Standing Virgin and Child; Christ in long robe; Christ seated on left arm; Christ making a blessing gesture with his right hand; Christ holding an orb in his left hand; Virgin holding a flower (rose) in her right hand; crown.
Octagonal base decorated with quatrefoils enclosed in diamonds.
Longhurst 1929: 19th century, in the style of French work of the 14th century.
Williamson and Davies 2014: French, 19th century, probably about 1850-75.
Attribution
Unknown
Polychromy - Gilding
Traces of gilding and polychromy: blue (lining of the Virgin's cloak), reddish brown (rose, hair, pattern along the hems of the Virgin's cloak and veil).
Reverse
Carved in the round.
Comments
The Virgin is modelled on thirteenth-century prototypes such as the Sainte-Chapelle Virgin in the Louvre and the Saint-Denis Virgin in Cincinnati.
Provenance
Collection of George Salting, London, by 1909: his bequest to the museum in 1910.
Bibliography
'Salting Bequest (A. 70 to A. 1029-1910) / Murray Bequest (A. 1030 to A. 1096-1910)', in: List of Works of Art Acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum (Department of Architecture and Sculpture) (London, 1910), p. 94
M. Longhurst, Catalogue of Carvings in Ivory, Victoria and Albert Museum, 2 vols (London, 1927 and 1929), II (1929), p. 127.
P. Williamson and G. Davies, Medieval Ivory Carvings 1200-1550 (London, 2014), no. 21.
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