Rare Set of Three James I Carved Oak Figures – Atlantes and Caryatid

A remarkable survival of early Stuart architectural carving, comprising two male kings (Atlantes) and a female figure (Caryatid), each rendered with striking detail. The kings are crowned and bearded, holding attributes of wisdom and authority, while the female figure is crowned with flowing hair and crossed arms in a pose of dignity and restraint.
All three figures are framed with bold drapery and terminating pilaster-like bases, designed to function both as ornament and as symbolic supports. Such carved figures once flanked chimneypieces, overmantels, or great furniture, bringing allegorical presence to the interiors of gentry and civic buildings.
Atlantes and Caryatids in this period were not merely decorative: they represented strength, virtue, and the upholding of divine order. The crowned kings embody earthly power and judgement, while the female Caryatid conveys grace, wisdom, and continuity. Together, they form a triad of Jacobean allegory — a rare survival as a group.
The bold carving style, with expressive faces and powerful modelling, is consistent with English work of c.1610–20, possibly from the West Country or Midlands where such figural ornament was in vogue.