The Virgin and Child
Statuette
ca. 1690 - ca. 1710 (made)
ca. 1690 - ca. 1710 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This ivory statuette, representing the Virgin and Child, bears analogies with Cingalo-Portuguese (Sri Lanka) works, and is likely to date from the mid-seventeenth century.
Ivory sculptures were produced in large numbers in Portuguese Sri Lanka (formerly called Ceylon). From the sixteenth century onwards, the four main missionary Orders, the Augustinians, Jesuits, Dominicans and Franciscans, built churches and aimed to convert the inhabitants of India. The ivories would assist in the presentation of Christian imagery, as well as being exported back to churches, convents and private collectors in Europe.
Ivory sculptures were produced in large numbers in Portuguese Sri Lanka (formerly called Ceylon). From the sixteenth century onwards, the four main missionary Orders, the Augustinians, Jesuits, Dominicans and Franciscans, built churches and aimed to convert the inhabitants of India. The ivories would assist in the presentation of Christian imagery, as well as being exported back to churches, convents and private collectors in Europe.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Virgin and Child (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Ivory and alabaster |
| Brief description | Statuette, ivory and alabaster, 'The Virgin and Child', Cingalo-Portuguese (Sri Lanka), ca. 1650. |
| Physical description | Ivory statuette of the Virgin and Child; the smiling long-haired Virgin holds the Christ Child on her left arm; he has an apple in his hand. On a crudely carved alabaster base, onto the top of which a simple design of spheres and lozenges has been painted in red. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by Dr W.L. Hildburgh F.S.A. in 1927 |
| Object history | This group bears analogies with Cingalo-Portuguese works, and is likely to date from the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | This ivory statuette, representing the Virgin and Child, bears analogies with Cingalo-Portuguese (Sri Lanka) works, and is likely to date from the mid-seventeenth century. Ivory sculptures were produced in large numbers in Portuguese Sri Lanka (formerly called Ceylon). From the sixteenth century onwards, the four main missionary Orders, the Augustinians, Jesuits, Dominicans and Franciscans, built churches and aimed to convert the inhabitants of India. The ivories would assist in the presentation of Christian imagery, as well as being exported back to churches, convents and private collectors in Europe. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.59-1927 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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