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Lot Essay
The delicate modelling of the Virgin's visso arrondi, soft chin, heavy folds of complicated drapery and the hip-shot or S-curve pose of the Virgin demonstrate a proficient hand well acquainted with the courtly sculptural tastes of either the Ile-de-France or possibly Burgundy (see W. Forshyth, "The Virgin and Child in French Fourteenth Century Sculpture: A Method of Classification," The Art Bulletin 39, p. 171-182).
Crowned as the Queen of Heaven, the Virgin holds the Christ Child in her right arm. Mary holds in her other hand a lily, the symbol of her chastity and purity as the Mother of God, a typical Marian attribute that also references the Annunciation. The smaller figure shown kneeling at the Virgin's side represents the donor who commissioned the figure - considering the expense of such a commission, it is resonable to assume this individual had some high degree of social and economic standing in society, though he unfortunately remains unidentified to date.
Crowned as the Queen of Heaven, the Virgin holds the Christ Child in her right arm. Mary holds in her other hand a lily, the symbol of her chastity and purity as the Mother of God, a typical Marian attribute that also references the Annunciation. The smaller figure shown kneeling at the Virgin's side represents the donor who commissioned the figure - considering the expense of such a commission, it is resonable to assume this individual had some high degree of social and economic standing in society, though he unfortunately remains unidentified to date.