South German or Austrian sculptor (active in the 18th century) Large sculpture of the Archangel Michael as a guardian of souls Limewood, carved in full relief, painted in colour and gilded. Painted over. Michael standing in a dynamically moving pose with his right leg bent and raised, holding the scales of the soul in his left hand and the flaming sword as an attribute in his raised right hand. Michael's head is slightly inclined and turned upwards towards the sky. Of particular sculptural quality is the depiction of the long robe, which is puffed up in thick, doughy folds and has been pulled down to below the left foot, while it has slipped down over the left shoulder, thus revealing the upper arm and the left side of the chest. In Christian iconography, the soul scales are regarded as one of the saintly attributes of the archangel Michael, the leader of the heavenly hosts and conqueror of Satan (or Lucifer) in various guises. Furthermore, in Christian iconography, the archangel Michael played an important role in the particular judgement and the Last Judgement by weighing the good and evil of people using a beam balance in his hand - the "soul balance". From the Middle Ages until the Baroque period of the 18th century, depictions of the Archangel Michael as the Weigher of Souls were widespread in frescoes, paintings and reliefs, and more rarely as sculptures. H. approx. 142 cm (without flaming sword); W. approx. 85 cm. Provenance: Dissolution of an important German private collection - part II. South German or Austrian sculptor active 18th century. Carved and gilt limewood sculpture of Saint Michael the Archangel. Polychromy overpainted.