Louis IX de France en croisé en bois sculpté et polychromé sur console et une paire de bougeoirs de style néo-gothiques en laiton, 19ème/20ème siècle

H 67,5 cm (the sculpture)

H 35 cm (the console)

H 59 cm (the candlesticks)

The statue of Louis IX of France or Saint Louis with an accompanying console.

The perception of Louis IX by his contemporaries as the exemplary Christian prince was reinforced by his religious zeal. Louis was an extremely devout Catholic, and he built the Sainte Chapelle (Holy Chapel), located within the royal palace complex (now the Paris Hall of Justice), on the Île de la Cité in the centre of Paris. The Sainte Chapelle, a prime example of the rayonnant style of Gothic architecture, was erected as a shrine for the Crown of Thorns and a fragment of the True Cross, precious relics of the Passion of Christ. He acquired these in 1239–41 from Emperor Baldwin II of the Latin Empire of Constantinople by agreeing to pay off Baldwin's debt to the Venetian merchant Niccolo Quirino, for which Baldwin had pledged the Crown of Thorns as collateral. Louis IX paid the exorbitant sum of 135,000 livres to clear the debt (link).