Alfred Gilbert (1854–1934) was probably the greatest and best known sculptor in pre-20th century British art. Works such as The Shaftesbury Memorial (Eros) located at the southeastern side of Piccadilly Circus, The Alexandra Memorial opposite St James Palace, and The Clarence Tomb at St George’s Chapel, Windsor are just a few of his public monuments.

Gilbert was just nineteen years old when he joined the Royal Academy of Arts, where he was exposed to the influence of Lord Frederic Leighton and Aimé-Jules Dalou (at that time exiled in London and teaching at the South Kensington School of Art). In 1875 Gilbert moved to Paris, and then, three years later, to Rome. This contact with European arts was hugely influential, and the impact of the Italian Renaissance would continue as a thread throughout his career (Donatello's David (c. 1440s) and Cellini's Perseus with the Head of a Medusa (1545-1554) come to mind in Gilbert's work).

Known as The Miraculous Wedding the present statuette depicts Saint Catherine and thus refers to both St Catherine of Alexandria, the 4th century Egyptian royal who converted to Christianity, and St Catherine of Siena, the 14th century Italian member of the Dominican Order. Both experienced visions in which they mystically wed the Christ child. The present bronze makes reference to each through the heavy veils which could variously be interpreted as those of the Egyptian royal or the Dominican nun, who were both frequently represented in the artistic tradition: imagery with which Gilbert would have been well acquainted.

It was conceived by Gilbert in his working of figures of Saints to surround his masterpiece, the tomb of the Duke of Clarence (1892-1928), which dominates the Albert Memorial Chapel at Windsor Castle. Notably the present statuette stands on a base of swirling clouds and dragon scales which compares directly to the base of St George, the most celebrated Saint from the series.

Additional casts are in the Birmingham Art Gallery and the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and one sold at Sotheby’s, London, 20 November 1997, lot 131.

Alfred Gilbert’s work is held in major public collections around the world including in the Tate Gallery, London; The Victoria & Albert Museum, London; The Metropolitan Museum, New York; Detroit Institute of Arts and The Musée d'Orsay, Paris.