The Virgin with the Dead Christ thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Sculpture 1300-1600, Room 27

The Virgin with the Dead Christ

Statuette
ca. 1370-1400 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
England (made)

Sculptures depicting this subject, the pieta, were primarily used as individual devotional objects. The use of walnut is unusual; English sculptures were predominately carved in oak.


Object details

Categories
Sculpture
Christianity
Object type
Statuette
TitleThe Virgin with the Dead Christ (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Walnut
Brief description
Statuette the Virgin with the dead Christ, walnut. English ca. 1370-1400.
Physical description
Walnut wood statuette of the Virgin with the dead Christ. The Virgin is seated, her head inclined slightly towards the body of Christ which she supports with her left arm. Christ has long hair and beard and wears the crown of thorns, his left hand hangs down vertically, his right about the the Virgin's neck. The wound of Christ show traces of colour, the lower part of the figure is slightly worm-eaten. The upper part of the figure has been recut.
Dimensions
  • Height: 31.5cm
  • Width: 15cm
  • Depth: 9.5cm
Gallery label
The Virgin with the Dead Christ About 1370–1400 Probably England Walnut Bequeathed by the Rt. Hon. F. Leverton Harris Museum no. A.85-1927(26/11/2010)
Object history
Bequeathed by the Rt. Hon. F. Leverton Harris in 1927.

Historical significance: Sculptures depicting the Pieta were primarily used as individual devotional objects.
Historical context
The vision of the grieving Virgin holding the body of her dead son on her lap seems to have been born out of the meditations of thirteenth-century mystics, who drew a parallel between the Passion of the Christ and the suffering of the Virgin.
Subjects depicted
Virgin
Christ
Summary
Sculptures depicting this subject, the pieta, were primarily used as individual devotional objects. The use of walnut is unusual; English sculptures were predominately carved in oak.
Bibliographic references
  • Victoria and Albert Museum, Review of the Principal Acquisitions During the Year 1927. London. pp. 4-5. pl. 3.
  • Cf. Alabaster Exhibition of Society of Antiquaries. 1913. no. 16.
  • Williamson, Paul and Evelyn, P. Northern Gothic Sculpture 1200-1450. London : Victoria and Albert Museum, 1988 pp.142,145
  • Cf. Müller, T. Gotische Skulptur in Tirol. Bozen: Verlagsanstalt Athesia, 1976. pl. 25.
  • Graves, Alun and Williamson, Paul. Philip Eglin, London : Victoria & Albert Museum, 2001 handlist, E
  • Exhibition of British primitive paintings: fromthe twelfth to the early sixteenth century: with some related illuminated manuscripts, figure embroidery and alabaster carvings, Royal Academy of Arts, William Clowes & Sons, 1923
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
A.85-1927

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O314533/the-virgin-with-the-dead-statuette-unknown/
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