Enthroned Virgin and Child with Donor Arms, Eastern France, 1598

Late Renaissance painted panel, dated twice 1588 and 1598, depicting the Virgin and Child enthroned, attended by two angels who hold a crown above the Virgin’s head. The Virgin is seated on a stylised throne, with the Christ Child blessing the viewer. To the left stands a vase of lilies, the traditional emblem of purity and an attribute of the Virgin Mary.
In the lower right appears a finely painted coat of arms, quarterly of an urn or pitcher and three lilies, surmounted by a crest of a demi-bear holding lilies. These are almost certainly the donor arms of a local noble couple, identifying the patrons who commissioned the work for a chapel or domestic devotional setting. The combination of lilies with Marian imagery underlines the panel’s theological emphasis on purity and intercession.