A PIECE OF A CALVARY

SUPPORT AND ELABORATION 

This is a fragment of a relief that used to belong to an altarpiece or scene of a Crucifixion.  Made from one single piece of oak, its rear has been hollowed out irregularly and marks of gouges and other woodcarving tools may be seen. The upper, unhollowed out part of the piece corresponding to the rears of the heads of Longinus and his companion allow us to see the wood fibres that were torn when the timber was originally split open, which was the way Baltic oak was cut open back then. Two small fragments that have been attached with iron nails can also be seen.

The edges of the figure tell of their being adjusted to fit other adjacent reliefs or having been altered to fit into the original architectural composition of the altarpiece. The whole piece has been blackened by the smoke and soot of a fire.