The Virgin Mary is shown on an inlaid marble throne, with an Eastern carpet at her feet. The Christ Child holds a pomegranate, a symbol of the Passion.
The form of the signature, meaning Gentile Bellini, Knight of Venice, indicates that the picture cannot be from before 1469, when Gentile Bellini was knighted. The decorative treatment and some details, such as the tiny trees in the Gothic tradition, would suggest a fairly early date.
