Created by an anonymous sculptor around 1600 in the former Low Countries regions, or perhaps in West Germany, the present bas-relief is an imposing and rare Fragment of a family epitaph. In its original state, the epitaph must have depicted the family praying before the Crucified Christ. The Christ evidently stood on the Cross, whose lower part is found at the center of the present sculpture. Damaged at an undetermined time, the present fragment thus constitutes the lower part of the epitaph, with the seven members of a family, all kneeling and in prayer before the cross. From this epitaph, the clues that would have allowed us to identify the represented family and its different members have unfortunately all disappeared; it is assumed that coat of arms must have been engraved in the upper part and that inscriptions referring to the identity of the family and its most important members were inscribed on the lower part.

The present fragment arrived during the 20th century at the famous gallery of Wladimir Rosenbaum, called Galleria Casa Serodine, in Ascona in Italian Switzerland. Installed in a historic building that is now part of the Museo Comunale d’Arte Moderna di Ascona, Wladimir Rosenbaum sold several ancient works, including certain antiquities of remarkable quality and great historical importance. Acquired by a private collection in 1962 as a Rhenish work from around 1500 (see Provenance), the sculpture was then installed in a wall of the house.

Undoubtedly, the male figure with long hair standing at the extremity of the bas-relief can be identified as the father of the family and the husband of the female figure wearing a veil, located at the right extremity of the sculpted fragment. The couple had at least four children: three daughters, represented on the right side of the work, and a young boy, who stands in front of his father. In front of the couple’s youngest child, the older male figure praying directly to the left of the cross must be the children’s grandfather, and probably the father of the man at the far left. At an undetermined date, but most probably shortly after the creation of the Family epitaph (around 1600), the young child, the grandfather, and the eldest of the three daughters passed away, as indicated by the mortuary crosses, added later, above their heads. The addition of these crosses evidently marks the intimate character of the historical artwork at hand, as well as the personal use the family made of the epitaph, which once adorned the private chapel of the represented family.

The detailed and fine clothing worn by the figures (the men’s tunics with the buttonhole in the center, the hat placed at the foot of the cross as well as the women’s headdresses, with hair pulled up in a sort of hood) indicates that the present family was from the aristocracy or bourgeoisie of the period. The costumes particularly refer to fashion in the former Low Countries around the late 16th century and later. Stylistic analysis also shows some interesting similarities with Western German sculpted production from the very late 16th century of the early 17thc century. Moreover, we note the presence of the prayer book, certainly a Book of Hours, placed on the hat at the foot of the cross. This indicates, like the epitaph itself, the pious character and social position of the represented family. Furthermore, the presence of ruffs, very fashionable from the end of the 16th century, confirms a dating around 1600.