"Madonna and Child, Sedes Sapientiae". Polychromed wood sculpture. Anonymous Castilian, Spain. Late 13th century .
90 x 30 x 20 cm
This fantastic enthroned Madonna and Child is in a good state of preservation, especially in the upper part, as the lower part has some slight shedding of materials and polychrome. As is often the case, the back and the throne not only have not been carved but are also hollowed out.
The Virgin Mary sits in a frontal position on a throne without a back, although it does have horizontal mouldings at the sides. Her left hand rests on her Child’s shoulder, a detail which lead Fernández-Ladreda to name this typology “Vírgenes de apoyo” (Supporting Madonnas). This support of the left hand shows a close relationship between the mother and child, while her right hand is held up with the fingers extended upwards in the attitude of showing a flower or fruit which is now missing. In general, this was usually an apple, which alludes to the idea of the Virgin Mary as the new Eve, offering the fruit of Salvation. Mary’s clothing comprises pointed shoes, a long, red tunic with a V-neck decorated with flowers and cinched at the waist by a belt. She also wears a blue mantle with simple golden stars that symbolize divinity and covers both shoulders, a short veil that falls on her shoulders with zigzagging folds that allow part of the hair to be seen. Her oval face has large almond-shaped eyes with prominent eyelids, a nose with a wide, flat septum, a closed mouth with thin lips and a strong chin. Her head is covered by a crown that is large in proportion to her head, topped with three fleurs-de-lys, which symbolize both divine maternity and royal power.
Jesus sits on the Madonna’s left knee; in this way he breaks from the forward-facing symmetry of the group. In spite of a certain stiffness and parallelism that he has, the body is slightly turned towards the right and both of his feet are naked and hanging free. He wears a simple, ochre coloured tunic with a V-neck and a gilded edge, similar to that of the Madonna. His rounded hair barely protrudes from his head and has not been worked in detail. He does not wear a crown, the only attribute he has being the closed book he holds in his left hand which symbolises the divine wisdom of Christ, where the prophesies of his coming are recorded. He holds his other hand up in an attitude of blessing.
Although this is a compact group, both characters are independent. Slight hieratism and slimness can be seen in the Madonna, but not so much in the Child. Both present pronounced idealism in the facial features. Due to its characteristics, this must be a Castilian sculpture from the end of the 13th century.
We would like to thank Javier Baladrón, doctor in History of Art, for cataloguing this piece;