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Medieval Art
All artworks
Period
Romanesque
Date
ca. 1130–1140
Collection
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Object no.
470311

Enthroned Virgin and Child

Unknown Burgundian sculptor, vicinity of Autun, ca. 1130–1140

Carved wooden Virgin seated frontally on a throne with the Child on her lap, drapery rendered in rhythmic linear folds

The Metropolitan Museum of Art · The Cloisters Collection, 1947 · Public domain

The record

Maker
Unknown Burgundian sculptor, vicinity of Autun
Date
ca. 1130–1140
Medium
Birch with paint and glass
Dimensions
H. 102.9 cm (40 1/2 × 13 × 11 1/4 in.)
Period
Romanesque

Why it matters

Seated frontally and crowned, the Virgin serves as a throne for her son, an image known as the Throne of Wisdom. The linear patterning of the drapery and the heavy-lidded eyes relate the figure to the sculpture of the cathedral of Saint-Lazare at Autun, and it is one of only a few Romanesque wooden sculptures from Burgundy to survive. Traces of paint remain, and the blue glass of the Virgin’s right eye is original.

The Met collection record