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Near-lifesize statue 'Saint John the Baptist,' circa 1515, by The Master of the Harburger Altar (active around 1515 ). Painted and carved limewood. Image courtesy of The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.

Getty Museum buys St. John the Baptist sculpture

Catherine Saunders-Watson
Catherine Saunders-Watson
Near-lifesize statue 'Saint John the Baptist,' circa 1515, by The Master of the Harburger Altar (active around 1515 ). Painted and carved limewood. Image courtesy of The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
Near-lifesize statue ‘Saint John the Baptist,’ circa 1515, by The Master of the Harburger Altar (active around 1515 ). Painted and carved limewood. Image courtesy of The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES (AP) – J. Paul Getty Museum officials say they have acquired a 500-year-old limewood sculpture of St. John the Baptist.

Museum officials wouldn’t say how much they paid at a London auction Tuesday, but Sotheby’s online catalog shows the winning bid was about $488,000.

The 5-foot sculpture shows St. John the Baptist in a cloak cradling a lamb with a camel’s head between his feet.

Officials believe it was originally part of a church altar at the Schloss Harburg castle in southwestern Germany.

Getty officials say it will improve the museum’s collection of medieval sculpture and applied arts.

It is expected to go on display early next year.

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Online: http://www.getty.edu

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ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Near-lifesize statue 'Saint John the Baptist,' circa 1515, by The Master of the Harburger Altar (active around 1515 ). Painted and carved limewood. Image courtesy of The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
Near-lifesize statue ‘Saint John the Baptist,’ circa 1515, by The Master of the Harburger Altar (active around 1515 ). Painted and carved limewood. Image courtesy of The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.