North French or Mosan, probably Lorraine, second quarter 14th century

with Kunstzalen A. Vecht, Amsterdam;
private collection, London

Overall the condition of the wood is good with wear and dirt to the surface consistent with age with some particular dirt and blackening to the crevices. There is some stable splitting to the wood consistent with material, particularly to the edges of the base and the reverse. The features of the Child and the hand at his waist are rubbed. There are losses to the crown of the Virgin, the tip of her proper left shoe and the lower edge of the base on the reverse and a few minor chips. There is an area of scratching on the lower left side of the reverse. There is a small circular hole to the reverse of the throne and a larger hole, from which the latest test was taken, to the underside.
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Even though the present Virgin and Child is clearly inspired by northern French models such as the equally charming example from the Lorraine in the Louvre (inv. no. RF 4511) and one attributed to the Île-de-France in the same museum (RF 580), the carving of such statuettes using boxwood is a Rhenish tradition. Numerous boxwood Madonnas of similar proportions were included in the Schöne Madonnen am Rhein exhibition (op.cit., nos. 18, 20, 23 and 36). It is therefore likely that the present sculpture was made in the North East of France near the border of Germany, where stylistic movements often intersected.

RELATED LITERATURE
F. Baron, Sculpture française I Moyen Âge, cat. Musée du Louvre, Paris, 1996, p. 131, 134, and 136; H. Suckale (ed.), Schöne Madonnen am Rhein, exh. cat. LVR-Landesmuseum, Bonn, 2009, pp. 192-196 and 205

Radiocarbon dating measurement report no. RCD-8224, prepared by A.J. Walker of RCD RadioCarbon Dating, East Lockinge, dd. 6 May 2014, states that the wood dates between 1299 and 1455 (95% confidence interval).