Viklau Madonna

The Viklau Madonna

The Viklau Madonna (Swedish: Viklaumadonnan) is a late 12th-century wooden Madonna, probably made on Gotland in present-day Sweden. The statuette is one of the best-preserved 12th-century wooden statuettes from Europe. Named after the medieval Viklau Church where it was originally located, it was bought by the Swedish History Museum in 1928 and is today in the museum in Stockholm. In 2017, it was discovered that a relic had been placed inside the statuette. The statuette depicts Mary, wearing gilded clothes and a golden crown, sitting on a tall chair. Originally, the Madonna was depicted holding the infant Christ in her arms, but this part of the sculpture has been lost.