Three Panels from a Casket depicting the Story of Joshua
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Byzantine (Constantinople), 10th century
Ivory with traces of polychromy and gilding; border strips of bone with traces of polychromy and gilding
Top: Joshua's Ambush of the Army at Ai
2 5/8 x 5 1/8 in. (6.6 x 13 cm)
Left: Joshua's Condemning the King of Ai
2 x 3 3/8 in. (5 x 8.5 cm)
Right: Joshua Receiving Ambassadors from Gibeon
2 3/8 x 3 1/2 in. (6 x 9 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y. (17.190.137a-c)
These three plaques once adorned a casket. The plaques were fastened to the exterior of a wooden box. Originally, the ivory was painted in brilliant colors and gilded, traces of which are still visible.
These plaques illustrate specific events from the biblical account of Joshua's conquest of the Promised Land; each is inscribed with a quotation or paraphrase from the pertinent passage. On the top plaque the armies of Ai and Israel advance toward each other. Below, on the left plaque, Joshua sits on a throne while eight soldiers stand guard. The King of Ai, his head bent in submission, is brought before him. On the third plaque Joshua, enthroned and with attendant guards, receives the Gibeonite ambassadors.
The carving is masterful. A sense of illusionistic space is created by varying the thickness of the ivory and by the superposition of figures. Bodies are rendered convincingly beneath the drapery and armor, in a manner that recalls Hellenistic sculpture.
The plaques' original bright colors would have given them a very different look. Imagine the scenes set against a bright blue background, within rosette frames of deep red. Inscriptions and the eyes were rendered in black. Chemical analysis has determined that the colors were made from lapis lazuli, vermilion, and malachite. The armor and helmets shone in gold.
On the basis of the excellence of the workmanship and the rich coloration, we can say that the plaques were most likely made in the palace workshops of Constantinople. The inclusion of busts amid the rosettes of the border strips provides an additional "antique" detail, similar to Greco-Roman works. A manuscript such as the Joshua Roll was probably used as the source for the illustrations.
Classroom Hints:
Notice: action, costumes, material, patterns
Discuss: the narrative, gestures, arrangement of the figures within the frames, function
Compare: Casket with Warriors and Dancers; Panels from Adam and Eve Casket
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Three Panels from a Casket depicting the Story of Joshua