Terracotta Enthroned Virgin in the Cloisters, Sept. 2007

Enthroned Virgin
Italy, Tuscany, second third of the 14th century
Terracotta

Accession # 1998.214

The sketchiness of the modeling in several passages, such as the Virgin's right hand, the omission of the Christ Child, and the disruption of some of the surfaces suggest that this figure was not conceived as a finished work of art but may have served as a workshop model, perhaps for a goldsmith. At once voluminous and delicate, the sculpture is related to works by the Sienese Goro di Gregorio and the Pisan Andrea Pisano.

Text from the Cloisters label.