016, lot 181.

Norman Stanley Potter (1926–1970) was a collector with wide-ranging interests who developed an eye for classical arts and built a collection of Asian art, antiquities, and early European art. Born to Polish immigrants in New York City, Potter began his self-edification in the arts while exploring the Metropolitan Museum of Art in his youth. As a prominent mathematician and engineer, he participated in the Manhattan Project and later was a designer of complex defense systems. Together with his wife, the abstract artist Berne Potter, he was active in the art and antique worlds of New York and became friends with important gallerists and collectors, including Julius Carlebach and Melvin Gutman.

Provenance

Cole Galleries Ltd, New York.

Acquired directly from the above, according to family tradition.

Property from the collection of Mr. Norman Potter, acquired prior to December 28, 1970.

Thence by descent.