Ivoren sculptuur van Maria met Kind before 1857

Curator: Immediately, I notice an odd tenderness in their postures, like they're sharing a secret the rest of the world doesn't know. What are we looking at today? Editor: Today we are considering an image of an ivory sculpture entitled “Ivoren sculptuur van Maria met Kind,” that translates from Dutch as, "Ivory sculpture of Mary with Child". The original dates to before 1857, and this image most likely captures it soon after. Curator: Ivory… it's breathtaking and unsettling at once. Do you feel the weight of the material in your hands just looking at it? And of course the way it makes us think about where that ivory actually came from is so critical. Editor: Precisely. Ivory, coveted for its smooth texture and luminous quality, links the spiritual aspiration represented here to networks of global trade and exploitation. We have a depiction of maternal love and faith made possible through a history of extraction and craft labor. Curator: And what of the subject of that maternal bond? Is it just me or does the Mary depicted here, clasping a solemn young Jesus, lack the typical serene aura you see in so much Renaissance art? There's a vulnerability. Editor: I think that observation brings us back to the material—carving something this intricate out of ivory involves hours upon hours of concentrated labor. So we’re perhaps reading the sensitivity inherent in the object itself, in that demanding process. This image is compelling as an object documenting an object; and both bring to question devotional iconographies. Curator: Absolutely. It is quite haunting how present this absent sculpture feels, brought to life in monochrome, telling tales that transcend religious iconography. Thanks for illuminating the many intricate details enmeshed into this ivory piece and photo of it. Editor: The pleasure was all mine, considering both labor and belief together as a lens on a past, present, and ever more informed future.