This Virgin and Child group seems to depend on an early model by Donatello, possibly identifiable as a terracotta relief in the Bode-Museum, Berlin (inv. M 88) that is similar though not identical in composition. Certainly this relief was carved by a follower of Donatello, as its style and low-relief technique imitate Donatello.

The background of the relief is perforated (later plaster fills, added at some point after the sculpture entered the South Kensington Museum in 1861, were removed during conservation work ahead of the Donatello exhibitions in 2022-2023). The perforations may originally have been filled with mosaic tesserae, like those used on Donatello's Cantoria (Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Florence) and on the external pulpit of Prato Cathedral. The Cantoria (1435-38) provides a point of reference for the present relief, but the advanced illusionistic scheme suggests that it was made after 1443, when Donatello transferred his studio to Padua. While there can be little doubt of Donatello's responsibility for the general design, which is recorded in other reliefs in marble, terracotta, stucco and cartapesta, this relief was very likely carved by a student or follower.

Donatello (ca. 1386-1466) was an early Renaissance sculptor from Florence, who became well known for his low-relief works. He was among the most imaginative and versatile artists of the Renaissance, famous for his rendering of human character and for his dramatic narratives.