Italian school, second half of the 17th century. "Madonna... Lot 15

Italian school, second half of the 17th century. "Madonna of Trapani". Carved, polychrome and gilded alabaster. Base with eagle and shield. It has losses: the crown of the Child, one arm of the Virgin and one of the Child are missing. Measurements: 47,5 x 20 x 9 cm. Devotional sculpture representing the Virgin and Child, in alabaster, in her invocation of Our Lady of Trapani. It faithfully follows the original model, preserved in the Basilica-sanctuary of Maria Santissima Annunziata, a sculpture attributed to Nino Pisano. The carving is of high quality, which can be seen in the naturalness with which the folds of the tunic fall, with skilfully superimposed layers. The face of the Child is lovingly close to that of Mary, who holds him with her left arm. The small body is wrapped in soft fabrics. The filleting and gilded borders simulate sumptuous brocades, enhancing the refinement of the carving, which reinterprets Pisano's trecentista art in the Baroque period. The Virgin of Trapani or Our Lady of Trapani is an invocation of the Virgin Mary named after the Italian city of Trapani on the island of Sicily. It is an iconographic model generally made of alabaster that has numerous versions in the Christian world, especially around the Mediterranean. According to one legend, the original image was venerated on Mount Carmel in Palestine, and was later transferred to the city of Trapani, where the devotion and the image remained. Another tradition claims that it was made by Nino Pisano for the island of Cyprus, but that after the advance of the Turks the image was transferred to Trapani.