Detail of an Enthroned Virgin and Child in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, April 2011

Enthroned Virgin and Child

Date: ca. 1210–20

Geography: Made in, Meuse Valley, France

Culture: North French

Medium: Oak with traces of polychromy

Dimensions: Overall: 48 1/2 x 20 1/4 x 19in. (123.2 x 51.4 x 48.3cm)

Classification: Sculpture-Wood

Credit Line: Bequest of George Blumenthal, 1941

Accession Number: 41.190.283

Description:

Crowned as the Queen of Heaven, Mary is seated on a richly ornamented throne, while the infant Jesus holds an orb or apple and blesses. Mary also tramples a dragon in triumph—a visual reference to the Book of Genesis (3:15), in which God declares to the serpent, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman.” The fluid drapery style is a hallmark of northern sculpture about 1200.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/1700...