Gothic Virgin and Child statues at the Cluny Museum, Paris

The Cluny Museum in Paris (the Museum of the Middle Ages) has a collection of Gothic ivory statues of the Virgin Mary with a child.

The five statues of the Virgin and Child, displayed in the musuem, trace the development of Gothic ivory from the first third of the 13th century until the early 14th century when the Gothic Parisan style reached a peak.

A central figure in christianity, the Virgin Mary is often depicted on a throne with the Christ Child in her lap, sometimes standing next to her, and sometimes held in her arms. The figures represent a shift in the iconograpy of the Virgin Mary, away from her on the ‘Throne of Wisdom’ and towards her as a mother.

MARTINA NICOLLSis an international aid and development consultant, and the authorof:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom(2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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