Virgin and Child

This relief was cast from a mould of an original, attributed to
the great Florentine sculptor and goldsmith Lorenzo Ghiberti
(1378–1455). In Renaissance Florence, the market for
multiples in stucco (a plaster-like material) was driven by
intense devotion to the Virgin Mary.

Signs of wear on this relief indicate it was placed outside,
most likely on the facade of a private home. Originally, the
shields were painted with coats of arms, probably of a
husband and wife. On the base, faint traces of the original
inscription in Latin, AVE MARIA (‘Hail Mary’), are noticeable.
Viscount Lee of Fareham bequest, 1947