Virgin and Child
Statuette
1240-70 (made)
1240-70 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The Virgin is seated on a plain moulded bench, dressed in loose voluminous robes and with her head covered. She supports the Christ-child, also dressed in loose robes, on her left knee with her left hand on His left shoulder. The sculpture was originally completely gilded and there are considerable remains of the gilding still visible where the later overpainting has been rubbed away. There is a channel inside the bench and is it possible that the state was originally made to contain a relic.
The statue dates from the thirteenth century and owes a stylistic debt to French sculpture which influenced work across Northern Europe.
The statue dates from the thirteenth century and owes a stylistic debt to French sculpture which influenced work across Northern Europe.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Virgin and Child |
| Materials and techniques | Boxwood |
| Brief description | Statuette, boxwood, Virgin and Child, France, 13th cent |
| Physical description | Statuette, boxwood, originally gilded. The Virgin in loose robes is seated on a bench, her head turned very slightly to the right, her eyes looking down. With her left hand she supports the child, also in a long loose robe, who is seated on her left knee. The whole figure has been gilded (original) and later over painted (red and black paint?) Both the over-painting and the gilding have worn away. The Virgin's right hand and both hands of the child have broken off and also the Virgin's veil to the left and a large splinter from the base. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Gallery label | The Virgin and Child
About 1240–70
Probably northern France
Boxwood
Purchased with funds from the bequest
of Francis Reubell Bryan
Museum no. A.200-1946(26/11/2010) |
| Credit line | Purchased with funds from the bequest of Francis Reubell Bryan |
| Object history | Bought from Sydney Burney for £125. Historical significance: The influence of French sculpture spread throughout Northern Europe in the first half of the thirteenth century. Many Mosan wood sculptures owe a considerably stylistic debt to French prototypes. |
| Historical context | The precious gilded appearance of the statuette, together with its likely function as a reliquary, suggests an affinity with contemporary Mosan goldsmiths' work, and indeed the soft folds of the drapery recall the treatment of cloth on gilt bronze and copper figures of the first half of the thirteenth century. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | The Virgin is seated on a plain moulded bench, dressed in loose voluminous robes and with her head covered. She supports the Christ-child, also dressed in loose robes, on her left knee with her left hand on His left shoulder. The sculpture was originally completely gilded and there are considerable remains of the gilding still visible where the later overpainting has been rubbed away. There is a channel inside the bench and is it possible that the state was originally made to contain a relic. The statue dates from the thirteenth century and owes a stylistic debt to French sculpture which influenced work across Northern Europe. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.200-1946 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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