A 15th Century Carved Oak Corbel Of St.Nicholas.

This medieval corbel depicting St.Nicholas and the three boys in a tub.

The story of the tub appears to derive from an episode in the early vitae about three innocent soldiers who are unjustly condemned to death by a corrupt consul. Nicholas arrives just in time to the carnificina (execution-place), rescues them, and gives the consul a thorough scolding . 

The story is in the Golden Legend, but even before Voragine new versions had changed the young nobles into students who are killed but miraculously restored to life. In the play Tres Clerici of about 1200 , an innkeeper kills three students for their money. Later, St. Nicholas comes to the inn and urges him to repent and pray with him that God bring the students back to life. After they pray an angel announces that God has done so. 

The word carnificina also means "butcher shop," and in a later version the students are mere boys and the innkeeper has become a butcher who chops them up and puts them into a pickling barrel . St. Nicholas later puts the pieces back together and revives the boys. The version with the barrel and butcher is the one most likely to be referenced in the art.

This example is of good size showing St.Nicholas standing with the three boys next to him in a staved barrel tub.

Loses to his right arm,nose and crosier and restoration to the back structure for display purposes.

Dimensions

16" High

9" Wide

12" Deep.