An exceptional ivory object, this diminutive booklet is unusual in that both the exterior covers, depicting scenes of the Passion, and the interior covers, containing representations of the Virgin, are carved. The religious nature of the booklet suggests that it served as an accessory for private devotion. The painted images facing the covers are later additions, since they transform the subjects of the carvings. Except for the two painted leaves, all have raised edges. Wax may have been applied to the surfaces, allowing prayers of intercession or litanies of saints to be inscribed on the tablets with a stylus.
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Title:Booklet with Scenes of the Passion
Date:ca. 1300 (carving); ca. 1310–20 (painting)
Culture:North French (carving); Upper Rhenish (painting)
Medium:Elephant ivory, polychromy, and gilding
Dimensions:Overall (opened): 2 13/16 x 3 3/16 x 1/2 in. (7.2 x 8.1 x 1.2 cm) Overall (closed): 2 13/16 x 1 9/16 x 7/8 in. (7.2 x 4 x 2.2 cm)
Classification:Ivories-Elephant
Credit Line:The Jack and Belle Linsky Collection, 1982
Accession Number:1982.60.399
Gothic ivory carvings of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries took many forms, including diptychs, triptychs, caskets, combs, and mirror backs. One of the most exceptional objects, however, is the ivory booklet. Secular examples were common, but tablets with religious subjects were extremely rare and are known primarily from surviving inventories.
This diminutive booklet is unusual in that the exterior covers are not the only carved components: the interior of each cover and its outer vertical edge are carved as well. The subjects of the upper and lower exterior covers are (from right to left, bottom to top): the Betrayal of Christ, Judas' acceptance of the thirty pieces of silver, the Flagellation, Pilate washing his hands, the Way to Calvary, and the Crucifixion, in which Christ is surrounded by the two thieves and the event is witnessed by the Virgin and John the Evangelist. Scenes and figures secondary to the principal narratives are continued on the outer vertical edges, so that Judas committing suicide is adjacent to the Way to Calvary (at the upper left), Longinus with his spear and sword is alongside the Crucifixion (at the upper right), and a counselor (?) appears next to the scene with Pilate (at the lower right). On the interior of the front cover is a carving of the standing Virgin and Child beneath a trefoil arch and between kneeling donors, and on the interior of the back cover is a depiction of the Coronation of the Virgin, also set beneath a trefoil arch. Two images painted on the leaves facing the interior covers clearly are later additions, which transform the standard iconic subjects of the carvings. Along with the kneeling donors, the three Magi under a trefoil arch create an unusual Adoration group, while the corresponding scene added to the Coronation includes a fair-haired female figure dressed in a golden gown and with attendant angels who are presenting her to the royal heavenly couple.
In spite of the fact that the addition of painted panels to the carved scenes creates a certain iconographic ambiguity, from the beginning these spaces must have been intended for some purpose. Except for the two painted leaves, all the others have raised edges on the surfaces of which wax could have been applied to allow them to be written on with a stylus. The religious nature of this booklet suggests that it served as an accessory for private devotion. The wax tablets within could have contained prayers of intercession or the litanies of saints.
Albert Freund, Vienna; [ Blumka Gallery, New York]; Jack and Belle Linsky, New York (until 1982)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Mirror of the Medieval World," March 9–June 1, 1999.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Philippe de Montebello Years: Curators Celebrate Three Decades of Acquisitions," October 24, 2008–February 1, 2009.
Wixom, William D. "Curatorial Reports and Departmental Accessions." Annual Report of the Trustees of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 114 (July 1, 1983–June 30, 1984). p. 40.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Notable Acquisitions, 1983-1984 (Metropolitan Museum of Art) (1984). pp. 14–15.
The Jack and Belle Linsky Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art
. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1984. no. 50, pp. 132–34.
Parker, Elizabeth C. "Recent Major Acquisitions of Medieval Art by American Museums." Gesta 24, no. 4 (1985). p. 173, fig. 20.
Randall Jr., Richard H. Masterpieces of Ivory from the Walters Art Gallery. Walters Art Gallery, 1985. p. 220.
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. pp. 89–91, fig. VI–14.
Wixom, William D., ed. Mirror of the Medieval World. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1999. no. 152, pp. 130–31.
Evans, Helen C., ed. The Philippe de Montebello Years: Curators Celebrate Three Decades of Acquisitions – Online Catalogue. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2008.
Guerin, Sarah Margaret. "'Tears of Compunction': French Gothic Ivories in Devotional Practice." PhD diss., University of Toronto, 2009. pp. 146–47, fig. 3–21.
Vandenberghe, Stephane, ed. Ivory in Bruges: Treasures from Museums, Churches and Monasteries. Museumbulletin, Vol. 2. Bruges: Stedelijk Museum, 2010. p. 12.
Lowden, John. Medieval and Later Ivories in the Courtauld Gallery: Complete Catalogue. London: Courtauld Gallery, 2013. pp. 84, 86.
Williamson, Paul, and Glyn Davies. Medieval Ivory Carvings, 1200–1550. Vol. 1. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 2014. pp. 254, 256, 347, 353–4, 367.
Yvard, Catherine. "Gothic Ivories and their Owners: An Overview." In A Reservoir of Ideas: Essays in Honour of Paul Williamson, edited by Glyn Davies, and Eleanor Townsend. London: Paul Holberton Publishing, 2017. pp. 194, 202, Appendix no. 37.
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