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Head of a Female Saint
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During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, ivory was a very popular medium for high-quality statuettes of the Virgin Mary and other saints. As in ancient times, this expensive, imported material was often used only for the face, hands, and feet of the figure, while the hair and clothing were made of less valuable materials.On this ivory head of a female saint, for example, the holes drilled around the figure's face were made to hold the ten mahogany pegs that supported a wig made from another medium. Similar holes that pierce her earlobes suggest that she once wore earrings.