Castilian School, circa 1480

Anonymous sale ("The Property of a Gentleman"), London, Sotheby's, 14 December 2000, lot 299 (as Follower of Fernando Gallego);

Where acquired by the present collector.

The Madonna and Child sit before an elaborate cloth of gold embellished with pomegranates, symbolic of rebirth, and other floriate forms. Christ enjoys his mother's breast milk, which serves as both nutritional and spiritual sustenance.