Saint Catherine of Alexandria, with the wheel of her torture - Lot 177

Saint Catherine of Alexandria, with the wheel of her torture at her feet, and the head of the emperor Maxentius, who condemned her and whom she avenged by trampling him underfoot. It symbolizes paganism and evil, against which the Christian triumphs. Oak 17th century 75 cm high Gaps Saint Catherine of Alexandria is said to have lived in Egypt in the 3rd century AD. The daughter of a king, she received a meticulous education and developed an intelligence that was admired by all. But one day, as she watched Christians being massacred, she challenged Emperor Maxentius and tried to prove to him that there was only one god, the Christian god. Although the emperor was charmed by the young woman's beauty, he was not convinced. So he summoned an assembly of scientists to Alexandria, who were supposed to reason with Catherine. Instead, she managed to convert them. Imprisoned, she even managed to convert Maxence's own wife! Mad with rage, Maxentius decided to put her on the wheel, from which she miraculously escaped, and then beheaded her. This story, taken from Jacques de Voragine's "Golden Legend", inspired numerous works of art throughout the Middle Ages. In these works, Catherine can be recognized by her attributes: the wheel of her torture (here in her left hand) and the sword that decapitated her (part of which can still be seen in her right hand).