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This over-lifesize Madonna, seated on an exquisitely adorned pillared throne, is rendered in accordance with Byzantine "nikopoia" (the bringer of victory) scheme, in stringent, dignified frontality, in her lap the Child giving the gesture of blessing. The Italian sculptor has changed the Byzantine veil into a kind of cap, whose abstract spherical form is like a cupola over the slender face with eyes gazing into the distance.
The elaborate relief on the base contains an inscription saying that the carving was executed in 1199 by Presbyter Martinus, i.e. by a priestly artist. It tells also that the work was commissioned by a certain Abbot Petrus. It is known from other sources that this abbot headed the Camaldolese Convent in Borgo San Sepolcro (Emilia-Romagna) around the year 1200.
Many of the sculptures of this era, including this Madonna, unfortunately bear only remnants of their original polychrome finish.
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