Altar Bust of Saint James the Greater, Linden Wood, Lower Silesia, Turn of the 15th/16th Century.

The attribution of this sculpture to Lower Silesian guild workshops, operating under the strong influence of the Wrocław master Jacob Beinhart, is confirmed by a unique set of formal and stylistic features [cf. niezlasztuka.net]. The saint's face, with its deep, melancholic expression, is characterized by a specific incision of the eyelids, formed by simple, sharp chisel cuts creating an almond shape, which is a characteristic hallmark of Wrocław woodcarving at the turn of the centuries. Also distinctive to this region is the ornamental arrangement of the beard, divided into compact, tubular strands that curl at the ends into regular, spiral volutes, representing a simplified adaptation of the Nuremberg style. Another workshop argument is the purely artisanal, angular anatomy of the right hand with transverse joint incisions, which, unlike the expressive works from Lesser Poland, prioritized the functionality of grip for a movable, now lost, pilgrim's staff. The entire justification concludes with the specific, high, and rolled shape of the hat's upturned brim, which in the iconography of the turn of the century dominated the fashion exclusively in the areas of Silesia, Bohemia, and southern Germany.