Not currently on display at the V&A

St Mary Magdalene

Relief
ca. 1650 - ca. 1700 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Spain (made)

This ivory statuette in relief representing St. Mary Magdalene is Spanish or probably Hispano-filipino, and made in ca. 1650-1700. The iconography recalls Mary of Egypt. No direct parallels can be cited, although the figure is broadly analogous to an ivory relief of the same subject in the Museo de Artes Decorativas, Madrid.


Object details

Categories
Reliefs
Christianity
Religion
Object type
Relief
TitleSt Mary Magdalene (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Ivory
Ivory
Brief description
Statuette, ivory, St Mary Magdelene, Spanish, or perhaps Hispano-filipino, ca. 1650-1700
Physical description
This half-length figure of St. Mary Magdalene is naked to the waist except for a robe of haircloth draped around her left shoulder. She has long hair and carries a pot of ointment in her right hand, held up against her breasts. A tear can be seen at the corner of her left eye. The remains of a skull are visible at her waist. The base is fitted with a peg for fixing to a stand. It is flat at the back.
Dimensions
  • Height: 7.5cm
Object history
Given by Mrs Ellen Hearn, Villa St Louis, Menton in 1923; this and other objects presented at the same time were labelled as the Alfred Williams Hearn gift.
Subjects depicted
Pot
Skull
Mary Magdalen (Magdalene)
Summary
This ivory statuette in relief representing St. Mary Magdalene is Spanish or probably Hispano-filipino, and made in ca. 1650-1700. The iconography recalls Mary of Egypt. No direct parallels can be cited, although the figure is broadly analogous to an ivory relief of the same subject in the Museo de Artes Decorativas, Madrid.
Bibliographic references
  • Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Carvings in Ivory. Part II. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1929, p. 110
  • Trusted, Marjorie, Baroque & Later Ivories, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 2013, cat. no. 328, p. 334
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
A.43-1923

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O349391/st-mary-magdalene-relief-unknown/
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