A Ming dynasty Virgin and Child

A rare Sino-Portuguese sculpture in ivory, from the Ming Dynasty at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries representing Our Lady with the Baby Jesus.

The head of the Virgin has a high forehead, the face is round with a serene and mystic expression and shows a subtle Chinese influence in the physionomy. The eyes are half closed, wide and almond-shaped. The nose wide and with finely defined nostrils, shows some small defects. The mouth is half open, the parted lips small and finely delineated. She is seated in the oriental fashion, the volume of her dress is softened by wide smooth panels with folds and wrinkles. She is wearing a simple tunic, with a ‘V’ neck and reaching down over her crossed legs with the cloth pleated and curving down to her feet. A wide veil covers the head of the Madonna with lateral openings for her ears, strongly figured and with elongated earlobes in the Buddhist-style.

The Virgin holds the Infant on her left arm, covered with a pleated mantle, cradling Him with her right arm, stylized and long, with elongated fingers in the Chinese manner.

The Baby is bare-headed with Buddhist-style ears and a physionomy similar to His Virgin Mother. There are some signs of light damage to the face and He is holding a flower in his right hand whilst pulling on the mantle that covers the left arm of the Virgin.

The theme of the Mother-God cradling a child in her arms is particularly important in the south of China, the cult of Guanyin, a female manifestation of bodhisattva Avalokitesvaraand Mazu, a Tao divinity, protector of fishermen and their wives, and venerated like the reincarnation of the goddess Guanyin on Earth.

There are also possible links to the Chinese cult of Xi Wangmu, the Chinese goddess known as the Queen Mother of the East, popular during the Tang Dynasty, and also of the Buddhist cult developed in China in the 7th century of Kishimojin, the goddess protector of children.

The missionaries recognized these symbols of fertility, maternity and protection, and drew significant parallels with the importance of Our Lady the Virgin. This is referred when the Jesuits Michelle Ruggieri, and Matteo Ricci wrote to the Company General Claudio Aquaviva soliciting images of the Virgin and the Infant Saviour, due to the great devotion and curiosity of some magisterial Chinese to the image of the Virgin and Child in the Oratorio of the House of Jesuits in the Chinese Mission.

This piece is an important and rare example of a Christian model, inspired by this artistic symbiosis that links Chinese goddesses with the Virgin Mary. As the most important center in the production of ivory sculptures in the 15th century was in the South of China, in Fujian province, we attribute the origins of this fine and rare piece to this locality. The iconography of this work clearly indicates the craftsmanship of native Chinese.