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Lot Essay
Carved fully in the round, the present group is an exceptionally rare and remarkably sophisticated example of medieval boxwood sculpture, distinguished by its completeness and substantial scale.
During the Gothic period, the growing popularity of devotional imagery prompted the production of an extensive range of objects, including diptychs, triptychs and freestanding statuettes and groups. While ivory was a particularly important medium for small-scale devotional sculpture, surviving examples carved in boxwood are comparatively rare. Dense, hard and fine-grained, boxwood was ideally suited to intricate carving and could be polished to a smooth finish; however, the difficulty of obtaining suitably large pieces presented a considerable challenge to sculptors working on this scale.
During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, representations of the Virgin and Child increasingly moved beyond the more hieratic, enthroned compositions of the Sedes Sapientiae type towards more animated and intimate arrangements. The Virgin's gently swaying posture, the shifting weight of her body and the interaction between Mother and Child introduces a greater sense of movement and naturalism, while retaining the elegance characteristic of Gothic sculpture.
Comparable examples of French wooden sculpture survive in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Particularly relevant is the North French boxwood Virgin and Child of circa 1300 (inv. no. 2006.118), which, like the present group, is carved fully in the round. The Virgin's elegant stance, with her weight balanced over her supporting leg, and the relationship between her torso and the upright Christ Child offer points of comparison. The tight curls visible beneath the Virgin's veil also recall those of the present figure. A further comparison may be drawn with the French walnut Virgin and Child of the mid-fourteenth century in the same collection (inv. no. 41.100.171), whose refined drapery and delicate facial features exemplify the sophistication of contemporary French wood carving.
The relationship between wooden sculpture and the contemporary ivory tradition is further illustrated by the French ivory Virgin and Child of the late thirteenth century in the Louvre, Paris (inv. no. OA 9490). The Virgin holds a small cylindrical object in her proper right hand, possibly intended to support a flower, while evidence of a former chest ornament provides an additional point of comparison with the present group. Although differing in material, the two sculptures reflect the shared vocabulary of French Gothic devotional imagery.
During the Gothic period, the growing popularity of devotional imagery prompted the production of an extensive range of objects, including diptychs, triptychs and freestanding statuettes and groups. While ivory was a particularly important medium for small-scale devotional sculpture, surviving examples carved in boxwood are comparatively rare. Dense, hard and fine-grained, boxwood was ideally suited to intricate carving and could be polished to a smooth finish; however, the difficulty of obtaining suitably large pieces presented a considerable challenge to sculptors working on this scale.
During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, representations of the Virgin and Child increasingly moved beyond the more hieratic, enthroned compositions of the Sedes Sapientiae type towards more animated and intimate arrangements. The Virgin's gently swaying posture, the shifting weight of her body and the interaction between Mother and Child introduces a greater sense of movement and naturalism, while retaining the elegance characteristic of Gothic sculpture.
Comparable examples of French wooden sculpture survive in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Particularly relevant is the North French boxwood Virgin and Child of circa 1300 (inv. no. 2006.118), which, like the present group, is carved fully in the round. The Virgin's elegant stance, with her weight balanced over her supporting leg, and the relationship between her torso and the upright Christ Child offer points of comparison. The tight curls visible beneath the Virgin's veil also recall those of the present figure. A further comparison may be drawn with the French walnut Virgin and Child of the mid-fourteenth century in the same collection (inv. no. 41.100.171), whose refined drapery and delicate facial features exemplify the sophistication of contemporary French wood carving.
The relationship between wooden sculpture and the contemporary ivory tradition is further illustrated by the French ivory Virgin and Child of the late thirteenth century in the Louvre, Paris (inv. no. OA 9490). The Virgin holds a small cylindrical object in her proper right hand, possibly intended to support a flower, while evidence of a former chest ornament provides an additional point of comparison with the present group. Although differing in material, the two sculptures reflect the shared vocabulary of French Gothic devotional imagery.