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The infant Christ toys with a rosary to which is attached a piece of coral, traditionally worn by children as a protection against evil.
On the shutters is a Latin Prayer in praise of the Immaculate Virgin, asking for her protection.
The frame of the central image is original; the carpentry suggests that it was made in Brussels. However, a 19th-century dealer has had it set into another period frame to which the shutters are attached, in order to create a triptych (altarpiece consisting of three panels). The image of the Virgin enclosed in this way was probably never intended to have shutters.
On the shutters is a Latin Prayer in praise of the Immaculate Virgin, asking for her protection.
The frame of the central image is original; the carpentry suggests that it was made in Brussels. However, a 19th-century dealer has had it set into another period frame to which the shutters are attached, in order to create a triptych (altarpiece consisting of three panels). The image of the Virgin enclosed in this way was probably never intended to have shutters.
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The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN