The Crucifixion thumbnail 1
The Crucifixion thumbnail 2
+1
images

This object consists of 2 parts, some of which may be located elsewhere.

The Crucifixion

Triptych
ca. 1400-1425 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This is a triptych, made of bone, horn and intarsia, made by the workshop of Baldassare Ubriachi, in Venice, in about 1400-1425. The central plaque depicts the Crucifixion. The triptychs of the Embriachi workshop fall into two main categories: those who depict the Virgin and Child as the main central feature, and the second group that depicts the Crucifixion across the three central plaques.
The Embriachi workshop was a north Italian family of entrepreneurs and carvers. The precise location of the workshop is unknown, except that it originated in Florence in around probably the 1370s.
Baldassare Embrichi, a member of a Florentine noble family, and the Florentine literary circles, during his career acted as both merchant and diplomat. He was therefore rather the financial means behind the bone-carving workshop that bears his name, rather than its leading artist. By 1395, political and financial circumstances had forced him to transfer to Venice. The suggested time range of activity for the workshop differs, from the tightest being 1390-1405, to a wider span of 1370s until at least 1416, but certainly no later than 1433.
They employed local workers specialising in 'certosina' (inlay of stained woods, bone and horn), and the workshop produced items carved in bone (usually horse or ox) with wood and bone marquetry. As well as altarpieces, the workshop also made caskets as bridal gifts to hold jewels or documents, and these were often decorated with scenes from mythology.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Triptych
  • Fragment
TitleThe Crucifixion (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Carved bone, horn with wood marquetry, with traces of paint
Brief description
Triptych, bone, horn and wood marquetry, the Crucifixion, by the workshop of Baldassare Ubriachi, Italy (Venice), ca. 1400-1425
Physical description
This triptych is surrounded by a border of wood marquetry (alla certosina marquetry). The central three plaques of the triptych depict the Crucifixion with the Virgin and St John the Evangelist and eight soldiers wearing conical helmets; two banners project upwards at the sides, and above the cross is a flower-like spray of foliage. On the wings are St Paul, holding a sword, and a bearded saint who carries a book and stylus. Below is a tapering wooden base, with applied bone, horn and intarsia decoration. Intarsia patterns also decorate the frame of the central panel and wings.
Dimensions
  • Height: 32.3cm
  • Open width: 24.2cm
  • Each wing width: 6cm
Object history
In the collection of James Dennistoun of Dennistoun, Edinburgh; purchased at the Dennistoun sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 14 June 1855, for £8 18s. 6d (lot 130).
Subjects depicted
Summary
This is a triptych, made of bone, horn and intarsia, made by the workshop of Baldassare Ubriachi, in Venice, in about 1400-1425. The central plaque depicts the Crucifixion. The triptychs of the Embriachi workshop fall into two main categories: those who depict the Virgin and Child as the main central feature, and the second group that depicts the Crucifixion across the three central plaques.
The Embriachi workshop was a north Italian family of entrepreneurs and carvers. The precise location of the workshop is unknown, except that it originated in Florence in around probably the 1370s.
Baldassare Embrichi, a member of a Florentine noble family, and the Florentine literary circles, during his career acted as both merchant and diplomat. He was therefore rather the financial means behind the bone-carving workshop that bears his name, rather than its leading artist. By 1395, political and financial circumstances had forced him to transfer to Venice. The suggested time range of activity for the workshop differs, from the tightest being 1390-1405, to a wider span of 1370s until at least 1416, but certainly no later than 1433.
They employed local workers specialising in 'certosina' (inlay of stained woods, bone and horn), and the workshop produced items carved in bone (usually horse or ox) with wood and bone marquetry. As well as altarpieces, the workshop also made caskets as bridal gifts to hold jewels or documents, and these were often decorated with scenes from mythology.
Bibliographic references
  • Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1856. In: Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, Arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol I. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 32
  • Maskell, A. Wood Sculpture. London, 1911, p. 8
  • Maskell, W., A Description of the Ivories Ancient and Medieval in the South Kensington Museum, London, 1872 p. 8
  • Westwood, J O. A descriptive catalogue of the Fictile Ivories in the South Kensington Museum. With an Account of the Continental Collections of Classical and Mediaeval Ivories. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1876 p. 208
  • Williamson, Paul and Davies, Glyn, Medieval Ivory Carvings, 1200-1550, (in 2 parts), V&A Publishing, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2014 part II, pp. 778-779
  • Williamson, Paul and Davies, Glyn, Medieval Ivory Carvings, 1200-1550, (in 2 parts), V&A Publishing, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2014, part II, pp. 778-779, cat. no. 258
Collection
Accession number
933-1856

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest