Diptych, ivory, depicting the Adoration of the Magi and the Crucifixion, French (Paris), ca. 1330-1350

Carved ivory diptych depicting the Adoration of the Magi on the left and the Crucifixion on the right. Above each scene are three trefoil arches, where the central arch is largest. Each arch is crowned with a shallow gable, with large crockets and finials. The left leaf depicts the Adoration of the Magi. The Christ-Child stands on the Virgin's lap and reaches towards the cup or ciborium held open by the eldest magus, who is kneeling and uncrowned. The Virgin holds her right hand protectively around Christ's waist, while in her left she holds the stem of a flower. Behind the eldest magus stands the second king, bearded and wearing a crown. He points above the Virgin's head towards the unseen star, his left hand elegantly gloved, and holds a closed ciborium in his covered right hand. The final, youngest, king stands at the left, holding a ciborium in his right hand and responding to the second king's gesture by raising his left hand. The right5 leaf depicts the Crucifixion. Christ hangs on a plain cross, the crown of thorns around his droopping head. To the left are the three Maries; at the front of the group, the Virgin swoons and is caught by the woman behind her. She throws her hands out to the side, and a jet of blood passes between Christ's side wound and the Virgin's body. To the right of Christ is a group of three male figures. At the front stands St John the Evangelist, holding a book in his left hand and raising his right. Behind stand two Jews in dialogue, bearded and wearing hats. The foremost points at Christ and holds a scroll, while the second inclines his head to listen.

In the possession of John Webb, London, by 1862; purchased from Webb in 1867 for £15.

This is an ivory diptych made in France, Paris in about 1330-1350. This high-quality diptych represents the Adoration of the Magi and the Crucifixion.
The devotional diptych is in many ways the object type most associated with the notion of Gothic ivory carving. The earliest examples probably date to the 1240s; these are complex, large and ambitious works that emerged, somewhat surprisingly, with no obvious precursors. The owners of ivory diptychs sometimes appear within their images. Such portraits indicate that they were special requests on the part of their commissioners, and they parallel the similar figures that appear in manuscripts and panel paintings of the period. The iconography of Gothic diptychs oscillated between two poles. The first of which is the desire to present narratives (Life of Christ and Virgin Mary) for envisaging. The second was the use of non-narrative images to form the focus of devotion.

235-1867