Master Sculpture & Works of Art

Master Sculpture & Works of Art

View full screen - View 1 of Lot 601. Probably Spanish, Romanesque, 13th century.

Property of The Bass, Miami Beach to benefit the John and Johanna Bass Art Acquisition Fund

Probably Spanish, Romanesque, 13th century

The Virgin and Child Enthroned

No reserve

Auction Closed

February 7, 08:37 PM GMT

Estimate

6,000 - 8,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

Property of The Bass, Miami Beach to benefit the John and Johanna Bass Art Acquisition Fund

Probably Spanish, Romanesque, 13th century

The Virgin and Child Enthroned


gilt and polychrome wood

height: 21 ¼ in.; 53.97 cm

John and Johanna Bass Collection, New York, before 1963.

J. Liéveaux-Boccador and E. Bresset, Statuaire Médiévale de Collection, France 1972, fig. 205.

Miami, Bass Museum of Art, Human Rites, 25 June - 3 October 2010;

Miami, Bass Museum of Art, Open Storage: Selections from the Collection & Works on Loan, 26 July 2020 - 27 August 2023.

The present group belongs to a type of representation of the Virgin known as Sedes Sapientiae (the Throne of Wisdom), which was a popular depiction in European art from the 12th to the 15th centuries. The imagery emphasizes the Virgin's role as principal mediator between God and man.


In this sculpture, the Virgin is seated on a throne, adorned with the remains of polychromy and with the Child on her lap; both figures face the viewer with typically Romanesque formal bearings.


The present sculpture was included in Jacqueline Liéveaux-Boccador and Edouard Bresset's 1972 catalogue, Statuaire Médiévale de Collection.