During the period 900-1200, ivories were produced all over Europe, often in monasteries and ecclesiastical or royal courts. Pieces such as this were used for liturgical purposes. Ivory carvings appeared on book covers, reliquary caskets, antependia (the panel in front of an altar) and religious icons. These panels and inv. no. 279-1867 may have decorated the frame of a large icon or formed part of a reliquary. They depict (from the top left) three Saints, the parable of the Rich Young Man, Christ and the Woman of Samaria, Christ Healing the Blind Man, the Raising of Lazarus, the Healing of the Demoniac, the Deposition from the Cross, the Entombment, the Incredulity of St Thomas, the Charge to the Apostles, the Death of the Virgin, and three Saints.
There can be no doubt that the plaques must have belonged to a larger ensemble which would have included more scenes from the Passion of Christ and probably also from his infancy. It is perhaps more likely however that they decorated the frame of a substantial icon, flanking a large central image of Christ or the Virgin and Child, in the manner of several extant icons with accompanying small scenes. Or that they formed part of an icon made up entirely of many smaller images, such as the painted example with no fewer than 36 scenes from the Life of Christ and five images of the Virgin at the top, at Sinai. These types of icon were most commonly seen in the late 11th to 14th centuries. The fact that the plaque with the Dormition of the Virgin is noticeably more rubbed than the others might indicate that the original context of the group was a Marian icon.