Virgin with the dead Christ thumbnail 1
Virgin with the dead Christ thumbnail 2
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Virgin with the dead Christ

Relief
ca. 1400 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Germany (made)

The subject of the Pieta was already very popular by about 1400 and remained one of the most common types of individual devotional image during the late Middle Ages. It is combined here with figures of St John and St Mary Magdalene. The contemporary setting suggests that this relief was worn as a pendant and used for individual devotion.

Object details

Categories
Access_to_Images 2003
Sculpture
Christianity
SCRAN
Object type
Relief
TitleVirgin with the dead Christ (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Mother of pearl in a gilt metal mount
Brief description
Mother of pearl relief depicting the Pieta and the crucifixion, South German, ca. 1400
Dimensions
  • With mount diameter: 5.5cm
  • With mount diameter: 2.25in
Credit line
Given by Mr T. Whitcombe Green
Subjects depicted
Mother
Saint
Cross
Jesus Christ
Mary (Virgin Mary)
Mary Magdalene (Saint)
John (Saint John the Evangelist)
The Crucifixion
The Pietà
Summary
The subject of the Pieta was already very popular by about 1400 and remained one of the most common types of individual devotional image during the late Middle Ages. It is combined here with figures of St John and St Mary Magdalene. The contemporary setting suggests that this relief was worn as a pendant and used for individual devotion.
Bibliographic reference
Husemann, S. Pretiosen persönlicher Andacht : Bild- und Materialsprache spätmittelalterlicher Reliquienkapseln (Agnus Dei) unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Materials Perlmutter. (PhD thesis University of Cologne 1998) Weimar, 1999. p. 291.
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
A.59-1929

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Record createdMarch 5, 2004
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O96309/virgin-with-the-dead-christ-relief-unknown/
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