Seated Virgin and Child (Virgo lactans); naked Christ; Christ seated on left arm; musician angel playing a string instrument (lute?); angel holding an open book with engraved inscription 'o dulciz maria' and a line of musical notation; crown of flowers; stylised clouds.
Longhurst 1929: Flanders, 2nd half of 15th century.
Williamson and Davies 2014: Northern Netherlandish, c. 1470-1500.
Attribution
Unknown
Reverse
Heads carved in the round.
Pulp cavity visible; curved. Flat and smooth on either side of it.
Object Condition
Damages at the tip of the reading angel's right wing.
Worn surface (especially right arm and chest of the Virgin).
Three shallow holes near the bottom of reverse, and a larger hole between the Virgin's shoulders (probably of recent date). A further hole, visible at the right, pierces the relief and may be original, as was another hole on the other side ath the height of the Virgin's knee.
Provenance
Collection of Col. Lenox Prendergast, London; purchased by the Museum from his widow, Mrs Marion Prendergast, in 1907 (£10).
Bibliography
List of Works of Art acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum during the Years 1905 - 1908. Arranged according to the Dates of Acquisition (London, 1909), p. 79.
M. Longhurst, Catalogue of Carvings in Ivory, Victoria and Albert Museum, 2 vols (London, 1927 and 1929), II (1929), p. 43, pl. XXXVII.
P. Williamson and G. Davies, Medieval Ivory Carvings 1200-1550 (London, 2014), no. 17.
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