In
Christian iconography,
Sedes sapientiae ("The Throne of Wisdom") is an icon of the
Mother of God in majesty. When the Virgin is depicted in
sedes sapientiae icons and sculptural representations, she is seated on a throne, with the
Christ Child on her lap. For the more domestic and intimate iconic representations of Mary with the infant Jesus on her lap, see
Madonna and Child.
This type of
madonna-image, as a variant of the
Byzantine Hodegetria type, appeared in a wide range of sculptural and, later, painted images in Western Europe, especially about 1200. In these representations, some structural elements of the throne invariably appear, even if only handholds and front legs. For hieratic purposes, the Virgin's feet often rest on a low stool. Later, Gothic sculptures of the type are more explicitly identifiable with the Throne of Solomon, where
- two lions stood, one at each hand. And twelve little lions stood upon the six steps on the one side and on the other.
The
Sedes sapientiae icon also appeared in
illuminated manuscripts, and Romanesque frescoes and mosaics, and was represented on seals. The icon possesses in addition
emblematic verbal components: the Virgin
as the Throne of Wisdom is a
trope of Damiani or Guibert de Nogent, based on their
typological interpretation of the passage in the
Books of Kings, that describes the throne of Solomon (I Kings 10: 18–20, repeated at II Chronicles 9: 17–19). This was much used in
Early Netherlandish painting in works like the
Lucca Madonna by
Jan van Eyck.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seat_of_Wisdom
