The Virgin and Child (Virgo Lactans)
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “The Virgin and Child (Virgo Lactans)” now? Collection: Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Not on view at present. Checked September 25, 2026.
London, United Kingdom
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the sculpture
This ivory statuette of the Virgin and Child (Virgo Lactans) is possibly carved in England in the last quarter of the 13th century. The small sculpture is of fine quality, carved with real feeling for the soft undulation of the material, and the heads are highly distinctive.
Three dimensional images of the Virgin and Child were ubiquitous from the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries, produced in a wide range of materials and sizes and testifying the overwhelming devotion to th Virgin. Together with the Crucifixion, statues and statuettes of the Virgin and Child were the pricipal objects of devotion in the Christian Church, and vast numbers were made for ecclesisastical, monastic and private worship.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Details
- Accession number
- 1598-1855
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Image: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
