Statuette, ivory, the Virgin and Child - 'Theotokos Hodegetria' or 'The Mother of God showing the Way', Byzantine (Constantiople), probably late 10th or early 11th century

Ivory figure of the Mother of God Hodegetria ('showing the way' i.e. through the infant Christ), carved in the round. Part of the base has been lost, and in many areas the details of the figure have been lost through polishing. The head of Christ is a later restoration, most probably in the Castellani workshops in Rome in the 19th century. The proportions of both figures are elongated. Both are identified by small inscriptions on their robes. A lozenge-pattern of dots is visible on the Mother of God's cloak, suggesting that the figure was originally painted and gilded. There is a large dowel hole on the underside, extending 7cm into the statuette.

Formerly in the collection of Alexandro Castellani, Rome, purchsed through C.D.E. Fortnum, Rome, 3rd April, 1884, lot 584, £94.
The statue represents the Theotokos Hodegetria, the 'Mother of God showing the Way' by gesturing towards the Christ Child, a type derived from the celebrated miracle-working icon kept in the Hodegon monastery in Constantinople.
The original setting of this unique statuette reamins uncertain.

Historical significance: The Virgin and Child was an especially popular subject for Byzantine artists. These representations were invariably in relief, either on a large scale in marble or in smaller versions in ivory, metalwork or semi-precious stones.

Statuary in the round is almost unknown in Byzantine Art - this is the sole surviving example - although there is said to have ben an ivory statue of St Helena in Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, other similar surviving sculptural represantation are all reliefs. There is a monumental marble version in the Istanbul Archeological Museum which is very close, and several ivory plaques, which probably once formed the central panels of triptychs, survive in various museums. The basic format of the Hodegetria remains unchanged; even the drapery patterns hardly vary from one piece to another.
Although the statuette is the only known Byzantine ivory sculpture carved entirely in the round, it is closely related to a small group of Virgin and Child ivory reliefs in Utrecht, Liège, Hamburg and New York, which originally formed the centres of triptychs.

The figure was probably placed in a small tabernacle to be viewed from all sides.

The Virgin Mary, known as the Theotokos in Greek terminology, was central to Byzantine spirituality as one of its most important religious figures. As the mediator between suffering mankind and Christ and the protectress of Constantinople, she was widely venerated.
Most images of the Virgin stress her role as Christ's Mother, showing her standing and holding her son. The manner in which the Virgin holds Christ is very particular. Certain poses developed into "types" that became names of sanctuaries or poetic epithets. For example, the Virgin Hodegetria is a popular representation of the Virgin in which she holds Christ on her left arm and gestures toward him with her right hand, showing that he is the way to salvation. The name Hodegetria comes from the Hodegon Monastery in Constantinople, in which the icon showing the Virgin in this particular stance resided from at least the twelfth century onward, acting to protect the city.

probably late 10th or early 11th century

This ivory statuette is from Constantinople probably from the late 10th or early 11th century.
Freestanding sculpture is almost unknown in Byzantine Art - this is the sole surviving example - although there is said to have been an ivory statue of St Helena in Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, other similar surviving sculptural representations are all reliefs.
The figure was probably placed in a small tabernacle to be viewed from all sides.
The Virgin Mary, known as the Theotokos in Greek terminology, was central to Byzantine spirituality as one of its most important religious figures. As the mediator between suffering mankind and Christ and the protectress of Constantinople, she was widely venerated.
Most images of the Virgin stress her role as Christ's Mother, showing her standing and holding her son.

702-1884