Holy Family In Ivory- South Germany, Mid 17th Century

This ivory plaque shows the Virgin Mary kneeling at the feet of the Infant Jesus, seated on linen placed on the ground. He is surrounded on his left by Saint John the Baptist as a child, recognizable by his attributes: the cross and the lamb. To the far left of the ivory stands an elderly man in front of an architectural background. The latter can be identified as Saint Joseph, although his representation standing behind a desk reading a book is uncommon. In the upper part, on the right, is represented a cherub sitting on its cloud carrying the cross of the Crucifixion and accompanied by what could be compared to the "arma christi" (arms of the Passion of Christ), exposed under his feet. These announce the coming sacrifice of Jesus, just like the gesture of John the Baptist grabbing the linen evoking the shroud of Christ, or even as the sadness expressed by the faces of Mary and Joseph. This ivory of great originality can be attributed to the ivory workshops of South Germany and be dated to the middle of the 17th century.