This is perhaps the most enigmatic of the sculptures in the Cerruti Collection. Its poor state of preservation does not help with deciphering the carving. The lower part has been destroyed by woodboring insects, the mother and son are both missing their right arm and the entire surface is scratched and covered in xylophagous insect holes. As regards the original paintwork, it is reduced to a few scarce traces of colour and gold, primarily on the Virgin’s face and dress. However, it is not only the poor state of preservation that hinders the critical interpretation of the work, whose charm paradoxically lies in its terrible state and the fact that it is a timeless idol, rather than in its intrinsic artistic qualities, which are very humble in truth. The primitive quality of the carving, evident in Mary’s large unjointed hand and in the barely sketched out features of the two figures, suggests that it was a product associated with popular devotion. The highly simplified, perfectly frontal image could have been inspired by a prototype such as the famous Madonna of Loreto (or other similar 14th-century sculptures, venerated as miraculous in many places around Europe). The rendering of the short pleated veil that covers Mary’s head in this case, worn beneath her crown, recalls the “Krusele”, an accessory typical of Madonnas from Germanspeaking areas, particularly the Tyrol, between the mid-14th and the early 15th century. However, in the Cerruti example, this archaic attribute contrasts with the interesting outer garment, which is very unusual and equipped with clasps on the sleeves. It therefore creates the impression of being a 16th- or 17th-century product of an eminently devotional nature, perhaps connected to a specific place of pilgrimage.