Seated Virgin Nursing the Christ Child

This small seated Virgin and Child in elephant ivory follows a pyramid-shaped composition. The graceful curve created by the left leg of the Mother raised beneath the Child has strong visual appeal. With a deliberately reduced treatment and miniaturised format, it reproduces prototypes with large dimensions, while being intended for a clientele with lower status, or for a different purpose.

This sculpture illustrates the mastery of French ivory carvers, very likely from Paris, in the first half of the 14th century.

The Seated Virgin Nursing the Christ Child comes from the collection of Victor Martin Le Roy, passed on to his son-in-law Jean-Joseph Marquet de Vasselot, who was director of the Department of Decorative Arts at the Louvre and the Musée de Cluny from 1926 to 1933.