The stylistic character of this carving is consistent with contemporary Cologne representations of the Virgin and Child in other media, namely in glass painting and sculpture in wood and stone. In this rendering of a popular composition, an angel has just crowned Mary as the Queen of Heaven. The triptych is one of the finest examples of ivory carving from Gothic Cologne.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Triptych with the Coronation of the Virgin
Date:1325–50
Geography:Made in Cologne, Germany
Culture:German
Medium:Elephant ivory with polychromy, gilded decoration, and metal mounts
Dimensions:Overall (open): 15 7/16 x 9 1/16 x 2 3/8 in. (39.2 x 23 x 6.1 cm) Overall (Closed): 15 7/16 x 6 x 2 3/8 in. (39.2 x 15.2 x 6.1 cm) Wings: 12 5/16 x 2 1/4 x 3/8 in. (31.2 x 5.7 x 0.9 cm) Central Panel: 13 15/16 x 4 1/2 x 3/4 in. (35.4 x 11.5 x 1.9 cm) Base: 1 9/16 x 6 x 2 3/8 in. (4 x 15.2 x 6.1 cm)
Classification:Ivories-Elephant
Credit Line:Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Object Number:17.190.211
This large triptych represents the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus, surrounded by angelic attendants and sheltered beneath a gabled roof with Gothic architectural decoration. The angels on the triptych’s wings hold candles, while a third in the central panel descends from above to place a crown on Mary’s head, alluding to her role in Catholic faith traditions as the Queen of Heaven. The Virgin holds a flowering branch in her left hand. This multi-functional symbol alludes to her attribute of the rose, to her role as the "flower" of the Tree of Jesse, and to the scene in the Golden Legend in which the temple priests chose her husband by gathering the walking sticks of suitable bachelors, with Joseph’s bursting into flower. Jesus holds an apple in his left hand, nodding to the orb that he holds as King of the World and to the fruit of the Tree of Life.
Standing at 15.5 inches (39.2 cm) tall, this triptych is among the largest gothic ivory triptychs to survive to the present. The use of multiple ivory elements makes this unusually large scale possible. The uppermost part of the gables on all three panels and the central crocketed molding are modern elements affixed to the main ivory slabs with glue. While comparatively recent additions, this form of assembly is consistent with other ivory folding shrines and triptychs, and it is likely that they follow the broad parameters of its original composition. That said, the butt end-joints that attach the current gables to the main panel overlay a previous tongue-and-groove joint, demonstrating a slight difference in the method of attachment. Like the gables, the base lends monumentality to the composition while allowing it to stand upright on a surface like contemporary folding shrines made of ivory (see acc. no. 30.95.115). Calling attention to their similar scale, mechanics, and iconography, Paul Williamson has characterized standing triptychs of this type as a simplified version of the Parisian three-dimensional folding shrines with four wings. The current triptych’s iconography of a Virgin and Child flanked by candle-holding angels may also be compared to the religious diptychs that survive in abundance from northern France in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries (see, for instance, acc. nos. 17.190.288; 17.190.294).
The origin of the present triptych has been the subject of debate. While the structural logic and iconography suggest a strong affiliation with Parisian work, scholars have noted the triptych’s early German provenance and compared the Virgin’s physiognomy to contemporary works in stone, wood, ivory, and stained glass to suggest that the triptych is from Cologne. With its vast cathedral in the "French Style" (opus francigenum) Cologne served as a major center for the absorption of Gothic art into Germany. Archival information from the rolls of the cathedral chapter suggest that the city boasted a significant expatriate community of French artisans. As such, distinctions between the work of French artists, French artists in Cologne, and German artists trained in France is often difficult to distinguish, even for experts.
The triptych has undergone numerous repairs. Two thin strips of ivory have been added to the back of the central panel, and ivory pegs and strips fill small areas of loss to the base. The current hinges are modern, and the positions of the original hinges may be detected in ivory-filled holes on the sides of the upright leaves. The triptych also preserves considerable traces of paint and gilding, along with stickers from previous owners and sellers on the back and base. Scientific analysis has demonstrated that the triptych gained its current decoration over the course of four painting campaigns, with only small vestiges of original polychromy visible under magnification.
Related Reading:
Charles T. Little, "Gothic Ivory Carving in Germany," in Images in Ivory: Precious Objects from the Gothic Age (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997): pp. 80-93.
Paul Williamson and Glynn Davies, Medieval Ivory Carvings: 1200-1550, Part I (London: V&A Publishing, 2014): pp. 161-208.
Catalogue Entry by Scott Miller, Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial and Research Collections Specialist, Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters, 2020–2022
Alexander Schütgen, Cologne (?); Michel Boy, Paris; Baron Albert Oppenheim, Cologne(sold 1906); J. Pierpont Morgan (American), London and New York (1906–1917)
Petit Palais, Musée des Beaux Arts de la Ville de Paris. "Exposition universelle de 1900. L'exposition retrospective de l'art francais," April 14–November 12, 1900.
Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf. "Kunsthistorische Ausstellung," May 1–October 20, 1902.
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. "The Pierpont Morgan Treasures. Loan exhibition in honor of the Junius Spencer Morgan Memorial," November 10, 1960–December 18, 1960.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "The Middle Ages: Treasures from The Cloisters and The Metropolitan Museum of Art," January 18, 1970–March 29, 1970.
