Diptych
Diptych
ca. 1300 (made)
ca. 1300 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This Dyptich depicting the Annunciation and the Visitation, the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi and the Coronation of the Virgin was made by an unknown artist in about 1300 in France, Paris.
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 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 | Diptych (generic title) |
Materials and techniques | Carved ivory |
Brief description | Diptych, ivory, Diptych, ivory, scenes from the life of the Virgin, France (Paris), ca. 1300, France (Paris), ca. 1300 |
Physical description | Each leaf of the diptych is divided into two registers, separated by a simple moulding bearing six rosettes. The scenes read from left to right,from bottom up. On the left leaf are, below, the Annunciation and the Visitation and right below, the Nativity; above are the Adoration of the Mgi and the Coronation of the Virgin. |
Dimensions |
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Object history | The Diptych formed part of the Daugny collection in Paris, from which it was sold on 8 March 1858 (lot 12); according to that sale catalogue it had formerly been in the Roger collection in Lyons (dispersed 1841). It was bought at the Daugny sale by Webb, London, for 450 fr., who immediately sold it to the Museum (£30). |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | This Dyptich depicting the Annunciation and the Visitation, the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi and the Coronation of the Virgin was made by an unknown artist in about 1300 in France, Paris. 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 | 6824-1858 |
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Record created | August 13, 2008 |
Record URL |
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