The Crucifixion
House Altar
ca. 1760 - ca. 1790 (made)
ca. 1760 - ca. 1790 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This is an ivory house-altar depicting a Crucifixion scene and is attributed to Jean-Antoine Belleteste (1731-1811).The Belleteste family was one of the foremost families of ivory carvers in France. There are no signed pieces known by him, nevertheless the attribution of this altar is made on the grounds of the intricate detail of this piece which is consistent with his other work. Christ is shown on the cross with the figures of the sorrowing Virgin, St John the Evangelist and St Mary Magdalene at the foot of the cross. The whole is housed in a glazed ebony case which stands on four bun feet of ivory. The fine detailing and the iconography used for the Passion are typical of the work of the Belleteste family of ivory carvers, who were active in Dieppe in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Two closely similar crucifixion scenes are in the Chateau-Musée of Dieppe, signed by Belleteste (almost certainly Jean-Antoine): one is dated 1761. Dieppe was a leading centre of ivory carving during the 18th and 19th centuries. Jean-Antoine Belleteste, to whom this house-altar is attributed, and his family were among the most renowned of the ivory sculptors active there at that time.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Crucifixion (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Ivory in glazed ebony frame |
| Brief description | House altar, ivory in glazed ebony frame, The Crucifixion, attributed to Jean-Antoine Belleteste, France (Dieppe), ca. 1760-1790 |
| Physical description | Christ is shown on the cross with the figures of the sorrowing Virgin, St John the Evangelist and St Mary Magdalene at the foot of the cross. The whole is housed in a glazed ebony case which standson four bun feet of ivory. The inner surface of the top of the case in which the ivory is housed is studded with stars. Symbols of the Passion are shown fixed on the backing behind, including a column with a cockerel, the sun and moon, clouds from which a ray of lightning shoots forth, a lantern, a gauntlet, Veronica’s handkerchief, a ladder, the thirty pieces of silver paid to Judas issuing from a money bag, and at the foot of the cross the dice and Christ’s robes (see Hall 1980. pp. 81-6 for teh iconography). On either side of a cartouche on the base, which is adorned with the Lamb of God, is the inscription: 'Sculpté a Dieppe - Par Belleteste'. On each of the two front corners of the base is a cartouche with two cherubim. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | 'Sculpté a Dieppe - Par Belleteste' (at front of ivory base) |
| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Given in memory of David Black by his sons |
| Object history | Given by Bernard Black, Black-Nadeu Gallery, Monte Carlo, Monaco [Given in memory of David Black by his sons Bernard, Ruby and Harold]. Provenance: Louis Marie Adelaide de Bourbon-Ponthièvre, Duchesse douarière d'Orléans [mother of future King Louis Philippe]. Bequeathed by her to the Marquis de Circello. By decent to the owners who put it up for auction at Sotheby's 13 April, 1978, lot 201. Bought in (at £2,500). Then given to Museum by Black in June 1978. Historical significance: Two closely similar crucifixion scenes are in the Chateau-Musée of Dieppe, signed by Belleteste (almost certainly Jean-Antoine); one is dated 1761 (Ickowicz 2008, no. 7.8 on pp. 60-1), while another undated version is also signed by Belleteste (ibid., no. 7.9 on pp. 62-3). |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This is an ivory house-altar depicting a Crucifixion scene and is attributed to Jean-Antoine Belleteste (1731-1811).The Belleteste family was one of the foremost families of ivory carvers in France. There are no signed pieces known by him, nevertheless the attribution of this altar is made on the grounds of the intricate detail of this piece which is consistent with his other work. Christ is shown on the cross with the figures of the sorrowing Virgin, St John the Evangelist and St Mary Magdalene at the foot of the cross. The whole is housed in a glazed ebony case which stands on four bun feet of ivory. The fine detailing and the iconography used for the Passion are typical of the work of the Belleteste family of ivory carvers, who were active in Dieppe in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Two closely similar crucifixion scenes are in the Chateau-Musée of Dieppe, signed by Belleteste (almost certainly Jean-Antoine): one is dated 1761. Dieppe was a leading centre of ivory carving during the 18th and 19th centuries. Jean-Antoine Belleteste, to whom this house-altar is attributed, and his family were among the most renowned of the ivory sculptors active there at that time. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.46-1978 |
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| Record created | March 3, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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