The Latin term Sedes sapientiae translates as "Seat of Wisdom" or "Throne of Wisdom" and pertains to icons and sculptures where Mary is seated on a throne with the Christ Child on her lap. This form of icon with the figures frontally posed and rather stiff and sturdy were produced in northern Spain during the 12th and 13th centuries a period when southern Spain was under Islamic rule.
The Byzantine Empire played a crucial role in shaping Marian art. Byzantine images of the Virgin, known as the Theotokos (Mother of God), were widely adopted in the West. These depictions often emphasised Mary’s regal aspect, showing her enthroned and holding the Christ Child. The 12th and 13th centuries saw an extraordinary growth of the Marian cult in Western Europe, inspired in part by the writings of theologians such as Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. This period witnessed the emergence of new iconographic types, such as the ‘Throne of Wisdom’. 12th-century sculpture from central France and northern Spain present the Christ Child frontally as the embodiment of divine wisdom. This type, like many others, originated in Byzantium but found new expression in Western art. As the Middle Ages progressed, the hieratic images of the Romanesque period gave way to more tender representations in the Gothic age with these new depictions emphasising the relationship between mother and child.
This sculpture has been retouched over the centuries but the majority of the polychrome and traces of gilding on the figures appears to be original.