Collections Database

Description:
religion - Christian; woman; man; child

Label Text:
Originally the center of a small altarpiece, this delicate panel presents the Madonna and Child flanked by saints and angels. Luxurious fabrics form a canopy above the throne and adorn the Madonna. Her robe is trimmed in ermine, an expensive fur imported from Russia and reserved for the nobility.

The saint at the left, in the green robe, is Anthony Abbot, holding a book and a T-shaped staff. At his feet is a small black pig, which became one of Anthony’s symbols when the monastic order founded in his name was granted a special privilege to allow their pigs to roam freely in the streets.

Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=SC+1921.9.1

Research on objects in the collections, including provenance, is ongoing and may be incomplete. If you have additional information or would like to learn more about a particular object, please email fc-museums-web@fivecolleges.edu.