Diptych with the Coronation of the Virgin and the Crucifixion

This diptych is composed of two rectangular pieces of ivory bound with metal hinges, allowing it to open and close like a book. The exterior faces of the two panels are uncarved, allowing their vertical grain to show clearly. Their edges have been beveled, and the left panel retains stickers from an earlier collection. Two green-stained holes may be observed on the edge opposite the hinges, the remnants of a previous copper-alloy closure. The interior of the diptych is carved with two religious images in high relief. On the left side, the Virgin Mary stands with the infant Jesus in her arms, attended by two angels with candles and one angel who places a crown on her head, an iconographic type known as the Glorification of the Virgin. Mary and Jesus hold their attributes, a flower and a sphere or apple. On the facing panel, Jesus hangs from the cross surrounded by two groups of figures. On the left, Mary swoons with grief as she is supported by two holy women. On the right, the mourning St. John is closest to the cross, while two Jews are behind him. The latter, recognizable by their scrolls and pointed headgear, point up to the body of Jesus, as though debating the significance of the events before them. Angels above hold the sun and the moon. On both sides of the diptych, the figures stand beneath a canopy of gothic arches that rests on corbels and rises into a crocketed gable. The quatrefoils in the spandrels of the gable overlay lathe-turned, concave cones with dimpled apexes. The diptych is in excellent condition. That said, the ivory exhibits minor craquelure, the original closure is missing, and visible traces of any original painted decoration have vanished.

French ivory carvers were prolific during the fourteenth century, producing religious images for well-heeled clients, the wealthier of whom collected them in large numbers. The 1380 inventory of Charles V of France, for instance, includes six low-relief carvings or "tableaux" made of ivory, among numerous others made of gold, silver, and precious woods. Raymond Koechlin (d. 1931), an early twentieth-century connoisseur and cataloguer of this material, noted that high demand led to a workshop practice dependent on replicating the iconography, style, and composition of workshop models. The Met alone holds no fewer than eight diptychs (complete and fragmentary) representing the Glorification of the Virgin and the Crucifixion. A further five diptychs pair the Crucifixion with scenes such as the Nativity, visit of the Three Kings, the death of Mary, and the presentation of Jesus at the Temple. Across this group are examples representing a wide range of sizes and degrees of fineness, suggesting the involvement of numerous workshops and craftsmen who copied one another for different niches within the market. The practice of copying also extended to unique decorative forms. The current diptych contains a peculiar decorative feature in the form of two lathe-turned cones set within the tracery quatrefoils above the gothic arch. Another roughly contemporary French fragment (acc. no. 17.190.192) replicates this form, albeit with less skill, suggesting that an artist less familiar with the technique of lathe-turning attempted to replicate the smoother and fluid work of a more practiced carver. A century later, a German artist working in the Rhineland attempted to replicate the form on a similar diptych without using the same technique, producing a gilded ball within a trefoil that evokes the overall effect of the earlier French work while dispensing with the need to work on a lathe (acc. no. 1971.49.3a, b).

Further Reading:

Nina Rowe, "Pocket Crucifixions: Jesus, Jews, And Ownership In Fourteenth-Century Ivories," Studies in Iconography, Vol. 32 (2011), pp. 81-120

Paul Williamson and Glynn Davies, Medieval Ivory Carvings 1200-1550, Part 1 (London: Victoria and Albert Museum Publishing, 2014), pp. 284-285.

Paul Williamson, The Wyvern Collection: Medieval and Later Ivory Carvings and Small Sculpture (London, Thames and Hudson, 2019), p. 162.


Catalogue Entry by Scott Miller, Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial and Research Collections Specialist, Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters, 2020–2022.

Rev. Walter Sneyd, Keele Hall, Staffordshire (until d. 1888); Keele Hall Heirlooms sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London (July 7, 1902, no. 47); J. Pierpont Morgan (American), London and New York (until d. 1913); Estate of J. Pierpont Morgan(1913–1917)

Pavillon de Marsan, Palais du Louvre. "Les Fastes du Gothique: Le Siècle de Charles V," October 1981–January 1982.

Catalogue of a Portion of the Keele Hall Heirlooms from Keele Hall, Staffordshire. London: Christie, Manson & Woods, July 7, 1902. no. 47, p. 8.

Koechlin, Raymond. Les Ivoires Gothiques Français: Volume I, Text. Paris: Editions Auguste Picard, 1924. no. 404, pp. 199, 203, 222.

Koechlin, Raymond. Les Ivoires Gothiques Français: Volume II, Catalogue. Paris: Editions Auguste Picard, 1924. no. 404, p. 170.

Breck, Joseph, and Meyric R. Rogers. The Pierpont Morgan Wing: A Handbook. 1st ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1925. pp. 108, 117, fig. 49, ill. p. 90.

Breck, Joseph, and Meyric R. Rogers. The Pierpont Morgan Wing: A Handbook. 2nd ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1929. pp. 108, 117, fig. 49, ill. p. 90.

Baron, Françoise, ed. Les fastes du Gothique: Le siècle de Charles V. Paris: Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, 1981. no. 148, p. 189.

Randall Jr., Richard H. The Golden Age of Ivory: Gothic Carvings in North American Collections. New York: Hudson Hills Press, 1993. p. 69.

Gaborit-Chopin, Danielle. Ivoires Médiévaux, Ve-XVe siècle. Paris: Musée du Louvre, 2003. pp. 395–96.