Byzantine ivories were highly prized in western Europe, where they survived in church treasuries or were incorporated into deluxe book bindings. The ivory from the panel on the left originally formed the center of a Byzantine three-paneled icon. It may have been one of the many gifts to the Nunnery of Santa Cruz de la Serós, which was founded by Queen Felicia (d. 1085), wife of Sancho V Ramírez (r. 1076–94), king of Aragon and Navarre. The sumptuous cover also contains a sapphire seal, located to the right of Saint John, inscribed in Arabic with four of the ninety-nine “Beautiful Names” of God.
#2770. Book Cover with Byzantine Icon of the Crucifixion
From the Benedictine convent of Santa Cruz de la Serós, Jaca; Charles Stein(?), Paris; Sir Thomas Gibson Carmichael, Bart., Castle Craig(sold 1902); Carmichael sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London(May 12–13, 1902, no. 36); [ Georges B. Brauer, Paris (sold 1906)]; J. Pierpont Morgan (American), London and New York (1906–1913)
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de Leguina y Vidal, Enrique. "Encuadernaciones Romano-bizantinas." Boletín de la Sociedad Española de Excursiones 2, no. 24 (February 1895). pp. 246–47, ill.
Catalogue of the well-known collection of works of art of the Classic, Medieval and Renaissance times formed by Sir Thomas Gibson Carmichael. London: Christie, Manson & Woods, May 12–13, 1902. no. 36, p. 16, ill.
Carmichael, Thomas Gibson. "Art Objects: Early Bronzes, Ivories and Enamels." In Nineteenth Century Art with Illustrations from Pictures and Objects in the Fine Art Loan Collection of the Glasgow International Exhibition, edited by D. S. MacColl. Glasgow: James MacLehose & Sons, 1902. p. 200, fig. H, (dry point by Muirhead Bone).
Sentenach y Cabañes, Narciso. "Bosquejo Histórico sobre la orfebrería española." Revista de archivos, bibliotecas y museos 12, nos. 7–8 (July–August 1908). p. 10.
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Guide to the Loan Exhibition of the J. Pierpont Morgan Collection. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1914. ill. opp. p. 14.
Breck, Joseph. "Pre-Gothic Ivories in the Pierpont Morgan Collection." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, o.s., 15, no. 1 (January 1920). p. 16.
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Carmichael, Mary Helen Elizabeth, and Thomas Gibson Carmichael. Lord Carmichael of Skirling: A Memoir Prepared by his Wife. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1929. p. 295, ill. opp. p. 294.
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