Virgin and Child with Angels

This plaque is Bertoldo's only surviving depiction of the Virgin and Child. Its function is unknown, though the unfinished edges suggest that it was intended for display within a frame, possibly inset into the cover of a small chest or incorporated into a diptych or triptych. The upper portion of the figural composition — the Virgin and Child flanked by two angels — derives from a gilded bronze tondo by Donatello of about the same scale (ca. 1450; Victoria and Albert Museum, London). For this reason, the plaque may be dated to early in Bertoldo's career.