The Crucifixion
Triptych
ca. 1400-1425 (made)
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.
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.
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Title | The 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 |
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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 |
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Collection | |
Accession number | 933-1856 |
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Record created | June 24, 2009 |
Record URL |
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