Ronchi Milano

carved elephant ivory (Loxodonta africana Blumenbach, 1797 or Elephas maximus Linnaeus, 1758).
The relief belongs to a well-known type. The Madonna is depicted in a half-length pose, dressed as usual in a tunic, while the Child Jesus is standingnaked, thus leaving his sex bare. It is an image derived from a prototype of the 'Madonna and Child' by Andreadel Verrocchio preserved in the Bargello Museum in Florence, which wastaken up by his pupils, from Perugino to Ghirlandaio, but also Piermatteo d'Amelia and Francesco di Simone Ferrucci, both in painting and sculpture, from the 1570s onwards. The art work is set in a frame richly decorated with vegetal scrolls and set with cabochons of musk agate (agate, a variety of chalcedony), a stone charged with good omens and spiritual favours in many cultures.

The frame is hallmarked with the Chamber of Commerce mark in use in Italy from 1935 to 1945 (in this case Milan), with the figures '800' to indicate the fineness of the 800/1000 silver and the inscription 'RONCHI MILANO'.

Height x width x depth carving: 13.3 x 7.5 x 1.2 cm.
Estimated carving weight: 102 g.