Thank to J_ W_ for emailing, querying whether the items in the bowl by the feet of the subject in Mater Triumphalis were pomegranate seeds.

I had assumed, for no reason other than the subject appeared to be standing on a sea shore, that the items in the bowl were shells, although I could think of no reason why they should be there. J_ W_’s suggestion fits with the subject along with pomegranate/pomegranate seed symbolist use in art historically [I’ve had to rapidly educate myself on the subject!].

“Traditionally, the pomegranate symbolizes life and growth, which can also equate to beauty, prosperity, and fertility” (Spry, Hannah (2019) “Symbolic Seeds: An Analysis of Pomegranate Usage in Selected Artworks of the Past and Present,” Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal: Vol. 6 : Iss. 2 , Article 6), the fruit often shown open with the seeds exposed or falling out.

I have no doubt, with her knowledge of Greco-Roman mythology – apparent from her subject choice in many paintings – in which this association of pomegratates and their seeds with female fecundity is found, Annie would have been well aware of the connection. Suddenly the picture makes more sense as a whole. Thank you, J_ W_.

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Jonathan Russell