This late Gothic Marian shrine from Brekke is one of the best preserved of its kind in Norway. The sculpture of the Virgin and Child are presented in a chest with scenes from the history of the Virgin birth of Christ, while the exterior features Annunciation, i.e. the meeting between the Archangel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary.
This was common in the late Middle Ages, both on tabernacle shrines and larger winged altarpieces. The sculpture and its shrine give a good impression of the original context of many saints’ sculptures during a period of about 300 years, between c. 1200 and c. 1500.
Northern Germany (Lübeck?), c. 1480
From Brekke (Sogn)
Inv. no. MA 29