Wooden Marian statue with Baby Jesus.
This statue is one of the 'poupées de Malines'. These wooden devotional statues were made by members of Mechelen guilds between about 1450 and 1530. The shape of the wrap had to meet certain requirements and the letter M had to be visible in the form. The guild masters gave the statuettes a guild stamp.
The devotional statues were primarily intended for private devotion and were presented separately or as part of house altars or devotional Enclosed Gardens (Besloten Hofjes).