the Crucifixion
Writing Tablet Leaf
ca. 1350-1375 (made)
ca. 1350-1375 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This ivory plaque from a set of writing tablets, representing the Crucifixion, was made in about 1350-1375 in France.
Ivory covers for writing tablets survive in good numbers from the fourteenth century. Wax writing tablets or panels of a hard material filled with layers of wax that could be inscribed with a stylus, were common in Antiquity and continued in use throughout the early Middle Ages.
They were particularly useful for note taking, given their portability and the fact that their surfaces could be erased and reused.
The majority of such tablets would have been made of wood, although other materials such as gold, silver, bone and ivory were also used. In most cases the tablets formed part of a group of up to eight panels, only the covers of which were carved with imagery on their outer faces. The imagery on most surviving tablets and boxes derives primarily from diptychs, with a quality of carving lower than that commonly found on diptychs, at least partly as a result of the thinner ivory material on the tablets.
Ivory covers for writing tablets survive in good numbers from the fourteenth century. Wax writing tablets or panels of a hard material filled with layers of wax that could be inscribed with a stylus, were common in Antiquity and continued in use throughout the early Middle Ages.
They were particularly useful for note taking, given their portability and the fact that their surfaces could be erased and reused.
The majority of such tablets would have been made of wood, although other materials such as gold, silver, bone and ivory were also used. In most cases the tablets formed part of a group of up to eight panels, only the covers of which were carved with imagery on their outer faces. The imagery on most surviving tablets and boxes derives primarily from diptychs, with a quality of carving lower than that commonly found on diptychs, at least partly as a result of the thinner ivory material on the tablets.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | the Crucifixion (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Elephant ivory |
| Brief description | Plaque, ivory, from set of writing tablets, the Crucifixion, French, ca. 1350-1375 |
| Physical description | Ivory leaf of a writing tablet, representing the Crucifixion, below a single trefoil arch, decorated with oversized crockets. Above the arch, in the spandrels, are two deeply incised trefoils. Christ's hands disappear behind the architecture. Above him, a single angel appears, cradling the sun in its right hand, and the moon in its left. To the left stands the Virgin, holding a book in her right hand and gesturing towards Christ with her left. To the right stands St John the Evangelist, holding a book in his left hand and clasping the side of his face in grief with his right. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | Previously in the Hearn collection, Menton; it was probalby acquired after the death of Alfred Williams Hearn (1842-1903) by his widow Ellen Hearn. Given by Mrs Hearn in 1923. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This ivory plaque from a set of writing tablets, representing the Crucifixion, was made in about 1350-1375 in France. Ivory covers for writing tablets survive in good numbers from the fourteenth century. Wax writing tablets or panels of a hard material filled with layers of wax that could be inscribed with a stylus, were common in Antiquity and continued in use throughout the early Middle Ages. They were particularly useful for note taking, given their portability and the fact that their surfaces could be erased and reused. The majority of such tablets would have been made of wood, although other materials such as gold, silver, bone and ivory were also used. In most cases the tablets formed part of a group of up to eight panels, only the covers of which were carved with imagery on their outer faces. The imagery on most surviving tablets and boxes derives primarily from diptychs, with a quality of carving lower than that commonly found on diptychs, at least partly as a result of the thinner ivory material on the tablets. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | CIRC.498-1923 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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