Triptych, the Coronation of the Virgin, carved, painted and gilded ivory, Venice, ca. 1360-1370

The central panel of this triptych shows the Coronation of the Virgin among a choir of twenty musician angels under a trefoil ogee arch. On the left wing are, from the bottom, the Archangel Michael, St John the Baptist and the Angel of the Annunciation, and on the right wing, St George, St John the Evangelist and the Virgin of the Annunciation. On the outside of the wings, the outlines of extensive cross-hatching indicate that two standing figures of angels with upstretched wings, probably made of ivory, were orginally glued to the surface. The reverses of both wings have gilded borders, and that on the left has a thin overlapping strip of gilded ivory pegged with eight bone pins to its outer edge to seal the triptych when shut. At the centre there was also a metal clasp and ring, of which only the sheared-off pins remain. The back of the central panel is plain, with no traces of paint or decoration. The present hinges, two on each side, are replacements for three original hinges, the slots for which are still visible. Small holes in the tops of the buttresses to each side of the central gable indicate that separately-made elements, perhaps small towers or standing prophets, were once attached. Holes in the second crockets on each side of the gable and crowning finial likewise suggest the presence of further additions, such as a bust-length figure of God the Father. Cross-hatching and dowel holes on the underside of the central panel served to fix the triptych to a separately-made pedestal, now lost. The backgrounds to the triptych are painted in red and green (not original), and details of the figures are gilded.

In the possession of John Webb, London, by 1862; purchased from John Webb in 1866, for £350.

The form of the foliate ogee arch, supported on thin spiral colonettes, the luxuriant crockets, the rich surface decoration, the iconographic type and the figure style all point towards this triptych having been made in Venice. The design of the arch closely follows that on the Porta dei Fiori on the north side of San Marco in Venice, and the iconography reflects the type of the Coronation of the Virgin with musician angels seen most commonly in Venetian paintings of the third quarter of the fourteenth century by Paolo Veneziano and others. The general form of the triptych, with crocketed gable, standing figures at the sides and richly patterned borders, is similar to the late fourteenth-century Holy Sacraments tabernacle in San Marco, the finials on both sides of which are topped by half-length figures of God the Father. On a smaller scale, the closest comparisons for the figure style are with the painted ivory reliefs on a group of croziers also associated with Venice which appear to dated from the third quarter of the fouteenth century (see, for example, a crozier in the V&A, mus. no. A.547-1910), and with a diptych in the V&A (mus. no. A.566-1910)

In the late medieval period, ivory triptychs such as this were very popular with an affluent travelling clientele wh often took these small portable altarpieces with them as aids to prayer, and for use in their devotional practice more widely. The method of fabrication of the triptychs sometimes reveals that they were intended to be carried in cases, usually made of boilded leather.

This triptych, a small portable altarpiece with foldable wings, shows at its centre the Coronation of the Virgin beneath a choir of musician angels. This central image is accompanied by images of saints and an Annunciation scene on the triptych's wings.

The small object is carved from ivory, and was partially painted and gilded. It was made in a workshop in Venice in ca. 1360-1370, at a time when small and precious ivory carvings were very popular among wealthy members of society. The object was probably used in the context of private devotion and prayer, and its imagery with the Virgin Mary at the centre reflects the important role she played in the religious life of the period.

143-1866