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Source Description
The Christ Child and seated Virgin together hold a bird, most likely a European goldfinch. The goldfinch was considered a symbol of the Crucifixion because it has a spot of red on its breast, which, according to legend, was acquired when the bird pulled a thorn out of Christ's Crown of Thorns, and a drop of blood splashed upon it. The Christ Child taking his first step is a popular motif in Swiss sculpture of the 14th and early 15th centuries.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
18327
label
Virgin and Child
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
18327
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Virgin and Child
description
The Christ Child and seated Virgin together hold a bird, most likely a European goldfinch. The goldfinch was considered a symbol of the Crucifixion because it has a spot of red on its breast, which, according to legend, was acquired when the bird pulled a thorn out of Christ's Crown of Thorns, and a drop of blood splashed upon it. The Christ Child taking his first step is a popular motif in Swiss sculpture of the 14th and early 15th centuries.
provenance
[Vienna]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1926, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
1360-1370 (Medieval)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Ivory & Bone
figurines
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
20
height
9.3
depth
4
dimensionsRaw
7 7/8 x 3 11/16 x 1 9/16 in. (20 x 9.3 x 4 cm)
Source extras
cul
German
style
Gothic
med
ivory
creator_ids
6211
6290
collection_ids
MED
exhibition_ids
none
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
8c0211fe9efece5b