Triptych, ivory, the Virgin and Child, the Crucifixion, and the Last Judgement, French (possibly Picardy), ca. 1250-60

Triptych. Divided horizontally into three tiers each surmounted by an arcade of cusped trefoil arches supported by slender columns, at the top are gables and pinnacles. The spandrels of each arch are pierced with trefoils. The central arches of the main panel are wider than the rest, while those on the outer parts of the wings are only half arches. The area between the arches on the lower two registers is ornamented with micro-architecture, while the upper register is topped by projecting gables, each pierced with a rose window, and ornamented with tiny nail-headed crockets and trefoil finials. Between each gable is a pierced tower, surmounted by a pinnacle. The towers and the pinnacles have not been carved separately, but are integral to the ivory panels. On the lowest tier are the Virgin and Child with a kneeling bishop; to either side stand censing angels; on the left wing the Adoration of the Magi and on the right one the Presentation in the Temple; on the central tier the Crucifixion with Longinus and Stephaton; on either side are the Crucifixion of the Good and Bad Thieves; on the wings, the Virgin and St. John, the Synagogue (blindfold) and the Church (crowned); above the Last Judgment, on the wings a bishop conducted to Heaven, angels blowing trumpets and the Jaws of Hell. The upper register shows Christ sitting in Judgement with the Virgin and St John kneeling in supplication; to either side stand angels holding the instruments of the Passion. The wings depict angels blowing trumpets, while to the left the Elect enter heaven (a bearded bishop prominent among them) and on the right the damned are shoved into the mouth of hell by monstrous devils.

Formerly in the Soltikoff Collection (Sale, 1861, Catalogue, No. 236). Previous provenance is not known. It was bought at the Soltykoff sale by Frédéric Spitzer, Paris, for 4,150 fr. By 1862, the triptych was in the collection of Geroge H. Morland, London. Bought at the sale of the Morland Collection (Sale, Christie's, May 9th, 1866, No. 207), by Durlacher Brothers, London, for £200, at which time it was inside a glazed, ebonized display frame.

This is an ivory Triptych of the Virgin and Child, The Adoration of the Magi, the Presentation, the Crucifixion and the Last Judgement. It is made in France, possibly Picardy. Ivory was used all over Europe for religious works of art. It was often combined with precious metals and usually took the form of relief panels, for book covers, portable altars and caskets. An almost unbroken tradition of ivory carving extends from the Roman and Byzantine empires until the end of the 14th century. From about 1250, Paris became the centre of production for figures and reliefsintended for private devotion.
The Gothic Triptych was to all intents and purposes a sub-branch of the tabernacle polyptych, with a shallower central panel and two, rather than four, hinged wings. The subject matter was the same, dominated by single images of the standing Virgin and Child and scenes from the infancy of Christ. Triptychs – like diptychs – are better suited to the needs of a travelling clientele, who would wish to take these small portable altars with them as aids to prayer. Some of them were intended to be carried in cases, usually of cuir bouilli (boiled leather).

175-1866