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Staff of office, or staff of dignity

Staff
ca. 1611 - ca. 1620 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Italy (made)

This ivory staff of office or staff of dignity is made by an unknow artist in Italy in ca. 1611-20. It is made up of three parts engraved with scenes from the Old Testament, including biblical subjects like Jael and Sisera, Esther, the Death of Sennacherib, the Prophet slain by a Lion, the Suicide of Saul, Samson with the Jawbone of an Ass, Judith with the Head of Holofernes. Between the subjects are bands of foliate ornament. The engraving is filled with black mastic.On the ball or finial are the arms of Pope Paul V and on the top below the finial, are the arms of Orazio Lancelotti (d. 1620), Cardinal Priest of S. Salvatore in Lauro from 1611 onwards. The staff was therfore almost certainly made between 1611 and 1620. Other staffs of this type exist in ivory, bone and bamboo, three of which are in the British Museum. The present staff was presumably used by Cardinal Lancelotti for ceremonial occasions.



Object details

Categories
Accessories
Christianity
Religion
Sculpture
Object type
Staff
Parts
This object consists of 3 parts.

  • Staff
  • Staff
  • Finial
TitleStaff of office, or staff of dignity (named collection)
Materials and techniques
Incised ivory with metal tip and wood screw fittings
Ivory
Brief description
Staff, ivory, engraved with biblical subjects, Italian, seventeenth century
Physical description
The staff is made up of three pieces, which are engraved with biblical scenes from the Old Testament in 19 registers, divided by foliate decoration. The scenes include Jael and Sisera, Esther, the Death of Sennacherib, the Prophet slain by a Lion, the Suicide of Saul, Samson with the Jawbone of an Ass, Abraham and Isaac, and Judith with the Head of Holofernes. Between the subjects are bands of foliate ornament. The engraving filled with black mastic. On the ball or finial are the arms of Pope Paul V (Camillo Borghese), (Pope 1605-21) on one side and his half-length portrait on the other. At the top of the stick are the arms, ensigned with hat, of Orazio Lancelotti (d. 1620), Cardinal Priest of S. Salvatore in Lauro from 1611 onwards. On the other side is the Cardinal's half-length portrait.
Dimensions
  • Height: 173cm
  • Diameter: 3cm
Marks and inscriptions
Object history
Bought for £22 10s. from the Bernal Collection at Christie's, London, on 21 March 1855, lot 1686
Subjects depicted
Suicide
Jael
Sisera
Esther
Holofernes
Judith
Samson
Saul
Abraham
Isaac
Pope Paul V
Death of Sennacherib
Suicide of Saul
Literary referenceAbraham and Isaac
Summary
This ivory staff of office or staff of dignity is made by an unknow artist in Italy in ca. 1611-20. It is made up of three parts engraved with scenes from the Old Testament, including biblical subjects like Jael and Sisera, Esther, the Death of Sennacherib, the Prophet slain by a Lion, the Suicide of Saul, Samson with the Jawbone of an Ass, Judith with the Head of Holofernes. Between the subjects are bands of foliate ornament. The engraving is filled with black mastic.On the ball or finial are the arms of Pope Paul V and on the top below the finial, are the arms of Orazio Lancelotti (d. 1620), Cardinal Priest of S. Salvatore in Lauro from 1611 onwards. The staff was therfore almost certainly made between 1611 and 1620. Other staffs of this type exist in ivory, bone and bamboo, three of which are in the British Museum. The present staff was presumably used by Cardinal Lancelotti for ceremonial occasions.

Bibliographic references
  • Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1855. In: Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, Arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol I. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 67
  • Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Carvings in Ivory. Part II. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1929, p. 107
  • Underwood, P.A. "Drawings of Saint Peter's on a Pilgrim's Staff in the Museo Sacro", in Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, 3, 1939-40, p. 148
  • Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries, XXXII, 1919-20, pp. 109-111
  • British Museum Quarterly, IV, 1029-30, p. 85
  • Trusted, Marjorie, Baroque & Later Ivories, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 2013, cat. no. 297, p. 303
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
2167:2-1855

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Record createdMay 1, 2008
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O153931/staff-of-office-or-staff-staff-unknown/
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