Not currently on display at the V&A

The Coronation of the Virgin

Panel
15th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This alabaster panel representing The Coronation of the Virgin was probably made in the 15th century England. There was doubtless a representation of God the Holy Spirit either in the form of a third individual or as a Dove in the missing part of the panel above the head of the Virgin.

The carving of alabaster, mostly quarried in Tutbury and Chellaston near Nottingham, took on industrial proportions in England between the middle of the 14th and the early 16th centuries. The market for altarpieces and smaller devotional images was a large one. It included not only religious foundations but also the merchant classes. Many hundreds of English alabasters were exported, some as far afield as Iceland and Santiago de Compostela in north-west Spain.
Alabaster - a form of gypsum - is a comparatively soft material and is therefore easy to carve. It can also be polished. Its natural colour was especially useful for the representation of faces and flesh, which would normally remain unpainted.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe Coronation of the Virgin (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Carved alabaster
Brief description
Alabaster panel depicting the Coronation of the Virgin. English, 15th century.
Physical description
The crowned Virgin, wearing a close-fitting gown and a cloak fastened with a brooch, is enthroned in the centre of the panel, her hands held together. Above to the left, enthroned on a projection, is the crowned and bearded figure of God the Son, wearing a belt and a cloak fastened by a brooch. He turns towards the Virgin, his hands raised. A similar figure of God the Father is enthroned on the right of the panel, holding an orb in his left hand, right hand raised. Both are shown with bare feet; the Virgin wears shoes.

There was doubtless a representation of God the Holy Spirit either in the form of a third individual or as a Dove in the missing part of the panel above the head of the Virgin. The top of the panel has been damaged and reshaped in a zigzag outline, with a hole under each point. The top right side of the panel is missing. The carving is badly weathered. The left hand of the Son and the right hand of the Father are missing.

No paint remains of the panel. The back of the panel bears four holes, three plugged with lead with the remains of latten wire.
Dimensions
  • Height: 33cm
  • Width: 23.4cm
From Cheetham, English Medieval Alabasters, 1984.
Style
Credit line
Alfred Williams Hearn Gift
Object history
Given by Alfred William Hearn in 1923.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This alabaster panel representing The Coronation of the Virgin was probably made in the 15th century England. There was doubtless a representation of God the Holy Spirit either in the form of a third individual or as a Dove in the missing part of the panel above the head of the Virgin.

The carving of alabaster, mostly quarried in Tutbury and Chellaston near Nottingham, took on industrial proportions in England between the middle of the 14th and the early 16th centuries. The market for altarpieces and smaller devotional images was a large one. It included not only religious foundations but also the merchant classes. Many hundreds of English alabasters were exported, some as far afield as Iceland and Santiago de Compostela in north-west Spain.
Alabaster - a form of gypsum - is a comparatively soft material and is therefore easy to carve. It can also be polished. Its natural colour was especially useful for the representation of faces and flesh, which would normally remain unpainted.
Bibliographic reference
Cheetham, Francis. English Medieval Alabasters. Oxford: Phaidon-Christie's Limited, 1984. p. 218 (cat. 145), ill. ISBN 0-7148-8014-0
Collection
Accession number
A.28-1923

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Record createdNovember 8, 2002
Record URL
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