Standing Virgin and Child
Unknown Artist
ca. 1270–80
Medium
Ivory
Dimensions
Overall: 10 1/2 x 3 1/16 x 1 13/16 in. (26.7 x 7.8 x 4.6 cm)
Classification
Ivories
Culture
North French
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Accession Number
17.190.165
Art Historical Context
This exquisite *Standing Virgin and Child*, around 1270–80 by an unknown North French artist, captures the tender bond between Mary and the infant Jesus in compact ivory sculpture measuring just 10½ inches tall. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Medieval Department—thanks to a generous 1917 gift from J Pierpont Morgan—this piece exemplifies the devotional art of 13th-century France during the High Gothic era, when such intimate figures were cherished for personal piety. Crafted from elephant ivory, a luxurious and symbolically pure material prized in medieval Europe, the sculpture sh...