Mary Magdalene. Italy 14th century.

Marble sculpture depicting Mary Magdalene, carved in northern Italy at the end of the 14th century. Standing, the saint is draped in a long mantle, one panel of which falls down the front like a finely pleated apron. The natural undulations of the folds—sometimes stiff in a cornet pleat, sometimes soft as they descend—impart a graceful sense of movement. Her face, round and serene, is marked by full cheeks, a slightly aquiline nose, and a mouth with full lips, modeled with an almost sensual softness. The exposed forehead looks forward to the following century. In her left hand she holds the perfume vessel, a jar of nard, which she used to anoint the feet of Jesus at Simon the Pharisee’s house and again after his resurrection. In her right hand she holds the Book, another characteristic attribute of the Saint.

Roughly finished back, missing on the base.
References consulted:
· Mary Magdalene: The Image of a Woman through the Centuries, Sibylle Ehrismann, 2005
· Sculpture in Italy 1300–1500, Charles Avery, 2002
· Italian Medieval Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art & The Cloisters, Lisbeth Castelnuovo-Tedesco & Jack Soultanian, 2010