Works of Art Exhibited at Marlborough House, 1854: Fictile Ivory. Virgin and Child

Photograph of a full length statue of the Virgin Mary, standing and holding the infant Christ in her raised left arm, at shoulder height. She holds an object, possibly a book, in her left hand. The Virgin Mary's right hand is missing. The Virgin Mary looks towards her child. The Christ child looks at the object she holds.

As indicated by the title, the sculpture is made of fictile ivory. Fictile ivories are casts of objects made from ivory. The casts are usually made from Plaster of Paris. Fictile means something that can be, or is, moulded, and is pliable or flexible.