658 - Embroidery depicting the Miracle of the Crab of Saint Francis Xavier

Embroidery depicting the Miracle of the Crab of Saint Francis Xavier Petit point embroidery with loop stitch in dyed silk on canvas, mounted on card, framed. At the centre, Saint Francis Xavier kneels on the shore of the Indian Ocean with his hands clasped in prayer. In the water before him is the crab holding a crucifix between its claws. Several indigenous figures stand behind him. Some localised losses to the black, minor stains. Height 21.5, width 28.5 cm. Frame height 28, width 38 cm. After an engraving by Bartholomäus Kilian (1630 - 1696), 18th C. The so-called Miracle of the Crab is recounted in a legend from the life of Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552). During a storm on a sea voyage, he threw his crucifix, attached to a cord, into the water, whereupon the storm immediately subsided. The crucifix was nevertheless lost. After the ship reached the mainland unharmed, a crab approached Francis Xavier and returned the crucifix to him. The Jesuit is regarded as one of the pioneers of Christian missionary work in Asia. The embroidery was made after an engraving by the Augsburg engraver Bartholomäus Kilian (1630-1696). The print is held in Braunschweig at the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, inv. no. BKilian AB 2.205. Provenance Christie's London, auction on 8 May 1969, lot 148. Christie's London, auction on 24 January 2001, lot 88. Exhibitions China und Europa. Chinaverständnis und Chinamode im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert, from 16 September to 11 November 1973 in Schloss Charlottenburg, Berlin. Literature For Kilian, see Hämmerle, "Kilian, Augsburger Verleger- und Kupferstecher-Familie des 16. - 18. Jahrhunderts", in: Thieme/Becker/Vollmer (eds.), Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart, vol. 20, Leipzig 1927, pp. 288 ff.