Ivory figurine of the Virgin and Child, carved during the tenth century. The style, however is quite typical with the elongated figure and stiff drapery. The proportions are clearly unrealistic, but then, realism wasn't important to the Byzantines, spirituality and the super-natural was. At this point, description of this sort of strange, elongated proportioning is the "hieratic" style, meaning "sacred" or "holy" was a church sanctioned set of standards that dictated the proportions of human figures in mosaics and relief sculptures. The hieratic style was not meant to be realistic, it was meant to inspire a sense of awe and contemplation. For example, the hieratic style dictated that figures should be no less than nine head-lengths tall (most people are 6.5 to 7), and noses had to be no less than one third the length of the head (in most people, the nose is one quarter the length of a head, or less) The result was indeed an elongated figure with a very vertical appearance.
This sculpture representations in relief, she is Christ's mother, standing and holding her son. It were invariably in relief, either on a large scale in marble or in smaller versions in ivory, metalwork or semi-precious stones.
This sculpture is made of ivory because this substance is smooth, tactile quality and creamy color made it ideal for the creation of luxury goods. Furthermore, although ivory is easily carved, it does not warp, and its density makes it less prone to breakage than many types of wood.
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