The Virgin and Child thumbnail 1
The Virgin and Child thumbnail 2
+7
images
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Sculpture, Room 111, The Gilbert Bayes Gallery

The Virgin and Child

Statuette
ca. 1300-1320 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Ivory was used all over Europe for religious works of art. It was often combined with precious metals and usually took the form of relief panels, for book covers, portable altars and caskets. An almost unbroken tradition of ivory carving extends from the Roman and Byzantine empires until the end of the 14th century. From about 1250, Paris became the centre of production for figures and reliefs intended for private devotion.
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 the Virgin. Together with the Crucifixion, statues and statuettes of the Virgin and Child were the principal objects of devotion in the Christian Church, and vast numbers were made for ecclesiastical, monastic and private worship.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe Virgin and Child (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Ivory with traces of colour
Brief description
Statuette, ivory, The Virgin and Child, French (Champagne or Burgundy), about 1300-20
Physical description
Carved ivory statuette with traces of colour. The Virgin stands, crowned, supporting the Child on her left arm and holding the stem of a tall flower (now broken) in her right hand. In the left hand of the Child is an apple. The Christ CHild leans forward to press his cheek against the Virgin, his right arm around her neck amd his left hand holding an apple or orb. The virgin wears a low coronet over her veil and is dressed in an open mantle over a long belted gown. The figure is carved inj the round.
Dimensions
  • Height: 18.5cm
  • At base width: 4.5cm
Object history
Purchased from John Webb, London, in 1872; previously on loan to the Museum from 1867.
Subjects depicted
Summary
Ivory was used all over Europe for religious works of art. It was often combined with precious metals and usually took the form of relief panels, for book covers, portable altars and caskets. An almost unbroken tradition of ivory carving extends from the Roman and Byzantine empires until the end of the 14th century. From about 1250, Paris became the centre of production for figures and reliefs intended for private devotion.
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 the Virgin. Together with the Crucifixion, statues and statuettes of the Virgin and Child were the principal objects of devotion in the Christian Church, and vast numbers were made for ecclesiastical, monastic and private worship.
Bibliographic references
  • List of Objects in the Art Division, South Kensington, Acquired During the Year 1872, Arranged According to the Dates of Acquisition. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., p. 1
  • Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Carvings in Ivory. London: Published under the Authority of the Board of Education, 1927-1929, Part II, p. 30
  • Williamson, Paul and Davies, Glyn, Medieval Ivory Carvings, 1200-1550, (in 2 parts), V&A Publishing, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2014 part I, p. 45
  • Maskell, W., A Description of the Ivories Ancient and Medieval in the South Kensington Museum, London, 1872 p. 145, ill.
  • Maskell, A., Ivories, London, 1905 p. 171
  • Koechlin, R., Les Ivoires gothiques français, 3 vols, Paris, 1924 (reprinted Paris 1968) I, p. 235 (note 2), II, cat. no. 626, III, pl. CIV
  • Williamson, Paul and Davies, Glyn, Medieval Ivory Carvings, 1200-1550, (in 2 parts), V&A Publishing, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2014, part I, p. 45, cat. no. 7
Collection
Accession number
7-1872

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdJanuary 5, 2004
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest