Saint Anne Engraving In Silver, Gold and Bronze, Engraved and Signed By Bernard Wicker, Depicting Saint Anne With The Virgin Mary at Auray

Saint Anne Engraving In Silver, Gold and Bronze, Engraved and Signed By Bernard Wicker, Depicting Saint Anne With The Virgin Mary at Auray

Where to start with this amazing piece of Christian art by one of the finest engravers France ever produced, Bernard Wicker.

Work by this artist rightly commands high values whenever they come for sale or auction. A small piece by him recently sold at Bonhams auction house in London for over €160.

The attention to detail and the craftsmanship are exquisite.

The frame is of bronze onto which has been set a thin layer of copper.

A piece of sterling silver has been set into the bronze frame and then painstakingly engraved. Onto this the figure of Saint Anne with The Virgin Mary is layered from a piece of copper that has been silver plated. To create the shadows the silver has been gently rubbed to reveal the copper below. The crowns are gold plated.

At the base is engraved Sainte Anne D'Auray.

An absolute masterpiece.
Sainte-Anne-d'Auray is a village in the Diocese of Vannes (Morbihan), in Brittany, famous for its sanctuary and for its pilgrimages, or "pardons", in honour of Saint Anne, to whom the Breton people, in very early times, on becoming Christian, had dedicated a chapel. This first chapel was destroyed about the end of the seventh century, but the memory of it was kept alive by tradition, and the hamlet was called "Keranna", i.e. "Village of Anne"

This beautiful piece measures 7.5 x 5 centimetres