The Virgin and Child
Statuette
ca. 1300 - ca. 1320 (made)
ca. 1300 - ca. 1320 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Ivory was used all over Europe for religious works of art. It was often combined with precious metals and usually took the form of relief panels, for book covers, portable altars and caskets. An almost unbroken tradition of ivory carving extends from the Roman and Byzantine empires until the end of the 14th century. From about 1250, Paris became the centre of production for figures and reliefs intended for private devotion.
Three dimensional images of the Virgin and Child were ubiquitous from the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries, produced in a wide range of materials and sizes and testifying the overwhelming devotion to the Virgin. Together with the Crucifixion, statues and statuettes of the Virgin and Child were the principal objects of devotion in the Christian Church, and vast numbers were made for ecclesiastical, monastic and private worship.
Three dimensional images of the Virgin and Child were ubiquitous from the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries, produced in a wide range of materials and sizes and testifying the overwhelming devotion to the Virgin. Together with the Crucifixion, statues and statuettes of the Virgin and Child were the principal objects of devotion in the Christian Church, and vast numbers were made for ecclesiastical, monastic and private worship.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Virgin and Child (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Elephant ivory |
| Brief description | Statuette, ivory, The Virgin and Child, French (probably Paris), ca. 1300-20 |
| Physical description | Ivory statuette of the Virgin and Child. The Virgin, seated sideways on a backless throne towards the right, supports on her right knee the standing Child, who holds a bird in His right hand and an apple in His left. She holds a stem of a flower, now broken, in her right hand, and steps on a tiny dragon with her left foot. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | In the possession of John Webb, London, by 1862. Purchased from the Webb Collection in 1867. |
| Production | Possibly Paris School. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Ivory was used all over Europe for religious works of art. It was often combined with precious metals and usually took the form of relief panels, for book covers, portable altars and caskets. An almost unbroken tradition of ivory carving extends from the Roman and Byzantine empires until the end of the 14th century. From about 1250, Paris became the centre of production for figures and reliefs intended for private devotion. Three dimensional images of the Virgin and Child were ubiquitous from the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries, produced in a wide range of materials and sizes and testifying the overwhelming devotion to the Virgin. Together with the Crucifixion, statues and statuettes of the Virgin and Child were the principal objects of devotion in the Christian Church, and vast numbers were made for ecclesiastical, monastic and private worship. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 203-1867 |
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| Record created | December 23, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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