Unknown Master, Flemish (15C in Brussels) Virgin and Child. National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh.
The unidentified artist who executed this panel is sometimes referred to as the Master of the Embroidered Foliage, based on his characteristic foregrounds, carpeted with flowers & decorative leaves. He appears to have been active in Brussels & the South Netherlands, & was apparently influenced by Flemish masters Rogier van der Weyden c 1399-1464 & Hugo van der Goes, (c 1440—1482).
Here the Virgin sits on a high=back turfed bench protected within a walled garden enclosure. The Metropolitan Museum notes that turf benches were among the most distinctive features of medieval gardens depicted in manuscripts, paintings & tapestries.
Medieval garden benches may be rectangular, circular, L-shaped, or U-shaped; the U-shaped type is known as an exedra. The benches were usually constructed with low-walled frames made out of brick, wood, stone, or wattle (often woven willow).
Most bench frames were filled with soil & the surfaces were topped with turf. Turf seats were placed in the middle of the garden or against one of its walls, & were sometimes incorporated into the design of an enclosure.
Arbors or trellises were sometimes built into the seat to provide shade & shelter. Circular garden benches usually were constructed around single trees.
Not all turf benches were constructed within a frame; some had grass growing on all sides. The same plants & flowers depicted in the lawn are often shown growing in the turf of the bench.
In medieval depictions, turf benches are usually occupied by the Virgin, or by a pair of lovers.
While figures are often shown sitting on the bench, the Virgin Mary is sometimes shown seated on the ground, occasionally leaning back against a bench, as a symbol of humility.
The simplest form of turf bench is the four-walled rectangular frame with turf growing only on the top of the bench. Such benches are common in representations of medieval gardens.