Throughout the ages artists and craftsmen have made virtuoso carvings as a display of their skill and ingenuity. Although ivory, wood and stone are relatively easy to carve, other materials such as gemstones are much more demanding. Most of these carvings were made for wealthy patrons and collectors, who delighted in the rarity of the material and quality of the carving.
Daniel Mauch (1477-1540) was an experienced carver of large religious sculpture. Here he is treating a classical, and typically Renaissance, subject. But his approach is still rooted in Late Gothic traditions and shows little real understanding of anatomy.
The group probably formed part of a group of The Judgement of Paris (with this figure being probably Venus) showing Paris choosing the most beautiful of three goddesses presented to him. The figure style shows an awareness of contemporary Italian representation of the female form, also seen in the engravings of northern artists such as Dürer. The composition was not an invention of Mauch himself, but probably derives from a plaque of The Judgement of Paris by the Paduan (?) Master IO.F.F. of ca. 1500.