Stone sculpture: crowned female head, upper right part missing. Front view.
Queen of Sheba, Cl. 23250 © GrandPalaisRmn / Michel Urtado
Stone sculpture: crowned female head, upper right part missing. Three-quarter view.
Queen of Sheba, Cl. 23250 © GrandPalaisRmn / Michel Urtado
Sculpted head of a bearded man wearing a hat. Frontal view.
Moses, Cl. 23312 © GrandPalaisRmn / Michel Urtado
Moses, Cl. 23312
Moses, Cl. 23312 © GrandPalaisRmn / Michel Urtado
Sculpted head of a bearded man wearing a hat. Three-quarter view.
Moses, Cl. 23312 © GrandPalaisRmn / Michel Urtado
Sculpted head of a bearded man wearing a round hat. Frontal view.
Prophet, Cl. 23415 © GrandPalaisRmn / Michel Urtado
Sculpted head of a bearded man wearing a round hat. Three-quarter view.
Prophet, Cl. 23415 © GrandPalaisRmn / Michel Urtado

Heads of column statues

From the Abbey of Saint-Denis

Description

Not on display

Circa 1135-1140

High Middle Ages

Column statues were first erected in the embrasures of the portals on the west façade of Saint-Denis. This ensemble, produced at the behest of Abbot Suger and completed in 1140, featured prophets and kings from the Old Testament. Destroyed in 1771, it was only known through drawings, among them six heads dispersed between the Musée de Cluny and American museums. These remains include the head of the Queen of Sheba, her hair braided and wearing a crown decorated with cabochons.

From one artwork to another

Sculpted and fragmented head depicting a man with curly beard wearing a hat. Front-facing stone sculpture.
Head of the king of Judah No. 6, Notre-Dame de Paris, Cl. 22988 © GrandPalaisRmn / René-Gabriel Ojeda

Heads of the kings of Judah

First half of the 13th century

Stone sculpture: an angel blowing a horn near figures emerging from their tombs. Front view.
Resurrection of the Dead from Notre-Dame de Paris, Cl. 18643 © GrandPalaisRmn / Michel Urtado

Resurrection of the Dead

13th century

Stone sculpture of a standing angel with a round face and draped clothing. Front view on a neutral background.
Angel holding the instruments of the Passion, Cl. 18762 © GrandPalaisRmn / René-Gabriel Ojeda

Angels of Poissy

Late 13th century - early 14th century

Stone capital decorated with acanthus leaves. Front photograph.
Acanthus-decorated capital from the Abbey of Saint-Denis, Cl. 12119 © GrandPalaisRmn / Michel Urtado

Capitals from Saint-Denis

1140-1145