the Virgin and Child

This Virign and Child ivory statuette is made in about 1650 in Goa. A comparable piece is in the Ashmolean Museum, and other similar pieces in the Vatican. The stylised carving is typical of Goan work of the seventeenth century.

Ivory carving had a long tradition on the Indian subcontinent, and elaborate works of art were made, particularly as diplomatic gifts, often presented to Western rulers. The Virgin Mary was often standing on the crescent moon, triumphant over a dragon, both symbols derived from the Book of the Apocalypse in the New Testament. From the sixteenth century onwards, the four main missionary Orders, the Augustinians, Jesuits, Dominicans and Franciscans, built churches and aimed to convert the inhabitants of India. The ivories would assist in the presentation of Christian imagery, as well as being exported back to churches, convents and private collectors in Europe.