Huge 18th century black Virgin with the Child, Roussillon

Large Black Virgin and Child, known as "Our Lady of Font-Romeu", in carved wood in two-part applique, polychromed and gilded. The Virgin wearing a high tiara carries the Child on her left arm; she is dressed in a long coat richly decorated with foliage and cabochons; the Child has a crowned head and holds a sphere in his right hand. Gilded wooden base, some missing parts. The Black Virgins are female effigies that belong to the iconography of the European Middle Ages. They generally represent the Virgin Mary, but some of them also represent Sara the Black, or Saint Anne. They are mainly located in the western Mediterranean basin, with a significant concentration in the south of France. The origin of the iconography remains obscure. There are spiritualist, materialist, and scientific theories; Catholic interpretations or those of cults of ancient goddesses of diverse and varied origins. The blackness of the Black Virgins became an important element of their religious identity and their particularity (Song of Songs). Some were deliberately repainted in black over their entirety (Our Lady of Moulins), but we know that from the 17th century onwards, it is indisputable that some sculptors produced Virgins that were black from the outset. Roussillon, early 18th century. Height: 1.05m; 1.10m with its base.