ANSWER: Copy of Raphael's Madonne of the Chair - famous Italian Renaissance painting reproduced in many mediums
Norma Adams
Pin
3" in diameter- The surface looks mosaic, but I don't believe it is - has slight sparkle in the background. The surface has dimension. It is thicker in the center.I had thought maybe paper mache', but it it much too hard for that, so it must be some kind of metal.The back is definitely metal as is the rim.The figures also are raised. I'm not even sure it is supposed to be Madonna and Child. There is another child's head in the background, and there is a pipe or lamp in the foreground.
Norma Adams
Pin
3" in diameter- The surface looks mosaic, but I don't believe it is - has slight sparkle in the background. The surface has dimension. It is thicker in the center.I had thought maybe paper mache', but it it much too hard for that, so it must be some kind of metal.The back is definitely metal as is the rim.The figures also are raised. I'm not even sure it is supposed to be Madonna and Child. There is another child's head in the background, and there is a pipe or lamp in the foreground.
"I'm glad you showed this, Norma. You know, that is one of those pieces that is so unusual, I would take it somewhere .. to a museum or something, to get it looked at and identified. I too would like to know what it is made of." --Dianne Lavenburg, 12/08/10
"Norma, I would have a tendency to look for on-line art sites that might be of assistance. To me, this is more of a piece of art than a piece of jewelry if you know what I mean. I found this site. They have a "community" where you can submit pictures for ID. If you can just get an idea of what your piece represents, you'll know where to start (religious, era, etc.) and then move on from there. Or, if you have a museum near you or art gallery, it doesn't hurt to ask. I always have good luck contacting people on line and asking if they recognize something or can give me some information. I'd take a couple more pictures from different angles and go from there.
http://www.fine-art.com/" --Dianne Lavenburg, 12/08/10
"Hmm, it does rather look like an old painting, maybe a copy of one." --Linda Jo, 12/08/10
"What you have is a copy of Raphael's Madonne of the Chair. Famous Italian Renaissance painting it has been reproduced in many mediums.
Raphael painting link:
http://www.finearttouch.com/Raphael_s_Madonna_of_the_Chair.html
Ceramic link:
http://religiousgiftstore.com/madonna-of-the-chair-della-robbia.html" --Nicole St-Pierre, 12/09/10
"Beth, her piece does look very old you're right; but I don't know what kind of "stone" it's painted on. Will leave that to the experts; it looks like a piece of pottery but she says that the background is sort of shiny. It almost looks like MOP particles on my screen." --Nicole St-Pierre, 12/09/10
"Nicole, thank you for identifying the piece of art of which my piece is a copy! This give me a good start on trying to identify this piece which has become something I want to do. There is certainly a real possibility that the rounded portion is ceramic. There is some "shimmer" on the outside of the background surrounding the figures. I really appreciate your knowledge." --Norma Adams, 12/09/10
Other Sizes: Original Medium