The horizontal form of this sculpture suggests that it may have been one of the predella panels of a large altarpiece. Intricate oak altar ensembles were popular during the 15th and 16th centuries in the southern Netherlands, and one of the finest examples would have been Adriaen van Wesel's Altarpiece of the Virgin for the church of Our Lady at 's-Hertogenbosch. This is known today in incomplete form, but its extant panels bear marked resemblances with the present relief. The small and summarily treated physiognomy and anatomy, and the gentle humanism of the 'genre' scene suggest that the present artist was a follower of van Wesel. Inspired by the painters of his time and region, van Wesel introduced an idiosyncratic sculptural style; his lack of decorative detail and drama, and his preference for the contrast of light and shade, of plastic and linear make his work extremely distinctive, and of inspiration to the present artist. The subject matter is unusual, it combines iconography usually associated with St. Anne and the infant Virgin with that of the Virgin and Child. The intimate interior scene derives from paintings of St. Anne reclining after the birth of the Virgin, while the suckling child normally represents Christ.