Statuette, the Virgin and Child, carved, painted and gilded walnut on a gilded oak socle, Mechelen, ca. 1510

The Virgin is shown standing, holding Christ with her right arm. In her left hand she holds a passion flower, as a symbol of his future death and suffering - Christ leans forward to grasp it. He has gilded hair, and his garment was once decorated with silver patterns, which have oxidised into black. The Virgin has long gilded hair, and wears the typical circlet head-dress, made up of twisted ribbon and large pearls, common to many carved Netherlandish figures of this period. Small circular holes indicate that this probably originally had four decorative terminals in metal (either gilt tin or lead) as in other examples (see Williamson 2002). The Virgin's robe is also gilded, and has Gothic inscriptions around the edge, beginning and ending with a strawberry motif. These are largely indecipherable, but the letters M and A at the front refer to the Virgin Mary. Letters are also visible on the socle: '[I]HS' and 'MA[RIA]', separated by a flower, referring to Jesus and Mary. The Virgin stands on a green base, representing grass. The gilt and polychrome is mostly well-preserved, although there are some areas of overpaint, including the very dark blue of the inside of the Virgin's robe.
On the front of the Virgin's robe, at about the level of her knee, there is the remains of a stylised M - the usual Malines stamped mark guaranteeing the gilding. Unusually there is another stamp on a gilded background, on the front of the bottom of the socle, immediately below the central flower motif of the inscription. This has the initials IS flanking a symbol (see discussion under Historical Context).
The reverse of the figure has been shaved down to a smooth finish, probably in the 19th century, which may have removed the usual Malines shield mark. Most Malines figures have a rough finish on the reverse.
Only the fingertips on the Virgin's right hand, and the Child's left toe, are missing.

Bought from the sale of the Emile Gavet Collection (1.6.1897, lot 111) at Galerie George Petit, Paris, through the dealer, Fulgence, for £22 14s 10d.

The base bears a stamp with the initials IS flanking a symbol. Five other Malines figures bear stamps with the same intials/symbol (St Catherine in Erzbischöfliches Diözesanmuseum, Cologne; St Christopher formerly in the van den Berghe-Loontjes collection, Roulers; St Anthony formerly in the Welker Collection, London/Eastbourne, St Peter in the Musées royaux d'Art et d'Histoire, Brussels and St Barbara in the Bisschoppelijk Museum voor Religieuze Kunst, Haarlem). Because of their position (on the front, rather than the unpainted back of the figures), these are likely to indicate the painter, rather than the carver. He was possibly a Jan Schooff or Scoofs who was active in Malines in the first half of the sixteenth century, and employed as a decorative painter by the city authorities.
The Virgin holds a flower to which the Christ Child gestures. This has been interpreted (eg Williamson 2002, Godenne 1959) as a passion flower, but this would be a very early representation of a plant which didn't really appear in England from the New World before the early 17th century (A. M. Coats, Garden Shrubs and Their Histories, London, 1963, pp.238 ff). It would seem more likely that the flat flower with radiating petals was intended originally as a carnation, marigold, daisy or rose. All these flowers have associations with the Virgin and the Incarnation. The rose would be an appropriate choice, particularly if this figure was originally part of a hortus conclusus, as many of these Malines figures were. Adam, Abbot of Perseigne described the Virgin in his Mariale, as "a garden enclosed where ... the rose of her inextinguishable charity bloomed in its redness" (M. Levi d'Ancona, The Garden of the Renaissance: Botanical symbolism in Italian painting, Florence, 1977, pp. 176-7.
The figure is a good example of a popular figure-type produced in Malines in large numbers in the early 16th century. It would have been used either as a single figure for private devotion, or, in conjunction with others, as part of an altarpiece. It is in excellent condition.

This standing Virgin holds the Christ Child on her right arm. In her left hand she holds a passion flower - a symbol of Christ's future suffering. On her head is a circlet, which probably originally had four gilt tin or lead decorations. Her robe is decorated around the edge with inscriptions in Gothic characters. The letters M and A at the front clearly refer to the Virgin. The base has traces of red lettering at the front, with (I)HS and MA(RIA) separated by a flower.
On the front centre of the Virgin's robe, at about knee height, is a stylised M. This mark represents the Malines guarantee of the gilding. There is a further stamp with the initials I S at the centre of the lower edge of the base. This is unusual. About 12 Malines statuettes are marked with stamped monograms on their bases. Six of these, including this statuette, share the same symbol and the letters IS. These letters probably identify the person who painted the statuettes. They may be connected with a certain Jan Schoof or Scoofs. He was a painter who worked in Malines (Mechelen, Belgium) between about 1500 and 1550. The style of this Virgin and Child suggest that it was made in the first years of the 16th century.

637-1897