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The Virgin
Unknown - Enlarge image
The Virgin
- Object:
Statuette
- Place of origin:
Tournai, Belgium (possibly, made)
- Date:
ca. 1480 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Unknown (production)
- Materials and Techniques:
Carved limewood, painted and gilded
- Museum number:
714C-1895
- Gallery location:
In Storage
This figure of the Virgin Mary originally formed part of a Calvary group. Calvary was the name of the place where Jesus was crucified. The group included this figure, together a figure of Saint John the Evangelist (Museum no. 714D-1895), with the Crucifixion at the centre. Such groups were usually set on a beam that supported the rood or cross in a church. They were found everywhere in the late Middle Ages. However, these particular figures have a very distinctive style. This allows us to be reasonably certain that they were made in the region around Tournai and north-western Hainaut (Belgium). Most sculptors in this area worked in oak. Limewood figures, such as this piece, are unusual.
