The affection displayed by Mother and Child became increasingly popular in northern Europe in the thirteenth century. In a variation of an iconic Byzantine image known as the Virgin Eleousa, the Virgin is portrayed receiving a tender touch on the chin. This statuette was originally set into a protective tabernacle.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Virgin and Child
Date:ca. 1250
Culture:North French
Medium:Ivory
Dimensions:Overall (without modern base): 11 5/8 x 4 3/4 x 4 1/16 in. (29.5 x 12.1 x 10.3 cm)
Classification:Ivories
Credit Line:Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Accession Number:17.190.181a, b
Charles Stein, Paris (until 1886); [his posthumous sale, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris (May 10–14, 1886, no. 22, to Odiot)]; Ernest Odiot, Paris (sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, April 26-27, 1889); Martin Hecksher, Vienna (until 1898); [ Arnold Seligmann, Rey & Co., Inc., Paris and New York (from 1898)]; Georges Hoentschel (French); J. Pierpont Morgan (American), London and New York
Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "The Middle Ages: Treasures from The Cloisters and The Metropolitan Museum of Art," January 18, 1970–March 29, 1970.
Chicago. Art Institute of Chicago. "The Middle Ages: Treasures from The Cloisters and The Metropolitan Museum of Art," May 16, 1970–July 5, 1970.
Catalogue des objets d'art de Haute Curiosite et d'ameublement composant l'importante collection de M. Ch. Stein. Paris: Galerie Georges Petit, May 10–14, 1886. no. 22, p. 8, ill.
Catalogue des Objets d'Art et de Haute Curiosité, Tableaux Anciens composant La Précieuse Collection de M. Ernest Odiot. Paris: Hôtel Drouot, April 26–27, 1889. no. 24, p. 34, ill.
Catalogue of the renowned Collection of Works of Art, chiefly of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries, formed by the late Martin Heckscher. London: Christie, Manson & Woods, May 4–6, 1898. no. 190, p. 37, ill. opp. p. 36.
Pératé, André. Collections Georges Hoentschel: Ivoires, orfèvrerie religieuse, pierres. Vol. 2. Paris: Librairie Centrale des Beaux-Arts, 1911. no. 22, fig. XIX.
"J. P. Morgan to Bring Hoentschel Treasures Here." The New York Times (February 11, 1912). p. 13, ill.
Koechlin, Raymond. Les Ivoires Gothiques Français: Volume I, Text. Paris: Editions Auguste Picard, 1924. no. 76, pp. 22,101.
Koechlin, Raymond. Les Ivoires Gothiques Français: Volume II, Catalogue. Paris: Editions Auguste Picard, 1924. no. 76, p. 34.
Koechlin, Raymond. Les Ivoires Gothiques Français: Volume III, Plates. Paris: Editions Auguste Picard, 1924. no. 76, pl. XXVII.
Breck, Joseph, and Meyric R. Rogers. The Pierpont Morgan Wing: A Handbook. 2nd ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1929. pp. 90, 113, fig. 63.
Ostoia, Vera K. The Middle Ages: Treasures from the Cloisters and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1969. no. 52, pp. 116–117, 256.
Gaborit-Chopin, Danielle. Ivoires Médiévaux, Ve-XVe siècle. Paris: Musée du Louvre, 2003. p. 276.
Blair, Claude, and M. Campbell. Louis Marcy: Oggetti d'arte della Galleria Parmeggiani di Reggio Emilia. Torino: Umberto Allemandi, 2008. p. 142 n.1, Discussed in relation to cat. no. D4.
Lowden, John, and John Cherry. Medieval Ivories and Works of Art: The Thomson Collection at the Art Gallery of Ontario Catalogue. Ontario: Paul Holberton Publishing, 2008. p. 44.
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The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world, encompassing the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome to the beginning of the Renaissance.
