Shrine of the Virgin

Rhine Valley, circa 1300
Oak, linen, polychromy, gilding, gesso
Metropolitan Museum of Art

Between the wings of the opened statuette is a damaged Throne of Mercy (the dove and the Son are gone): the crucifix is T-shaped, with a disc (perhaps the halo for the Son) where its two parts join.

More of the Virgin and Child

Information provided by the Metropolitan Museum, New York:

Shrine of the Virgin, ca. 1300
German; Made in Rhine Valley
Oak, linen covering, polychromy, gilding, gesso; open: 14 1/2 x 13 5/8 in. (36.8 x 34.6 cm); closed: 14 1/2 x 5 in. (36.8 x 12.7) - closed
Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917 (17.190.185)

This rare devotional shrine is designed to make manifest the miracle of the Incarnation, by which God became man. Closed, it is a statuette of the enthroned Virgin Mary nursing the Christ Child. When opened, the shrine is transformed into an altarpiece showing a sculptural representation of the Trinity (the figure of Christ and the dove of the Holy Spirit are lost), mystically revealing that salvation is achieved through Christ incarnate. On the wings are painted scenes of the Nativity.

Provenance/Ownership History: Ex colls: Anonymous, Lyon, France; Private Collection, Aix-en-Provenance, France; M. Bing, Paris, France; J. Pierpont Morgan, New York