Saint Mary Magdalene, unknown maker from Spain

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Although recent scholarship identifies Mary Magdalene as a conflation of at least two historical figures, none of whom was a repentant prostitute, medieval theology believed her to have been the repentant woman who anointed Christ’s feet with ointment and dried them with her luxuriant hair. The saint depicted in this sculpture is identified as Mary Magdalene by the two attributes, or symbols, she carries - the jar of ointment which she used to anoint Christ’s feet, and a closed book bound with clasps.
The cult of Mary Magdalene was popular in the fourteenth century. In 1280 her “true” relics were discovered in the region of Provence, in southern France, where according to legend she, her sister Martha and brother Lazarus had traveled as missionaries after the Crucifixion.
Like all medieval sculpture, this late Gothic figure was once painted, although few traces remain to indicate the original colors. The relatively small size of the sculpture suggests that it may have been intended as devotional image for a private chapel.