The Virgin and Child
About the sculpture
This standing Virgin holds the Christ Child on her right arm. In her left hand she holds a passion flower - a symbol of Christ's future suffering. On her head is a circlet, which probably originally had four gilt tin or lead decorations. Her robe is decorated around the edge with inscriptions in Gothic characters. The letters M and A at the front clearly refer to the Virgin. The base has traces of red lettering at the front, with (I)HS and MA(RIA) separated by a flower.
Read on
On the front centre of the Virgin's robe, at about knee height, is a stylised M. This mark represents the Malines guarantee of the gilding. There is a further stamp with the initials I S at the centre of the lower edge of the base. This is unusual. About 12 Malines statuettes are marked with stamped monograms on their bases. Six of these, including this statuette, share the same symbol and the letters IS. These letters probably identify the person who painted the statuettes. They may be connected with a certain Jan Schoof or Scoofs. He was a painter who worked in Malines (Mechelen, Belgium) between about 1500 and 1550. The style of this Virgin and Child suggest that it was made in the first years of the 16th century.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Particulars
- Accession number
- 637-1897
