Virgin and Child
Relief
ca. 1480-1500 (made)
ca. 1480-1500 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This lunette, carved for an unidentified convent, depicts two nuns. The one kneeling on the Virgin’s right holds a crosier, or staff, which suggests that she is the abbess. The sculpture signified that the building belonged to a monastic order. The two kneeling nuns are the donors. It was common practice for people to pay for objects or decoration in a church, partly to show their piety but also to reduce their time in Purgatory. The shape and imagery of this relief, and the presence of the nuns, suggests that it comes from an external doorway in a convent church.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Virgin and Child (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Istrian stone |
| Brief description | Relief, Istrian stone, Virgin and Child, style of Pietro Lombardo, Venice, ca. 1480-1500 |
| Physical description | Istrian stone relief depicting the virgin and child with four saints and two nuns. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Gallery label | THE VIRGIN AND CHILD WITH FOUR SAINTS AND TWO NUNS
About 1475-1500
Style of Pietro Lombardo (about 1435-1515)
The two kneeling nuns are the donors. It was common practice for people to pay for objects or decoration in a church, partly to show their piety but also to reduce their time in Purgatory. The shape and imagery of this relief, and the presence of the nuns, suggests that it comes from an external doorway in a convent church.
Italy, Venice
Istrian stone
Museum no. A.141-1956
Given by F. Cavendish-Bentinck(2008) |
| Credit line | Given by F. Cavendish-Bentinck |
| Object history | Given by Mr. Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This lunette, carved for an unidentified convent, depicts two nuns. The one kneeling on the Virgin’s right holds a crosier, or staff, which suggests that she is the abbess. The sculpture signified that the building belonged to a monastic order. The two kneeling nuns are the donors. It was common practice for people to pay for objects or decoration in a church, partly to show their piety but also to reduce their time in Purgatory. The shape and imagery of this relief, and the presence of the nuns, suggests that it comes from an external doorway in a convent church. |
| Bibliographic reference | Pope-Hennessy, John. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Volume I: Text. Eighth to Fifteenth Century. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1964, pp. 352, 3 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.141-1956 |
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| Record created | June 8, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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