A Totenschild for Michel Hess zum Freijen Thurn
Monumental funerary sculptures such as this Totenschild flourished in the southern German-speaking region in the 15th and 16th centuries. Although their origins stretch back to the 12th century, when the shields or helmets of fallen knights would be hung in churches to memorialise the dead, the present example is typical of mid-16th century examples from Tyrol where designs became extremely elaborate and three-dimensional.
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