Seated Virgin and Child (Sedes Sapientiae); Virgin seated frontally; Christ seated frontally; Christ seated on the Virgin's left knee; Christ in long robe; Virgin holding a flower in her right hand; blessing gesture; crown; brooch.
Throne decorated with foliated decoration (palmettes) and lions.
Koechlin 1924: French, 1st quarter of the 13th century.
Radiocarbon dating (2011): 95% probability of a date for the ivory within the ranges AD 650 and 860.
Attribution
Unknown
Reverse
Carved in the round but lower relief on the back. The back of the bench is flat and smooth.Label on the underside with figure of saint Martin and inscriptions '18' and '154'.
Provenance
Collection of Frédéric Spitzer, Paris: his sale, Chevallier and Mannheim, Paris, 17 April 1893, lot 73. Collection of Victor Martin Le Roy, Neuilly-sur-Seine (before 1900). Collection of Jean-Joseph Marquet de Vasselot and heirs: sale, Christie's, Paris, Wednesday 16 November 2011, lot 12.
Bibliography
La Collection Spitzer (Paris, 1890), I, no. 38 (E. Molinier).
E. Molinier, Histoire générale des Arts appliqués à l'Industrie (Paris, 1896), I: Les Ivoires, no. 4, p. 183.
A. Goldschmidt, 'Drei Elfenbeinmadonen', in Das Hamburgische Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe (Hamburg, 1902).
R. Koechlin, Catalogue raisonné de la collection Martin Le Roy, Fasc. II: Ivoires et sculptures (Paris, 1906), no. 18, pp. 41-42, pl. IX.
R. Koechlin, Les Ivoires gothiques français (Paris, 1924), I, p. 48; II, no. 4; III, pl. I.
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