9. * A parcel-gilt polychrome wood group of the Virgin of Mercy, Swabia, Ulm (?), circa 1500 The Virgin holds apart with her two hands the flaps of her cloak under which the faithful are kneeling; resting on a fully sculpted base. The Virgin wraps her cloak around the faithful to protect both religious and lay people, and is generally known as the Virgin of Mercy. This fairly rare iconographic type, known as the 'Mater omnium' (Mother of All), dates back to the Byzantine period and symmetrically groups together the religious (popes, bishops, abbots, canons and monks) on the left and the laity (emperors, kings, princes, dukes, nobles, merchants and peasants) on the right, 43cm high 16 1/2in high) Provenance Bought from Pierre-Richard Royer (armetal) Paris, 2006.