The Annunciation and the Nativity
Panel
ca. 1000-1050 (carving)
ca. 1000-1050 (carving)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This is an ivory plaque probably made in Liège or Cologne in the first half of the eleventh century, depicting the Annunciation and Nativity. The story of the Virgin’s life could be found in the Gospels, but artists embellished the basic narrative with picturesque details. For example, in the Nativity scene in this plaque, Mary’s shoes are neatly placed on a footstool beside her.
This relief is an exact, but apparently contemporary, copy of the upper left-hand portion of a book cover, formerly in the Cathedral Treasury in Zagreb (Croatia). It should be noted that the Zagreb plaques were stolen, presumably between about 1914 and 1928, and were purchased by the Cleveland Museum of Art. They were later returned to Zagreb and reset into the seventeenth-century silver cover of the Plenarium from whence they had come.
This relief is an exact, but apparently contemporary, copy of the upper left-hand portion of a book cover, formerly in the Cathedral Treasury in Zagreb (Croatia). It should be noted that the Zagreb plaques were stolen, presumably between about 1914 and 1928, and were purchased by the Cleveland Museum of Art. They were later returned to Zagreb and reset into the seventeenth-century silver cover of the Plenarium from whence they had come.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Annunciation and the Nativity (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Ivory carving |
| Brief description | Panel, ivory, depicting the Annuniciation and Nativity, probably Liège or Cologne, ca.1000-1050 |
| Physical description | In the upper part of the plaque is the Annunciation, in the lower the Nativity. The latter scene shows the Virgin reclining on her bed with ehr shoes placed on a footstool below. Joseph is shown seated in the bottom right corner with a small tree separating him from teh Virgin, and above is the Christ-Child in cradle with the ox and the ass behind. Above is a representation of the city of Bethlehem. The scenes are framed by a plain moulded border at the sides and top. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | Formerly in the Webb collection. Acquired by the museum in 1867. Historical significance: This relief is an exact, but apparently contemporary, copy of the upper left-hand portion of a book cover, formerly in the Cathedral Treasury in Zagreb (Croatia), now in the Cleveland Museum of Art. The upper right-hand portion is reproduced in an ivory relief in the British Museum, which formed originally part of a book cover with the present relief (Goldschmidt II, pl. XXI). |
| Historical context | The relief formed originally part of a book cover. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This is an ivory plaque probably made in Liège or Cologne in the first half of the eleventh century, depicting the Annunciation and Nativity. The story of the Virgin’s life could be found in the Gospels, but artists embellished the basic narrative with picturesque details. For example, in the Nativity scene in this plaque, Mary’s shoes are neatly placed on a footstool beside her. This relief is an exact, but apparently contemporary, copy of the upper left-hand portion of a book cover, formerly in the Cathedral Treasury in Zagreb (Croatia). It should be noted that the Zagreb plaques were stolen, presumably between about 1914 and 1928, and were purchased by the Cleveland Museum of Art. They were later returned to Zagreb and reset into the seventeenth-century silver cover of the Plenarium from whence they had come. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 267-1867 |
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| Record created | December 12, 2006 |
| Record URL |
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