The Life of Christ and Coronation of the Virgin
Diptych
1360-1380 (made)
1360-1380 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This is an ivory diptych made in about 1360-1380 in Paris, France.This diptych is divided into two tiers, each surmounted by an arcade of trefoil arches. On the left leaf are, below, the Nativity and the Adoration of the Magi, above, the Crucifixion, on the right leaf above, the Descent from the cross and the Entombment, below, Christ with St. Mary Magdelene in the Garden and the Coronation of the Virgin.
The figure and facial types are distinctive, including elongated bodies with spindly extremeties and faces with large noses continuing in a straight line from the brow, with the lower areas much reduced. This type of figure finds parallel in the artworks produced during the reign of Charles V (1356-80).
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.
The figure and facial types are distinctive, including elongated bodies with spindly extremeties and faces with large noses continuing in a straight line from the brow, with the lower areas much reduced. This type of figure finds parallel in the artworks produced during the reign of Charles V (1356-80).
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.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | The Life of Christ and Coronation of the Virgin (generic title) |
Materials and techniques | Carved elephant ivory |
Brief description | Diptych, carved ivory, depicting the Life of Christ and the Coronation of the Virgin, France (Paris), 1360-1380 |
Physical description | Carved ivory diptych, each leaf divided into two registers, each surmounted by an arcade of trefoil arches supported on corbels, with a stepped moulding above; each arch bears foliate crockets and finials. Beneath three of the arcades, two scenes appear side by side, with no division between them. In the fourth (the upper register of the left leaf), is only a single scene. On the left leaf are, below, the Nativity and the Adoration of the Magi, above, the Crucifixion, on the right leaf above, the Descent from the cross and the Entombment, below, Christ with St. Mary Magdalene in the Garden and the Coronation of the Virgin. |
Dimensions |
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Object history | In the possession of John Webb, London, by 1862; purchased from Webb in 1867, for £106. |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | This is an ivory diptych made in about 1360-1380 in Paris, France.This diptych is divided into two tiers, each surmounted by an arcade of trefoil arches. On the left leaf are, below, the Nativity and the Adoration of the Magi, above, the Crucifixion, on the right leaf above, the Descent from the cross and the Entombment, below, Christ with St. Mary Magdelene in the Garden and the Coronation of the Virgin. The figure and facial types are distinctive, including elongated bodies with spindly extremeties and faces with large noses continuing in a straight line from the brow, with the lower areas much reduced. This type of figure finds parallel in the artworks produced during the reign of Charles V (1356-80). 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. |
Bibliographic references |
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Collection | |
Accession number | 293-1867 |
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Record created | October 18, 2004 |
Record URL |
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