The Annunciation

This (and its companion piece depicting the Adoration of the Magi) is an ivory group made in the late fifteenth century or possibly second quarter of the nineteenth century in France or South Netherlands. The present piece is carved in high relief depicting the Annunciation within a canopied niche.

The original context of the two pieces is not immediately apparent. Whatever their setting, they appear to derive their form from the supporting small narrative panels often seen on Netherlandish altarpieces in wood of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Certain features, however, such as the form of the Virgin's reading desk, the closed book, the incorrect gesture of annunciation from the angel and the rough inscription on the scroll might indicate a nineteenth century date, perhaps in the years 1830-50.