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Not currently on display at the V&A

Panel

second quarter of 19th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This panel, in wood and covered with enamels and reliefs in ivory, was made in the second quarter of the 19th century Italy, probably Venice. The panels of two warriors embracing are copied from the well-known porphry group of the Tetrarchs, of the early 4th century, on the exterior of St Mark's at Venice, and the figures of the Emperor and Empress, and the Christ blessing above, from a miniature in an 11th century Byzantine manuscript of the Homilies of St John Chrysostom in the Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris.
The panel was identified as counterfeit as early as 1865. Other products of the same workshop are known: 2 pairs of Byzantine Emperors and Empresses and a large panel in the form of a Veneto-Romanesque church façade with figures in niches. It is questionable if any of these pieces were intended to deceive and likely that they were made as tourist souvenirs.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Wood covered with convex reliefs and architectural features in elephant ivory and bone, and with painted enamel and copper plaques
Brief description
Panel, covered with enamels and reliefs in ivory, a forgery, Italy (probably Venice), second quarter of 19th century
Physical description
Wooden panel covered with enamels and reliefs in ivory. Beneath an arcade of four rounded arches are, in the centre, two curved ivory panels with standing figures of the Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus III Botaniates (1078-81) and the Empress Maria of Alania; at either end similar panels with two Tetrachrs embracing. Above is a half length figure of Christ blessing and four roundels with animals and birds. The lunettes and part of the ground are covered with enamelled plates.
Dimensions
  • Width: 33.8cm
  • Height: 22.1cm
Credit line
Given by Sir Courtenay Warner, Bt.
Object history
In the possession of Alexander Barker in 1865 (lent to the South Kensington Museum); then collection of James F. Hutton by 1876; J.F. Hutton Sale Christies, 16 July 1890, lot 109. Given by Sir Courtenay Warner, Bart., Brettenham Park, Suffolk: acquired as a 'very interesting forgery... of special value to the Museum for purpose of reference' (letter of H. Clifford Smith, 23 October 1924).
Historical context
This fanciful ensemble has been drawn from a number of sources:
The embracing figures are copied from a 4th century porphyry group called the Tetrarchs on the exterior of St Mark's, Venice, while the decorative ornament of the arches, capitals and roundels in the interstices of the arches are also loosely drawn from Venetian models.
The Emperor and Empress and Christ blessing above, on the other hand, are from a full-page miniature in an 11th century Byzantine MS copy of the Homilies of St John Chrysostom now in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. A manuscript produced in Constantinople and dated to either 1074-78 or 1078-81.
The panel was identified as counterfeit as early as 1865. Other products of the same workshop are known: 2 pairs of Byzantine Emperors and Empresses and a large panel in the form of a Veneto-Romanesque church façade with figures in niches. It is questionable if any of these pieces were intended to deceive and likely that they were made as tourist souvenirs.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This panel, in wood and covered with enamels and reliefs in ivory, was made in the second quarter of the 19th century Italy, probably Venice. The panels of two warriors embracing are copied from the well-known porphry group of the Tetrarchs, of the early 4th century, on the exterior of St Mark's at Venice, and the figures of the Emperor and Empress, and the Christ blessing above, from a miniature in an 11th century Byzantine manuscript of the Homilies of St John Chrysostom in the Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris.
The panel was identified as counterfeit as early as 1865. Other products of the same workshop are known: 2 pairs of Byzantine Emperors and Empresses and a large panel in the form of a Veneto-Romanesque church façade with figures in niches. It is questionable if any of these pieces were intended to deceive and likely that they were made as tourist souvenirs.
Bibliographic references
  • Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Carvings in Ivory. London: Published under the Authority of the Board of Education, 1927-1929. Part II. p. 126.
  • Lafontaine, J. Le 'diptychon Leodiense' du consul Anastase (Constantinople, 517) et le faux des Musées royaux d'Art et d'Histoire à Bruxelles. Revue belge d'archéologie et d'histoire de l'art. XLIX-L. 1980-81. pp. 16-18.
  • Williamson, Paul. Medieval Ivory Carvings. Early Christian to Romanesque. London, V&A Publishing, Victoria and Albert Museum, 2010, pp. 436-9, cat.no. 116
Collection
Accession number
A.20-1924

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Record createdNovember 1, 2004
Record URL
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