Leaf from a Diptych with the Crucifixion and Annunciation

This ivory panel is smooth on one side and carved in low relief with two scenes superimposed within gothic arches. The edge of the right side is beveled and preserves fragments of a pair of hinges, demonstrating that the panel was once half of a foldable diptych. The left-hand and upper edge likewise preserve elements of a metal closure. Blotches of brown stain are visible in some areas of the interior, namely in the face of the Virgin Mary and the arch of the upper scene, and in the arch and dove in the lower scene. There are also numerous chips and cracks. The vertical orientation of the grain is plainly visible and is typical of French ivory carvings of the fourteenth century.

The lower scene is the Annunciation, the Angel Gabriel announcing the conception of Jesus. Mary recoils slightly at the news, as the Angel enters from the left with a gesture of speech. The dove of the Holy Ghost descends from the apex of the framing arch. The upper half of the panel shows an abbreviated version of the Crucifixion, with the grieving Mary and Evangelist John flanking the cross. The body of Jesus sags in an expressive emphasis on the physicality of his death.

To judge from other surviving examples, the diptychs now lost right panel probably represented a scene from the infancy of Jesus in its lower register, either the Nativity or the Adoration of the Three Magi, while the upper register contained a scene set after the death of Jesus, either his Resurrection or the Coronation of his mother as the Queen of Heaven.

Related Reading:

Harvey Stahl, "Narrative Structure and Content in Some Gothic Ivories of the Life of Christ," in Images in Ivory: Precious Objects of the Gothic Age, ed. Peter Barnet (Detroit: The Detroit Institute of Arts, 1997): pp. 94-114

Paul Williamson and Glynn Davies, Medieval Ivory Carvings, 1200-1550, Part 1 (London: V&A Publishing, 2014): pp. 210-211.

Sarah M. Guérin, "Introduction to Gothic Ivories," in Gothic Ivories: Calouste Gulbenkian Collection (London: Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers, Ltd., 2015): pp. 36-57.


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

J. Pierpont Morgan (American), London and New York (until 1917)

Granada. Alhambra. "Al-Andalus: The Art of Islamic Spain," March 18–June 7, 1992.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Al-Andalus: The Art of Islamic Spain," July 1–September 27, 1992.

Koechlin, Raymond. Les Ivoires Gothiques Français: Volume I, Text. Paris: Editions Auguste Picard, 1924. no. 279, p. 167.

Koechlin, Raymond. Les Ivoires Gothiques Français: Volume II, Catalogue. Paris: Editions Auguste Picard, 1924. no. 279, p. 124.