Hendrick de CLERCK (Brussels 1570 - 1630) Virgin and Child between Saint Adrian of Nicomedia and Charlemagne Round copper Diameter: 26.5 cm Monogrammed at the bottom "HDC" (bound) Provenance : In the same family of Belgian origin, since the early 20th century. Saint Adrian, to the left of the Virgin Mary, carries an anvil, an attribute of his martyrdom in Nicomedia in 290 (Izmit in Turkey today). An officer of the Emperor Maximian, Adrian was thrown into prison after his conversion to Christianity. The executioners smashed his hands and feet with hammers on an anvil. The lion lying by his side symbolizes the exercise of his faith and his courage during his torture. His relics were transferred to the Grammont monastery in Flanders in 1110. Charlemagne is dressed in a fleur-de-lis mantle and wears the imperial insignia: crown, globe, scepter or sword. He is depicted wearing a nimbus. Charlemagne was canonized in 1165, glorifying the legend of an emperor who had unified Europe. This made Charlemagne the object of liturgical worship in many Western European countries.