The Virgin and Child
Triptych
ca. 1390-1400 (made)
ca. 1390-1400 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This bone triptych of the Virgin and Child is made by the workshop of Baldassare Embriachi (Ubriachi) in North Italy, Florence or Venice, in about 1390-1400.
In the centre stands the Virgin holding the Child, who plays with a bird. On the left wing St. Agnes with a lamb. On the right a virgin saint with a palm branch and a book.
The Embriachi workshop was a north Italian family of entrepreneurs and carvers. The precise location of the workshop is unknown, except that it originated in Florence in around probably the 1370s.
Baldassare Embrichi, a member of a Florentine noble family, and the Florentine literary circles, during his career acted as both merchant and diplomat. He was therefore rather the financial means behind the bone-carving workshop that bears his name, rather than its leading artist. By 1395, political and financial circumstances had forced him to transfer to Venice. The suggested time range of activity for the workshop differs, from the tightest being 1390-1405, to a wider span of 1370s until at least 1416, but certainly no later than 1433.
They employed local workers specialising in 'certosina' (inlay of stained woods, bone and horn), and the workshop produced items carved in bone (usually horse or ox) with wood and bone marquetry.
As well as altarpieces, the workshop also made caskets as bridal gifts to hold jewels or documents, and these were often decorated with scenes from mythology.
In the centre stands the Virgin holding the Child, who plays with a bird. On the left wing St. Agnes with a lamb. On the right a virgin saint with a palm branch and a book.
The Embriachi workshop was a north Italian family of entrepreneurs and carvers. The precise location of the workshop is unknown, except that it originated in Florence in around probably the 1370s.
Baldassare Embrichi, a member of a Florentine noble family, and the Florentine literary circles, during his career acted as both merchant and diplomat. He was therefore rather the financial means behind the bone-carving workshop that bears his name, rather than its leading artist. By 1395, political and financial circumstances had forced him to transfer to Venice. The suggested time range of activity for the workshop differs, from the tightest being 1390-1405, to a wider span of 1370s until at least 1416, but certainly no later than 1433.
They employed local workers specialising in 'certosina' (inlay of stained woods, bone and horn), and the workshop produced items carved in bone (usually horse or ox) with wood and bone marquetry.
As well as altarpieces, the workshop also made caskets as bridal gifts to hold jewels or documents, and these were often decorated with scenes from mythology.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | The Virgin and Child (generic title) |
Materials and techniques | Bone, pigment, horn and intarsia. In a wooden frame of inlaid wood and horn. |
Brief description | Triptych, bone, horn and intarsia, the Virgin and Child, workshop of Baldassare Ubriachi, North Italy (Florence or Venice), ca. 1390-1400 |
Physical description | Triptych. In the centre, beneath a trilobed arch, stands the Virgin holding the Child, who plays with a bird that the Virgin supports on her right hand. To either side are blank plaques of bone. On the left wing St. Agnes with a lamb standing beneath a building. On the right an unidentified virgin saint with a palm branch and a book. There are remains of red paint on the background and the lips of the figures, and dark blue on the eyes and on architectural details such as windows. |
Dimensions |
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Object history | In the collection of Captain Henry Boyles Murray (1843-1910). From the Murray bequest, London, 1910 (no. 52). |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | This bone triptych of the Virgin and Child is made by the workshop of Baldassare Embriachi (Ubriachi) in North Italy, Florence or Venice, in about 1390-1400. In the centre stands the Virgin holding the Child, who plays with a bird. On the left wing St. Agnes with a lamb. On the right a virgin saint with a palm branch and a book. The Embriachi workshop was a north Italian family of entrepreneurs and carvers. The precise location of the workshop is unknown, except that it originated in Florence in around probably the 1370s. Baldassare Embrichi, a member of a Florentine noble family, and the Florentine literary circles, during his career acted as both merchant and diplomat. He was therefore rather the financial means behind the bone-carving workshop that bears his name, rather than its leading artist. By 1395, political and financial circumstances had forced him to transfer to Venice. The suggested time range of activity for the workshop differs, from the tightest being 1390-1405, to a wider span of 1370s until at least 1416, but certainly no later than 1433. They employed local workers specialising in 'certosina' (inlay of stained woods, bone and horn), and the workshop produced items carved in bone (usually horse or ox) with wood and bone marquetry. As well as altarpieces, the workshop also made caskets as bridal gifts to hold jewels or documents, and these were often decorated with scenes from mythology. |
Bibliographic references |
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Collection | |
Accession number | A.1081-1910 |
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Record created | June 24, 2009 |
Record URL |
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