Virgin and Child

Mughal India, around 1600
Ivory
Museu de São Roque, Lisbon

This is one of the few ivory sculptures known that might be connected with the Mughal court. The cloak and pose of the Virgin closely resemble a marble sculpture made at Agra, probably by a Mughal court artist. The sculpture is also similar to a drawing by Manohar, exhibited nearby.

Compared to Goa and Sri Lanka, the Mughal court did not produce many artworks in ivory. However, when Emperor Jahangir visited the Jesuits in Agra, he was impressed by the sculptures he saw, and immediately ordered versions made in ivory.