  About the Artwork
  
  
  This intricate wax relief depicts David, a hero of the Jewish Bible, with the head of his foe, Goliath. An inscription in the red German text interprets the scene. It declares in rhyming verse, “Here behold a wondrous thing. A shepherd strikes the Giant / His sling has done what no spear has proven / The sword now yields to the staff: the bearded head of the braggart now lies on the ground / For it had to be subjected to his own sword.” Though the figure of David may appear delicate and courtly, the inscription presents the young shepherd and future king as a warrior.  

Beginning in the late 1500s, detailed wax reliefs captured the imaginations of collectors by evoking the material world. Here, refined wax mimics David’s youthful skin and fluttering cloak, Goliath’s tangled beard and bejeweled helmet, and the rustling leaves of a tree in which a squirrel nibbles fruit.
  
  
  Title
  David and Goliath
  
  
  Artwork Date
  17th century
  
  Artist
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  Life Dates
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  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  German
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
  German
  
  
  Medium
  Colored wax
  
  
  Dimensions
  Unframed: 11 13/16 × 8 7/16 inches (30 × 21.5 cm)
  Framed: approx. 18 x 14 x 2.5 inches
  
  
  Classification
  Sculpture
  
  
  Department
  European Sculpture and Dec Arts
  
  
  Credit
  Museum Purchase, European Sculpture and Decorative Arts Deaccession Fund
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  2020.5
  
  
  Copyright
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