Spanish school; 14th century.

Spanish School; XIV century.
"Virgin and Child Jesus".
Carved and polychrome wood with gilded elements.
It presents losses of the polychrome.
Measurements: 28 x 29 x 15 cm.
Polychrome wood carving with gilded elements that shows the Virgin Mary seated on a low throne, with mantle, tunic, crown, headdress and jewels, holding in her right hand an open flower and with the left hand on the shoulder of the Child. Jesus appears seated on his mother's left knee, blessing with his right hand and holding a golden orb in his left.
Iconographically, this type of work was common during the Romanesque period in Europe, a time when Christian theology saw the Virgin as a vehicle of salvation thanks to the figure of her son Jesus. With the passage of time (and the theological work of emphasizing the role of Mary as Mother of God), the hieratic pose of this group varied, an example of which is the present sculpture. It is worth noting the presence of the flower, similar to a lily, which was considered since the 12th century as a symbol of purity and virginity.
Compare it, for example, with the carving preserved in the Prado Museum in Madrid (catalog E000447), also dated in the 14th century; with the one in the Diocesan Museum of Sigüenza from the 13th century from Mojares; with the one from the beginning of the 14th century, known as Nª Señora la Antigua, in Galbárruli (La Rioja); the one in the parish of San Andrés in Vitoria, dated in the 13th-14th centuries; etc. Without forgetting that it is such a common model that it will serve as inspiration for much later works (from the 17th century is the Virgin enthroned with Child of the Museum of Decorative Arts of Chile, with inventory number 24.83.32).