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Base for a Statuette

1470–80
On view at The Met Cloisters in Gallery 02
The figures of Eve and the serpent appear on either side of the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden. The woman-headed serpent may represent Lilith, the legendary first wife of Adam, who rebelled against her husband and disappeared from Paradise. God then created Eve from Adam’s rib, leading the jealous Lilith to tempt Eve with the forbidden fruit. The common medieval association of Eve, mother of humankind, with Mary, mother of Jesus, suggests that this base may have supported a statuette of the Virgin.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Base for a Statuette
  • Date: 1470–80
  • Culture: South Netherlandish
  • Medium: Boxwood
  • Dimensions: Overall: 3 1/2 x 4 7/8 x 3 3/8 in. (8.9 x 12.4 x 8.6 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture-Miniature-Wood
  • Credit Line: The Cloisters Collection, 1955
  • Object Number: 55.116.2
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

More Artwork

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Relief of a Bishop, Limestone, South Netherlandish
Relief of a Bishop
South Netherlandish
ca. 1400–1440
Virgin and Child, Joos van Cleve and a collaborator Netherlandish, Oil on wood
Virgin and Child
Joos van Cleve
ca. 1525
Fish Market, Joachim Beuckelaer Netherlandish, Oil on Baltic oak
Fish Market
Joachim Beuckelaer
1568
Moses Striking the Rock, Abraham Bloemaert Netherlandish, Oil on canvas
Moses Striking the Rock
Abraham Bloemaert
1596
Standing Virgin and Child, Niclaus Gerhaert von Leyden North Netherlandish, Boxwood, tinted lips and eyes, Austrian
Standing Virgin and Child
Niclaus Gerhaert von Leyden
ca. 1470

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