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Rare polychrome wooden sculpture depicting the Madonna of the milk.

The Virgin is represented with her breasts uncovered, caught in the act of breastfeeding her child. With very ancient origins, the representation of the Madonna breastfeeding the Child has undergone numerous variations over the centuries, taking on different meanings depending on the period and culture encountered. This wonderful sculpture also has a double meaning which we managed to obtain from the previous owner before it later went up for sale at auction.

As you can see, the Madonna's face appears very well preserved, beautiful and of much higher quality than the rest of the sculpture. It's not a casuality! In fact, sculpture was born in the 17th century and has been a source of great devotion among many faithful for centuries. For reasons that are not very certain, the sculpture had suffered some small damage and towards the 18th century it was decided to intervene with a restoration but only of the part of the face, because the area of the breast and the child should absolutely not be modified because they were rich in history and according to the popular tradition embellished with multiple graces received from women and mothers who had problems related to breastfeeding. So most likely the original areas were kissed and touched by the faithful.

Germany 17th/18th century.

Height 56 cm (22")

Width 24 cm (9,45")

Depth 26 cm (10,25")

Weight 6.5 kg