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拍品專文
The Virgin and Child group constitutes one of the most recognised and iconic images in the history of art and has almost always been an enigmatic insight into the tender and sometimes even playful relationship between the mother and child. In the context of the present lot, however, one has an insight into arguably the most revered image in 14th century French art.
Comparisons to a number of similar Virgin and Child compositions suggest that the present lot may have an origin in the Ile-de-France which was known to produce this type of group with the addition of a dove in the Child's hand. The symbolic inclusion of the bird creates a trinity that represents the physical, transient and spiritual in the guise of the Virgin, the Child and the dove respectively. Examples of this theme can be seen in the Paris exhibition catalogue (op. cit., nos. 32, 61 and 63) with each of these groups originating from the Ile-de-France and dateable to around 1350 to 1375. While each of the aforementioned groups contains details that are directly comparable to the present example, it is the Bouée Virgin and Child (op. cit. no. 32) that is especially close. Similarities exist in the overall form of the composition, particularly in the proportions of the figures, and the elongated stature of the Virgin. Other similarities can also be seen in the posture of the Child clasping the bird with both hands as well as the treatment of the folds in the drapery.
The back of this sculpture has been carved flat, suggesting that it was set flush against a background. This implies that the relief was probably made for a church or to be set into part of a monument. To explain the function of these groups Williamson (op. cit.) draws a comparison between the Victoria and Albert Museum Virgin and Child group and another in Langres, the latter of which is documented to have been made as part of a funerary monument for the Bishop of Langres in 1338. The commission requested that the figure of the Bishop be kneeling before the feet of the Virgin and Child.
Comparisons to a number of similar Virgin and Child compositions suggest that the present lot may have an origin in the Ile-de-France which was known to produce this type of group with the addition of a dove in the Child's hand. The symbolic inclusion of the bird creates a trinity that represents the physical, transient and spiritual in the guise of the Virgin, the Child and the dove respectively. Examples of this theme can be seen in the Paris exhibition catalogue (op. cit., nos. 32, 61 and 63) with each of these groups originating from the Ile-de-France and dateable to around 1350 to 1375. While each of the aforementioned groups contains details that are directly comparable to the present example, it is the Bouée Virgin and Child (op. cit. no. 32) that is especially close. Similarities exist in the overall form of the composition, particularly in the proportions of the figures, and the elongated stature of the Virgin. Other similarities can also be seen in the posture of the Child clasping the bird with both hands as well as the treatment of the folds in the drapery.
The back of this sculpture has been carved flat, suggesting that it was set flush against a background. This implies that the relief was probably made for a church or to be set into part of a monument. To explain the function of these groups Williamson (op. cit.) draws a comparison between the Victoria and Albert Museum Virgin and Child group and another in Langres, the latter of which is documented to have been made as part of a funerary monument for the Bishop of Langres in 1338. The commission requested that the figure of the Bishop be kneeling before the feet of the Virgin and Child.