The Virgin and Child (Virgo Lactans) with Angels
Relief
ca. 1470-1500 (made)
ca. 1470-1500 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This ivory relief, made in Northern Netherlands in about 1470-1500, represents the Virgin and Child (Virgo Lactans) with Angels.
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 th Virgin. Together with the Crucifixion, statues and statuettes of the Virgin and Child were the pricipal objects of devotion in the Christian Church, and vast numbers were made for ecclesisastical, monastic and private worship.
The original function of this relief is not clear. It may have occupied the central position of a small triptych, but the carving of the clouds on the underface would suggest that these were meant to be seen from below. The reliefs iconography is also unusual. Images of the Virgin and Child with music-playing angels appear regularly in Netherlandish late medieval art, but they are invariably shown in a terrestrial setting rather than floating, as here, in the clouds.
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 th Virgin. Together with the Crucifixion, statues and statuettes of the Virgin and Child were the pricipal objects of devotion in the Christian Church, and vast numbers were made for ecclesisastical, monastic and private worship.
The original function of this relief is not clear. It may have occupied the central position of a small triptych, but the carving of the clouds on the underface would suggest that these were meant to be seen from below. The reliefs iconography is also unusual. Images of the Virgin and Child with music-playing angels appear regularly in Netherlandish late medieval art, but they are invariably shown in a terrestrial setting rather than floating, as here, in the clouds.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Virgin and Child (Virgo Lactans) with Angels (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Ivory in high relief |
| Brief description | Relief, ivory, The Virgin and Child (Virgo Lactans) with Angels, Northern Netherlandish, ca. 1470-1500 |
| Physical description | The Virgin is seated (no throne visible) wearing an ample mantle over her low-necked robe which leaves her left breast bare, which she offers to the naked Christ Child; on her head is a crown of flowers. She supports the Child who stands on her left knee and rests agains ther left hip: at her feet, borne on clouds, are two half-length angels, one playing a lute, the other holding an open book with the words 'o dulciz maria' below a line of musical notation. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | Acquried in London from the Lenox Prendergast Collection. Purchsed from his widow, Mrs Marion Pendergast, in 1907 (£10). |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This ivory relief, made in Northern Netherlands in about 1470-1500, represents the Virgin and Child (Virgo Lactans) with Angels. 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 th Virgin. Together with the Crucifixion, statues and statuettes of the Virgin and Child were the pricipal objects of devotion in the Christian Church, and vast numbers were made for ecclesisastical, monastic and private worship. The original function of this relief is not clear. It may have occupied the central position of a small triptych, but the carving of the clouds on the underface would suggest that these were meant to be seen from below. The reliefs iconography is also unusual. Images of the Virgin and Child with music-playing angels appear regularly in Netherlandish late medieval art, but they are invariably shown in a terrestrial setting rather than floating, as here, in the clouds. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 475-1907 |
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| Record created | February 4, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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