Artistic values
St. Alsunga Michael’s Catholic Church
Sculptures of St. Peter and the apostle John
The sculptures were created as a set as components of the retable of the old altar of the Alsung Catholic Church. High-value, attributed works of the well-known Courland Baroque master Johan Merten, which characterize the continuation of the traditions of the Ventspils school of woodcarvers in the 18th century and the high professional level of the sacred art heritage of Courland.
St. Peter. Facing, full-length figure of the apostle standing on a rounded base plate. The right hand, bent at the elbow, holds the keys, the left holds a closed book leaning against the side. The white, long, plastically draped dress was received with a belt, on top of it a wide, pink cloak, draped over one shoulder and the other arm in the front, the folds of the cloak matching the contours of the figure. Small head, face with long, Semitic features, small beard and curly short hair. The sculpture is polychrome painted.
Sculpture St. Peter, 1720s. Photo: Anita Bistere, 2012.
St. John. The apostle John is depicted in full height, standing in the opposite view on the base of a rounded plate. The right hand is raised in a gesture of blessing, in front of him in the left hand he holds a huge cup. A light, draped gown with a collar, over which is a green cloak. One end of it is thrown around the right arm, the other is wrapped around the left shoulder and pinned behind the belt. A thick neck, an elongated face with robust features in the reverse view, long curly hair over the shoulders (the top of the head is disproportionate, suffered from transformations). The sculpture is polychrome painted. The plasticity of the representation is emphasized by the dynamically solved draping of the dress.
Sculpture Apostle John 18th, 1720s. Photo: Anita Bistere, 2012.
Easter Christ sculpture
High-quality, professionally designed 18th century. A sample of a polychrome sculpture, which characterizes the spread of a certain iconographic type of the representation of Christ and the persistence of baroque art traditions in the sacred sculptural heritage of Courland. On a polygonal base, a globe above which is the figure of Christ in the traditional iconographic solution of the Christ of the Resurrection scene. Christ is depicted in a light movement, in a half-step, with one leg resting on a sphere, with the other leaning on a skull. He raised one hand in a gesture of blessing, the other bent at the elbow. It had a flagpole (now lost). The head with its elongated face, curled hair and small beard is turned to the side, the body is covered by a large, draped cloak that reaches to the base of the sculpture at the back. The modeling of body shapes is delicate, the cloak is received over one shoulder and made in expressive forms. The figure is naturally painted, the cloak is gilded. The sculpture was restored in 2012 (Aida Podziņa).
Sculpture of the Easter Christ, secone part of the 18th century (?). Photo: Anita Bistere, 2012.
Ornate with accessories
The item is valuable as a rare item, well preserved, made in the 18th century. A sample of textiles from the second half and evidence of the traditions of making and using ornaments, as well as the wider context of the area of Latvian sacred art heritage.
Vestment – traditional form of liturgical vestment (so-called violin form) with a wider back part and a narrower front part with a rounded lower edge. The front and back are made of wide fabric with narrower strips of fabric added on either side. A composition of a central ornament on a red background: large silver floral motifs symmetrically arranged and placed around the central axis in a rhombic frame formed by broad leaves. In the center of the rhombuses, a flower bouquet with three yellow flower motifs woven into it. The ornament is trimmed with a silver brocade ribbon, its stitching also around the neckline and triangular-shaped stitching on the back. The lining is pink, faded.
The chair and maniples are made of the same fabric, supplemented with brocade ribbon stitching, they have a traditional shape – a wide ribbon with widened trapezoidal ends. Bursa and velum in the form of a square, trimmed with a brocade ribbon, they have ribbon stitching in the form of a cross. Silk, silver and gold threads, linen, wool. The fabric is made in Eastern Europe.
Ornate with accessories (stola, maniplus, bursa, vellum), 18th century. Photo: 2011, Ruta Kaminska.
Vellum and bursa. Photo: 2013, Andris Vasilevskis.
Ornate fabric. Photo: 2012, Anita Bistere.
Ornate with accessories
The item is valuable as a rare item, well preserved from the 19th century. A sample of textiles from the second half and evidence of the traditions of making and using ornaments, as well as the wider context of the area of Latvian sacred art heritage.
Vestment – traditional form of liturgical vestment (the so-called violin form) with a wider back part and a narrower front part with a rounded lower edge. Trimmed with a tray-woven, yellow brocade ribbon with a rosette motif woven into it. The front and back are made of two pieces of fabric sewn together. The stitching of two brocade ribbons vertically divides the plane of the ornament into 3 strips (also covering the seam in the fabric connection). The ribbon also decorates the neckline, its stitching in the shape of a triangle also on the back. The main tone of the fabric is saturated blue, on it are woven golden brocade motifs of flowers and fruit buttons (?), which are arranged alternately around wavy strings vertically. Flower center – pink knobs accented with light blue-green tone (faded, original green). Lining pink, faded. An inscription with the date of the product on the lining.
Manipula, velum and bursa traditional shape. All of them use ornate fabric, they are trimmed with ribbon, supplemented with a sewn-on ribbon cross. Silk, silver and gold threads, cotton(?), linen(?). The fabric is made in Eastern Europe.
Ornate with accessories. Photo: 2012, Anita Bistere.
Ornate fabric. Photo: 2012, Anita Bistere.
Vellum and bursa. Photo: 2013, Andris Vasilevskis.
Ornate with accessories. Photo: 2011, Ruta Kaminska.
Candlesticks
Candlesticks are significant as a characteristic of the 18th century sample of production of tin foundry workshops. They represent the scarcely preserved type of ornately decorated candlesticks with rococo style features. The candlesticks have a triangular base with a strong face concavity, wide, profiled side edges and relief motif decoration. It rests on stylized claws. Stem columnar, grooved at the top. Above it is a ridge and a conical finial. Placeable disc-shaped candle drip trays. Candlesticks are used for carrying out the dead, they are painted black. Tin, cast, painted. Dimensions: height 68 cm, feet width 25 cm.
