Probably depicting St. Nicholas and originally equipped with a pastoral, this wooden sculpture of a seated bishop saint fits into the context of the wooden statuary of central Italy, with specific references to the Abruzzo area, fertile throughout the Middle Ages by masters of this art, like the Master of Santa Caterina Gualino (XIII-XIV century). This sculpture, perhaps conceived as part of a larger complex including at least one other figure of a saint and a Madonna in Majesty, finds analogies, on a formal level, with other works dating back to the period between the end of the fourteenth century and the first half of the fifteenth century, with a possible comparison with a "St.Eutizio bishop" preserved in the Museo Nazionale d'Abruzzo in L'Aquila (M. Moretti, "Museo Nazionale d’Abruzzo nel castello cinquecentesco dell’Aquila", L'Aquila 1968, p. 40 ), in which both the features of the face and eyes, the realization of the drapery, as well as the general structure, is comparable to our sculpture. Other comparisons are possible with a "Madonna del Parto", also in the Museo Nazionale d'Abruzzo (inv. No. 220) and with a "Madonna Enthroned" of classicist structure published in Centro Studi Piero della Francesca, "Sculture antiche dal II secolo a. C. al XV", exhibition catalogue (Milan, Abbey of S. Maria di Chiaravalle, 15 June - 15 July 1969), Milan 1969, n. XII and recently auctioned on the Italian market.

Comparative literature: M. Moretti, "Museo Nazionale d’Abruzzo nel castello cinquecentesco dell’Aquila", L’Aquila 1968, pp. 40 and 121;
Centro Studi Piero della Francesca, "Sculture antiche dal II secolo a. C. al XV", exhibition catalogue (Milan, Abbey of S. Maria di Chiaravalle, 15 June - 15 July 1969), Milan 1969, n. XII.