Chicago. Art Institute of Chicago. "The Middle Ages: Treasures from The Cloisters and The Metropolitan Museum of Art," May 16, 1970–July 5, 1970.
State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. "Dekorativno-Prikladnoe Iskusstvo ot Pozdnei Antichnosti do Pozdnei Gotiki," June–December 1989.
State Hermitage Museum, Leningrad. "Dekorativno-Prikladnoe Iskusstvo ot Pozdnei Antichnosti do Pozdnei Gotiki," February–July 1990.
Cologne, Germany. Museum Schnütgen. "Glanz und Größe des Mittelalters: Kölner Meisterwerke aus den großen Sammlungen der Welt," November 4, 2011–February 26, 2012.
Hartford, Conn. Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. "Morgan: Mind of the Collector," September 23–December 31, 2017.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300–1350," October 13, 2024–January 26, 2025.
Schnütgen, Alexander. "Elfenbein-Triptychon dees XIV. Jahrh. im Privatbesitz zu Köln." Zeitschrift für christliche Kunst 3, no. 8 (1893). cols. 233–36, pl. X.
Catalogue officiel illustré de l'exposition retrospective de l'art français des origines à 1800. Exposition universelle de 1900. Paris: Lemercier & Cie., 1900. no. 116, p. 264.
Marcou, Paul Frantz. "L'exposition rétrospective de l'art français: Les ivoires." Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 3rd ser., 23, no. 6 (June 1900). p. 489.
Bouillet, Auguste. "L'Art religieux à l'Exposition rétrospective du Petit Palais, en 1900." Bulletin Monumental 65 (1901). pl. 33, ill. opp. p. 148.
Kunsthistorische Ausstellung, Düsseldorf 1902: Illustrirter Katalog. Düsseldorf: August-Bagel-Verlag, 1902. no. 1208, p. 106, pl. 79.
Hoppenot, Joseph. La Sainte Vierge dans la tradition, dans l'art, dans l'âme des saints et dans notre vie. Paris and Lille: Desclée, de Brouwer, 1904. p. 121, ill.
Molinier, Emile. Collection du Baron Albert Oppenheim: Tableaux et objets d'art, catalogue précédé d'une introduction. Paris: Librairie Centrale des Beaux-Arts, 1904. no. 70, p. 31, pl. LIII.
Koechlin, Raymond. Les Ivoires Gothiques Français: Volume I, Text. Paris: Editions Auguste Picard, 1924. no. 118, p. 122.
Koechlin, Raymond. Les Ivoires Gothiques Français: Volume II, Catalogue. Paris: Editions Auguste Picard, 1924. no. 118, p. 52.
Breck, Joseph, and Meyric R. Rogers. The Pierpont Morgan Wing: A Handbook. 1st ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1925. pp. 90, 108, fig. 61, ill. p. 109.
Breck, Joseph, and Meyric R. Rogers. The Pierpont Morgan Wing: A Handbook. 2nd ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1929. pp. 90, 108, fig. 61, ill. p. 109.
Rorimer, James J., and William Holmes Forsyth. "The Medieval Galleries." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 12, no. 6 (February 1954). p. 143.
Cunningham, C. C., ed. The Pierpont Morgan Treasures: Loan Exhibition in Honor of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Junius Spencer Morgan Memorial. Hartford: Wadsworth Atheneum, 1960. no. 15, p. 10.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Guide to the Collections: Medieval Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1962. fig. 32.
New York Times Magazine (December 24, 1967). ill. cover.
Ostoia, Vera K. The Middle Ages: Treasures from the Cloisters and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1969. no. 71, pp. 154–155, 258.
Pushkin Museum and State Hermitage Museum. Dekorativno-Prikladnoe Iskusstvo ot Pozdnei Antichnosti do Pozdnei Gotiki: Kratkii Katalog Vystavki. Moscow: Pushkin Museum, 1990. no. 44, pp. 12, 31, fig. 44.
State Hermitage Museum. Dekorativno-Prikladnoe Iskusstvo ot Pozdnei Antichnosti do Pozdnei Gotiki. St. Petersburg: State Hermitage Museum, 1990. no. 44, pp. 94–95.
Little, Charles T. "Gothic Ivory Carving in Germany." In Images In Ivory: Precious Objects of the Gothic Age, edited by Peter Barnet. Detroit: Detroit Institute of Arts, 1997. p. 85, fig. VI–9.
Täube, Dagmar, and Miriam Verena Fleck, ed. Glanz und Größe des Mittelalters: Kölner Meisterwerke aus den großen Sammlungen der Welt. Munich: Hirmer Verlag, 2011. no. 23, p. 267.
Tomasi, Michele. "Luxe et Dévotion au XIVe Siècle: Autour du Tabernacle de Thomas Basin." Comptes rendus des séances de l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres 2 (April–June 2012). pp. 1016–17, fig. 13.
Lowden, John. Medieval and Later Ivories in the Courtauld Gallery: Complete Catalogue. London: Courtauld Gallery, 2013. p. 70.
Williamson, Paul, and Glyn Davies. Medieval Ivory Carvings, 1200–1550. Vol. 1. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 2014. p. 193.
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