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The Virgin and Child

Triptych
middle 14th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This is an ivory triptych made in the first half of the 14th century France. This triptych represents the Virgin and Child; the Annunciation and the three Magi on the right; the Nativity and the Presentation on the right wing. Ivory was used all over Europe for religious works of art. It was often combined with precious metals and usually took the form of relief panels, for book covers, portable altars and caskets. An almost unbroken tradition of ivory carving extends from the Roman and Byzantine empires until the end of the 14th century. From about 1250, Paris became the centre of production for figures and reliefs intended for private devotion. Other workshops emerged in Italy and Germany. Venice was one of the centres of ivory carving in Italy. Much of the work was based on French models. Some of the craftsmen may have been trained in Paris as their work often combines French and local styles.

The central panel of this triptych constitutes one of the largest ivory plaques known from the Gothic period (it is especially wide). The monumentality of the Virgin here is further emphasised by the way the figure fills the available space, with her head extending into the upper lobe of the trefoil arch in a manner not found in the other triptychs. This feeling of a giant compressed by its surroundings is only matched in one other triptych, now in a private collection in London.

The Gothic Triptych was to all intents and purposes a sub-branch of the tabernacle polyptych, with a shallower central panel and two, rather than four, hinged wings. The subject matter was the same, dominated by single images of the standing Virgin and Child and scenes from the infancy of Christ. Triptychs – like diptychs – are better suited to the needs of a travelling clientele, who would wish to take these small portable altars with them as aids to prayer. Some of them were intended to be carried in cases, usually of cuir bouilli (boiled leather).


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe Virgin and Child (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Carved elephant ivory in high relief
Brief description
Triptych, ivory, representing the Virgin and Child and the early life of Christ, France, middle of the 14th century
Physical description
In the centre is the monumental standing figure of the Virgin stands, crowned by an angel, holding in her left hand a lily and looking towards the Child upon her left arm. The Child, looking up to th Virgin's face, grasps her veil with his right hand and holds a small apple in his left. The canoppy above them consists of a trefoil arch on slender columns and is flanked by two turrets with niches. On the left wing are the Annunciation and the three Kings; on the right wing the Nativity and the Presentation. In the upper angles of the wings are angels bearing the Sun and the Moon. On the shutters are subjects from the early life of Christ.
Dimensions
  • Max height right side of central panel height: 30cm
  • Of central panel width: 14.8cm
  • Total at base width: 29.9cm
Object history
Purchased from John Webb, London, in 1866, for £448; previous provenance unknown, but not displayed with the other Webb ivories in the 1862 London exhibition, so presumably acquired by him between 1862 and 1866.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This is an ivory triptych made in the first half of the 14th century France. This triptych represents the Virgin and Child; the Annunciation and the three Magi on the right; the Nativity and the Presentation on the right wing. Ivory was used all over Europe for religious works of art. It was often combined with precious metals and usually took the form of relief panels, for book covers, portable altars and caskets. An almost unbroken tradition of ivory carving extends from the Roman and Byzantine empires until the end of the 14th century. From about 1250, Paris became the centre of production for figures and reliefs intended for private devotion. Other workshops emerged in Italy and Germany. Venice was one of the centres of ivory carving in Italy. Much of the work was based on French models. Some of the craftsmen may have been trained in Paris as their work often combines French and local styles.

The central panel of this triptych constitutes one of the largest ivory plaques known from the Gothic period (it is especially wide). The monumentality of the Virgin here is further emphasised by the way the figure fills the available space, with her head extending into the upper lobe of the trefoil arch in a manner not found in the other triptychs. This feeling of a giant compressed by its surroundings is only matched in one other triptych, now in a private collection in London.

The Gothic Triptych was to all intents and purposes a sub-branch of the tabernacle polyptych, with a shallower central panel and two, rather than four, hinged wings. The subject matter was the same, dominated by single images of the standing Virgin and Child and scenes from the infancy of Christ. Triptychs – like diptychs – are better suited to the needs of a travelling clientele, who would wish to take these small portable altars with them as aids to prayer. Some of them were intended to be carried in cases, usually of cuir bouilli (boiled leather).
Associated objects
Bibliographic references
  • Inventory of Art Objects acquired in the Year 1866. Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol. 1. London : Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 18
  • Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Carvings in Ivory. London: Published under the Authority of the Board of Education, 1927-1929, Part II, p. 12
  • Williamson, P., 'Medieval ivory carvings in the Wernher Collection', in: Apollo. CLV/483, 2002, p. 21, note, 11
  • Maskell, W., A Description of the Ivories Ancient and Medieval in the South Kensington Museum, London, 1872 pp. 58-59
  • Maskell, A., Ivories, London, 1905 p. 165, pl. XXXIII
  • Koechlin, R., Les Ivoires gothiques français, 3 vols, Paris, 1924 (reprinted Paris 1968) I, pp. 124, 125, note I, II, cat. no. 131, p. 58, III, pl. XXXVI
  • Williamson, Paul and Davies, Glyn, Medieval Ivory Carvings, 1200-1550, (in 2 parts), V&A Publishing, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2014 part 1, pp. 196-199
  • Williamson, Paul and Davies, Glyn, Medieval Ivory Carvings, 1200-1550, (in 2 parts), V&A Publishing, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2014, part 1, pp. 196-199, cat. no. 63
Collection
Accession number
141-1866

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Record createdAugust 8, 2008
Record URL
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