Madonna and Child

Abstract

This polychrome stucco relief is found today in the Fondazione Salvatore Romano and is dated to the first half of the fifteenth century. Restoration has revealed traces of gilding in Mary's hair, along her robe, and the swaddling clothes of the child. Traces of a coral jewel necklace and bracelet have been found on the child, common in the iconography of the Christ child owing to that material's apotropaic associations as well as its links to the blood of Christ. This object was likely for private devotion, and the material, stucco, meant that it could be afforded by the less wealthy, as opposed to works in bronze or marble, which were more expensive. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International.