This sculpture originally stood high on the choir screen of Strasbourg Cathedral. Its place of honor near the center was marked by a canopy with angels holding a crown over the Virgin’s head. A rosebush stood next to Mary and the now-missing Child, linking Mary with Isaiah’s prophecy about the coming of the Messiah: "And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root." The choir screen was removed in 1682, as part of a wider effort to allow the faithful to see the altar.
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Title:Virgin
Date:ca. 1250
Geography:Made in Strasbourg, Alsace, present-day France
Culture:German
Medium:Sandstone with original paint and gilding
Dimensions:Overall: 58 1/2 x 18 1/2 x 14 1/2in. (148.6 x 47 x 36.8cm)
Classification:Sculpture-Stone
Credit Line:The Cloisters Collection, 1947
Object Number:47.101.11
From the former choir screen of the Cathedral of Strasbourg; C. Joret, Paris ; [ Henri Daguerre, Paris ] ; J. H. Fitzhenry (until d. 1913) ; his sale, Christie, Manson and Woods (November 18-19, 24-26, 1913) ; [ Alphonse Kann French, Paris (1/2 interest sold 1933)] ; [ Demotte Inc., Paris and New York (1/2 interest sold 1933) ] ; [ Brummer Gallery, Paris and New York (1933–sold 1947) ]
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