A large carved oak Madonna and child on a crescent moon, The Netherlands, probably Utrecht, last quarter 15th C.

H.: 61,5 cm

Mary stands with her right foot forward on the crescent moon. The tips of the crescent moon appear on either side of her richly pleated robe. The clothed Christ Child sits on her right arm with a bird in his hands. This is a reference to his suffering on the cross: according to a legend, a little bird then pulled a thorn from Christ's crown of thorns from his head.
Mary has taken her cloak under both arms. The cloak is attached with two straps that end in a graceful rosette. Under her cloak she wears a dress with a decorative band at the neck. Her long flowing hair falls over her shoulders. On her head she wears a crown decorated with flowers.
Images of Mary on the crescent moon were often made in the 15th and 16th centuries. These are a representation of a passage from John (12:1) describing a woman clothed with the sun, with stars on her crown and the moon at her feet. She will give birth to a son who will be threatened by a dragon, but in the end evil will be conquered. Theologians interpreted this apocalyptic woman as Mary, the mother of Christ. Most statues like this one had a halo attached to the back that has been lost, rays were often painted in the basin of the altarpiece in which the sculpture was located. The back of this sculpture is flat.