{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O120718"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O120718/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2009CC5586/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2009CC5586/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2009CC5586","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2009CC5589","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2009CC5588","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2009CC5587","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O120718/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O120718","accessionNumber":"M.501-1956","objectType":"Figure","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"A relic, now missing, was originally kept in the cavity behind the small door at the back of this reliquary figure of the Virgin and Child.The door is decorated with a lily in a pot, the emblem of the Virgin Mary.The copper sheeting and enamel covers a finely carved wooden figure of the saint.\r\n\r\n The bones and possessions associated with the saints and the possessions associated with Christ are known as relics. In the Middle Ages these were generally believed to have miraculous powers and were greatly venerated. Reliquaries made to enclose relics might take many forms. Some reliquaries were shaped to represent the saint or various parts of the body such as an arm, head, foot or finger (so-called 'speaking image' reliquaries). Others were designed as a monstrance, which placed the relic on view inside a glass cylinder (<i>monstrare</i>= to show). \r\n\r\n Relics of the Virgin were considered to be the most holy, apart from the relics of Christ. Since Christians believed that after Mary's death, her body was carried up into Heaven (the Assumption), her relics were thought to be items, like her veil, that she had touched or worn during her lifetime.","physicalDescription":"Copper-gilt with champlevé enamel on a wooden core. The Virgin sits on a throne with the Christ Child upon her knee. She holds the stem of an object (now missing) in her right hand and supports Jesus with her left. She wears a separate crown with filigree decoration and set with eleven (originally twelve) stones. A blue stone is set in an oval at her neck. Christ also wears a separate crown applied with filigree and set with stones (eleven stones one of which is missing). He raises his right hand in benediction and holds a book in his left hand. Their throne is decorated with champlevé enamel depicting the Virgin Annuciate on the left side and the angel Gabriel on the right side, with scrolling foliage and rosettes of blue, white, green and red. At the back a hinged gate with openwork decoration gives access to a cavity for relics. The gate is pierced with the symbol of a lily beneath an engraving of a romanesque arch.\r\n\r\nSome 19th century restoration includes part or all of the crown and some of the enamel at the back.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Unknown","id":"A1848"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"copper-gilt","id":"x29394"},{"text":"copper","id":"AAT11020"},{"text":"enamel","id":"AAT14910"},{"text":"wood","id":"AAT11914"}],"techniques":[{"text":"gilded","id":"AAT53789"},{"text":"enamelled","id":"x30139"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Copper-gilt, champlevé enamel, wood","categories":[{"text":"Religion","id":"THES48900"},{"text":"Metalwork","id":"THES48920"},{"text":"Christianity","id":"THES48978"},{"text":"Enamels","id":"THES48876"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"MET","id":"THES48599"},"images":["2009CC5586","2009CC5589","2009CC5588","2009CC5587"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"10 (VA)","id":"THES49099"},"free":"","case":"CA16","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Figure","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Limoges","id":"x32604"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""},{"place":{"text":"France","id":"x28849"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1250-1300","earliest":"1250-01-01","latest":"1300-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Dr W.L. Hildburgh Bequest","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"51.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"20","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Depth","value":"17.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Weight","value":"6.2","unit":"kg","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"Hildburgh Bequest\n\nHistorical significance: This object has many similarities with the statuette reliquaries of the Virgin and Child in The Metropilitan Museum of Art (17.190.124), in the church of Breuil- au Fa (Haute Vienne) and in the convent of Santa Clare in Huesca (Spain).\r\n\r\nReliquaries had a complex symbolic meaning. They were believed to be imbued with the holiness of the relic they preserved. The faithful believed that by touching a reliquary, they would receive some of this holy quality.\r\n\r\nReliquaries were central features of the Medieval Church Treasury. They symbolised the status and authority of the Church. Relics attracted pilgrims who made gifts and monetary donations to the Church in which they were held. Local people also gave in honour of their saint and to gain protection for themselves and their town. Thus relics could often give a sense of identity within the church community. Some reliquaries were used in religious precessions or festivals, which both involved the community and also reinforced the status of the Church.\r\n\r\nThis reliquary probably contained a relic relating to the Virgin Mary. The depiction of the Virgin annunciate and the angel Gabriel, reminded the believer of the Mary's virginity and her immaculate conception. The symbol of the lily, a sign of purity associated with Mary, further emphasises this theme.\r\n\r\nRelics of the Virgin were considered to be the most holy alongside relics of Christ. As Christians believed that after Mary's death, her body was carried up into Heaven (the Assumption), her relics were thought to be items that she had touched during her lifetime. These would be fragments of items such as her veil.","historicalContext":"The bones associated with the saints and the possessions associated with Christ are known as relics. In the Middle Ages they were generally believed to have miraculous powers and were greatly venerated.\r\n\r\nRelics were kept in containers called reliquaries. Reliquaries took many forms. Some were shaped to represent the saint or various parts of the body such as an arm or finger (so-called 'speaking image' reliquaries). Others were designed as a monstrance, which placed the relic on view inside a glass cylinder (<i>monstrare</i>= to show). Another style of reliquary, was the <i>tempietto</i> reliquary, which means \"little temple\". These receptacles had an architectural design in the form of a shrine or church. This reliquary may have been a 'speaking image' reliquary, containing an object associated with the Virgin Mary.","briefDescription":"Copper-gilt with champlevé enamel on a wooden core, Virgin and Child,Limoges, France, ca. 1250","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Hildburgh, W. L, \"Medieval Copper and Champlevé Enamelled Images of the Virgin and Child\", in <u>Archaeologia</u>, XCVI, 1955, pp.115-58"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"<u>Enamels of Limoges</u>, ed. Barbara Boehm & Elisabeth Delhaye, The Metropolitan Museum of Art,  New York, 1996, cat. 155, p.426"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Braun, Josef <u> Die Reliquiare des Christlichen Kultes und ihre Entwicklung</u>, Freiburg,1940"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Campbell, Marian. Imitation et création: la redécouverte de l'émail champlevé limousin au XIX<sup>e</sup> siècle. <u>In</u>: D. Gaborit-Chopin and E. Taburet-Delahaye, eds. <u>L'OEuvre de Limoges. Art et historie au temps des Plantagenêts, actes du colloque organisé au musée du Louvre ... les 16 et 17 novembre 1995</u>. Paris: Musée du Louvre, 1998. pp. 49-81. ISBN 2110039744."}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[{"text":"The Virgin Mary","id":"N480"},{"text":"Jesus Christ","id":"N1515"}],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"VIRGIN AND CHILD\r\nCopper, stamped, embossed and gilt, decorated with champlevé enamel, crystals and stones, over a carved wood figure.\r\nFRENCH (Limoges) 13th century\r\nHildburgh Bequest\r\n\r\nA relic (now missing) was originally placed in the cavity at the back of the statue, the door to which is decorated with a lily in a pot, a symbol of purity and thus associated with the Virgin Mary. A cast of the face of the carved wood figure inside is shown next to the Virgin and Child.","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null}}],"partNumbers":["M.501-1956"],"accessionNumberNum":"501","accessionNumberPrefix":"M","accessionYear":1956,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":["2019LR5745","2019LU3917","2019LV0872","2019LW5109","2019LV8611"],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-05","recordCreationDate":"2006-01-27","availableToBook":false}}