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Relief of Mourning Virgin
German (Cologne)
Medieval
about 1220–30
Object Place: Europe, Germany
Medium/Technique
Gilded copper (99.5% copper, 0.5% lead)
Dimensions
8.38 x 4.83 x 0.51 cm (3 5/16 x 1 7/8 x 3/16 in.)
Credit Line
Arthur Mason Knapp Fund
Accession Number58.710
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsMetalwork
DescriptionOval plaque with three holes for attachment, showing a mourning Virgin in relief. Hammered, cut out, repoussé, chased, punched, and mercury gilded. Wearing a tunic and maphorion with thin parallel folds, the haloed Virgin stands in three-quarter view with her right arm held across her waist and her left, in a gesture of mourning, raised to support her tilted head. The tunic falls close to the body, revealing the shape of the thigh; the maphorion forms a deep loop in the front and falls over each arm around the elbow. Covered by a hood, the head is oval with large round eyes and a small straight mouth. A semicircular row of punched dots forms a border below the image. Traces of gilding appear on the back.
ProvenanceBy 1958, Joseph Brassine, Liège; 1958, sold by Marie Therese Deles-Brassine to the MFA for $140.00. (Accession Date: September 18, 1958)