Virgin and Child
Statue
1170-80 (made)
1170-80 (made)
| Place of origin |
This object comes from the Benedictine nunnery of Saint Mary and Saint Sexburgha at Minster-in-Sheppey, Kent. The Virgin Mary was one of the two patrons of the church, following its rededication in the 1130s. The standing Virgin and Child was a subject almost unknown in Western European sculpture at this date. It ultimately derives from the Byzantine image of the Theotokos Hodegetria ('the Mother of God showing the way'). The more usual representation of the Virgin and Child in England showed the Virgin enthroned. Byzantine compositions were adopted by artists in Western Europe during the twelfth century.
The flat back of this sculpture is unusual, and suggests that it might come from a screen within the church. A screen of this type may also have carried a representation of the church's other patron, the Anglo-Saxon Saint Sexburgha.
The flat back of this sculpture is unusual, and suggests that it might come from a screen within the church. A screen of this type may also have carried a representation of the church's other patron, the Anglo-Saxon Saint Sexburgha.
Object details
| Object type | |
| Title | Virgin and Child (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Limestone (Caen stone), carved |
| Brief description | Statue of the Virgin and Child |
| Physical description | The sculpture is in two pieces, with may pieces broken off, most noticeably the heads of the Virgin and Child, the Virgin's right hand and the Christ Child's left hand. The back is flat. There are indications of later reparis. During conservation treatment in 1979, microscopic traces of paint were discovered on the larger fragment, and it is likely that the Virgin's robe was originally red. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Purchased with the assistance of the Murray Bequest |
| Object history | This object comes from the church of Benedictine nunnery of Saint Mary and Saint Sexburgha at Minster-in-Sheppey, Kent. The Virgin Mary was one of the two patrons of the church, following its rededication in the 1130s. Historical significance: The incised abstract drapery patterns on the figures, particularly on the Virgin's robe, are typically Romanesque features, as is Christ's expressively enlarged hand, with its emphatic blessing gesture. The unusual iconography demonstrates that artistic ideas could be widely transmitted in this period, even when they were re-used in completely different contexts. |
| Historical context | The flat back of this sculpture is unusual, and suggests that it might come from a screen within the church. A screen of this type may also have carried a representation of the church's other patron, the Anglo-Saxon Saint Sexburgha. The standing Virgin and Child was a subject almost unknown in Western European sculpture at this date. This type of image ultimately derives from the Byzantine image of the Theotokos Hodegetria ('the Mother of God showing the way'). The more usual representation of the Virgin and Child in England showed the Virgin enthroned. |
| Production | This object was the subject of a study by G. Zarnecki, in which he connected the piece with another rare Western European version of the subject, at Vermonton in Burgundy (about 1160). He postulated that this iconographic type may have spread to England via Northern France. The dating of 1170-80 takes account of both the style of the carving, and this hypothesis. However, it should be noted that this object has more recently been dated slightly earlier, to the 1160's, by M. Thurlby, who has connected the carving with work done at Barfreston and Lewes Priory. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | This object comes from the Benedictine nunnery of Saint Mary and Saint Sexburgha at Minster-in-Sheppey, Kent. The Virgin Mary was one of the two patrons of the church, following its rededication in the 1130s. The standing Virgin and Child was a subject almost unknown in Western European sculpture at this date. It ultimately derives from the Byzantine image of the Theotokos Hodegetria ('the Mother of God showing the way'). The more usual representation of the Virgin and Child in England showed the Virgin enthroned. Byzantine compositions were adopted by artists in Western Europe during the twelfth century. The flat back of this sculpture is unusual, and suggests that it might come from a screen within the church. A screen of this type may also have carried a representation of the church's other patron, the Anglo-Saxon Saint Sexburgha. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.17-1973 |
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| Record created | October 24, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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