Susannah and the Elders

The Biblical story of Susannah and the Elders was frequently taken as an example of innocent virtue triumphing over vice. Falsely accused of adultery by two old men who desired her and spied her bathing, she was saved by the prophet Daniel who proved her innocence. In this relief the sumptuous effect of the coloured wax is augmented by the use of real seed pearls and textiles, especially for the central figure of Susannah. It is one of the finest works of Daniel Neuberger the Younger, the leading member of a family of sculptors in wax in Augsburg. Daniel spent a portion of his career at the Imperial court in Vienna, where he is recorded as having taught the Emperor Leopold I to model in wax.