Detail of the Enthroned Virgin and Child in the Cloisters, October 2009

Enthroned Virgin and Child
Walnut with paint, gesso and linen
Carved late 1100s, in the region of Auvergne, central France
Said to be from the chapel of Saint-Victor at Montvianeix (Puy-de-Dome)

Accession Number: 67.153

This type of sculpture, with the Christ Child seated on the Virgin's lap in a frontal pose, is known as a Sedes Sapientiae (Seat of Wisdom). These seeminly straightforward images convey complex theological ideas. Mary serves as a throne for Christ who possesses wisdom and justice, symbolized here by the Bible, the sum of divine wisdom that he himself embodies. Placed on an altar, this imposing group was an object of veneration that could be carried in procession. A circular cavity in the Virgin's left shoulder also functioned as a reliquary. Recent conservation treatment has revealed remains of the original painted decoration. A Virgin probably by the same workshop is on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Text from the Cloisters label.