Plaque

12th century

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 457

This small pentagonal ivory plaque depicts a lion set against foliage. With one paw raised, the lion tilts its head upwards, and its tail swings back towards the head. The craftsman has carved lines on the body to indicate fur and patterning, and holes bored into the surface may originally have been set with stones. Depictions of animal forms within framing devices were common decorative motifs in objects produced around the Mediterranean in the medieval period, and can be found ornamenting wood, textiles, ivory, metalwork and ceramics.
This piece is one of a pair in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, with 67.204.2. The iconography of these plaques suggest they may be a derivative of depictions of the four Christian evangelists; here it could be a representation of Mark, whose symbol is a lion.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Title: Plaque
Date: 12th century
Geography: Made in Italy, Sicily
Medium: Bone; carved and incised
Dimensions: H. 1 5/8 (4.1 cm)
W. 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm)
D. 1/4 in. (0.6 cm)
Classification: Ivories and Bone
Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1967
Object Number: 67.204.1
Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

More Artwork

In the same gallery

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From the same time and place

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Plaque, Bone; carved and incised — Plaque
12th century

Fragment of an Oliphant, Ivory; carved — Fragment of an Oliphant
11th–12th century

Pyxis with Painted Designs, Ivory; painted, gilded copper alloy mounts — Pyxis with Painted Designs
second half 12th–first half 13th century

Casket with Painted Roundels, Ivory, painted; gilded silver mounts with glass, quartz, and turquoise inlays — Casket with Painted Roundels
late 12th–early 13th century

Morgan Casket, Ivory; carved — Morgan Casket
11th–12th century

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