FRANCE, CHAMPAGNE, 16th CENTURY Saint Catherine or Saint Suzanne Carved wooden figure painted in polychrome The Saint is standing, wearing a gown belted at the waist; a ribbon adorns her long hair; she is holding a book in her right hand; resting on a later wooden base; old restorations, missing parts, traces of woodworm. H. 73 cm (28.74 in.) Total height: 79 cm (31.10 in.) A carved polychrome wood figure of Saint Catherine or Sainte Suzanna, French, Champagne, 16th century Provenance : Former Dormeuil collection, Sale in Paris, 17 June 1949, lot 75 ; Philippe Dennery Collection To the present owner by succession Comparative bibliography : Pierre-E. Leroy, Sculptures en Champagne au XVIe siècle, 300 chefs-d'oeuvres de la statuaire en champagne méridionale, Faton, Dijon, 2009, pp. 211-235. Saint Catherine is an important figure in Christianity, often celebrated as a martyr. According to tradition, she lived in Alexandria, Egypt, in the 3rd or 4th century. The daughter of a pagan nobleman, she received an exceptional education, becoming a talented scholar and orator, as evoked by the book she holds in her right hand. The story goes that she converted to Christianity and began preaching the Christian faith, attracting the attention of the Emperor Maxentius. Maxentius, furious at her speeches and popularity, tried to persuade her to renounce her faith and marry him, but Catherine refused. Susanna was a Roman martyr of the first centuries, and legend has it that she was beautiful and learned. The emperor Diocletian wanted her to marry the future emperor Maximian. When she revealed that she was a Christian, the two officers in charge of taking her to the imperial palace converted. All three were beheaded. On 11 August in the 4th or 5th century, a basilica founded by the priest Gaius was consecrated in Rome, near the Baths of Diocletian, and dedicated to Saint Susanna.