Child Jesus as Saviour of the World - Mechelen/Malines, early 16th century

Superb Child Jesus from Malines. Height: 35 cm. Wood: walnut. Period: 1500-1520.

Similar statues:
Kolumba Museum (Köln) Inv. 1996/508 (Made in Malines p.73), Liebighaus (Frankfurt) Inv. St.P. 352 (Made in Malines p.77), Badisches Landesmuseum (Karlsruhe) Inv. 80/411 (Made in Malines p.114), MAS (Antwerpen) Inv. VM2000.11.20/5 (Made in Malines p. 193).

We quote below some passages from the wonderful book "Made in Malines; les Statuettes Malinoises ou poupées de Malines de 1500-1540, étude matérielle et typologique" published by the Institut Royal du Patrimoine Artistique (IRPA/KIK) in Brussels (2019) in the 'Scientia Artis n°16 series.
"The statuettes were conceived as objects of private devotion, for use in convents or in private homes. The figures of the Infant Jesus are typical of Malinese production. These statuettes were real dolls for the nuns, who dressed them in clothes and put them to sleep in little cradles. (p47) "The nuns and beguines received an Infant Jesus or a Christmas cradle from their relatives when they took the habit. (...) At first, these were representations of the newborn Child wrapped in swaddling clothes. Later, the figure evolved into a representation of a young naked child standing on a plinth. Rarely preserved, a trousseau of small clothes accompanied the statuette. The nuns looked after this child as if it were their own. They could dress him, put him to bed and talk to him. A letter written in 1344 by the Dominican nun Margaretha Ebner describes these games: 'The little Jesus cries and prevents her from sleeping, demanding that she take him against her in bed. She agrees, but asks him for a kiss so that he will forgive his caprice, and he complies by taking her in his arms. On another occasion, the Child demands to be suckled. (...) The doll is both the nun's child and her divine lover, and (...) Malinesque statuettes are particularly well suited to this dual function, being an intermediate representation between an infant and an elegant young man. From the end of the 15th century, figures of the Infant Jesus were no longer reserved for the religious, and the custom of cradling the Child at Christmas entered the private sphere." (p49)
Of the 600 statuettes analysed, the Virgin and Child is the figure most represented in Malinese production (34%), followed by Saint Anne the Trinity (11%) and the Child Jesus (10%) (pp 57-59). "The statuettes of the Infant Jesus are naked and standing on a plinth. Unlike all the other figures produced, the Infant Jesus is sculpted in the round and polychrome on all sides. He blesses with his right hand and carries a small globe in his left. As we explained earlier, statuettes of the Infant Jesus were accompanied by small textile garments". (p59).

The book 'Made in Malines' (see below) states that "the height of 35 to 37 cm was dominant until the middle of production" (p.56). The cushion-shaped base is less common than the hexagonal base, but it was also frequently used and can be found, for example, in the Child Jesus in the Museum voor Religieuze Kunst (Uden) Inv. 0011 (Made in Malines p.81). The pedestal of our statue has an old nail sticking out in the middle and an earlier owner has added a small black multiplex foot so that the statue could stand upright.