Tracing origin and history of Virgin and Child in Majesty, the oldest wooden polychrome statuette in the Czech Republic

0578619 - ÚACH 2025 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Hradilová, Janka - Hradil, David - Širillová, Zuzana - Švarcová, Silvie
Tracing origin and history of Virgin and Child in Majesty, the oldest wooden polychrome statuette in the Czech Republic.
Archaeometry. Roč. 66, č. 2 (2024), s. 458-476. ISSN 0003-813X. E-ISSN 1475-4754
R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA22-17966S
Grant - others:AV ČR(CZ) StrategieAV21/6
Program: StrategieAV
Institutional support: RVO:61388980
Keywords : azurite * gilding techniques * grey ground * micro-CT * microanalysis * microscopy * Romanesque art * vivianite * wooden polychromy
OECD category: Analytical chemistry
Impact factor: 1.6, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Open access

A wooden polychrome statuette of Virgin and Child in Majesty, currently in the Museum Montanelli in Prague, is actually a torso. It was created in the 11th or 12th century at the latest, being the oldest wooden polychrome statuette in the Czech Republic. Current research combining advanced imaging and micro-analytical methods substantially contributed to the determination of its regional origin and detection and dating of later interventions. Identified pigments, including azurite, vivianite and smalt, together with changes in gilding technology, were found to be essential in tracing the story of the statuette over time.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0348405