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
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Artwork Details
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Title:Panel with Byzantine Ivory Carving of the Crucifixion
Date:10th century (ivory); late 11th century (setting)
Geography:Made in Constantinople (ivory); Made in Aragon, Spain (?) (setting)
Culture:Byzantine (ivory); Spanish (setting)
Medium:Silver-gilt with pseudo-filigree, glass, crystal, and sapphire cabochons, ivory on wood support
Dimensions:Overall: 10 3/8 x 8 5/8 x 1 in. (26.4 x 21.9 x 2.5 cm)
Classification:Ivories
Credit Line:Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Accession Number:17.190.134
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)
Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid. "Exposición Histórico-Europea de Madrid 1892: Las Joyas de la Exposición," 1892–1893.
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. "Glasgow International Exhibition," May 2–November 4, 1901.
Tokyo National Museum. "Treasured Masterpieces of the Metropolitan Museum of Art," August 10, 1972–October 1, 1972.
Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art. "Treasured Masterpieces of the Metropolitan Museum of Art," October 8, 1972–November 26, 1972.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Glory of Byzantium," March 11–July 6, 1997.
New York. The Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Spain, 1000–1200: Art at the Frontiers of Faith," August 30, 2021–January 30, 2022.
Huesca, Ramón de. Teatro histórico de las Iglesias del Reyno de Aragón. Vol. 8. Pamplona, 1802. p. 332.
Las Joyas de la Exposicion Histórico-Europea de Madrid 1892. Madrid: Sucesor de Laurent, 1893. pl. X.
Exposición Histórico-Europea, 1892 à 1893: Catálogo General. Madrid: Establecimiento Tipográfico de Fortanet, 1893. Sala IX, no. 24.
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.
Dodgson, Campbell. Etchings & Dry Points by Muirhead Bone, 1898-1907. Vol. 1. London: Allard Obach & Co., 1909. p. 81, (in relation to dry point by Muirhead Bone).
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.
Goldschmidt, Adolph. Die Elfenbeinskulpturen aus der romanischen Zeit, XI.-XIII. Jahrhundert. Vol. 4. Berlin: Bruno Cassirer, 1926. pp. 2, 33, fig. 30.
Breck, Joseph, and Meyric R. Rogers. The Pierpont Morgan Wing: A Handbook. 2nd ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1929. p. 52.
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.
Metz, Peter. "Das Kunstgewerbe von der Karolingerzeit bis zum Beginn der Gotik." In Geschichte des Kunstgewerbes aller Zeiten und Völker, edited by Helmuth Theodor Bossert. Vol. 5. Berlin: E. Wasmuth, 1932. p. 245.
Thomas, Henry. Early Spanish Bookbindings, XI-XV Centuries. Illustrated monographs, Vol. 23. Oxford University Press, 1939. p. 6, pl. II.
Glaister, Geoffrey Ashall. An Encyclopedia of the Book: Terms Used in Paper-Making, Printing, Bookbinding and Publishing. New York: World Publishing Company, 1960. p. 41, ill.
Steenbock, Frauke. Der kirchliche Prachteinband im frühen Mittelalter: von den Anfängen bis zum Beginn der Gotik. Deutscher Verlag für Kunstwissenshcaft, 1965. no. 67, p. 160, fig. 94.
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Keene, Manuel. "The Lapidary Arts in Islam: An Underappreciated Tradition." Expedition 24, no. 1 (Fall 1981). p. 38, fig. 23, (ill. drawing after sealstone).
Estella Marcos, Margarita M. La Escultura del Marfil en España: Romántica y Gótica. Artes del tiempo y del espacio. Madrid: Editora Nacional, 1984. p. 97.
Frazer, Margaret English. "Medieval Church Treasuries." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 43, no. 3 (Winter 1985-1986). p. 19, fig. 13.
Welch, Stuart Cary. The Islamic World. Metropolitan Museum of Art series, Vol. 11. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987. p. 16.
Naval Mas, Antonio. "Evangeliario de Jaca, en Nueva York." Cuadernos Altoaragones 190 (June 16, 1991). p. v.
Little, Charles T., ed. The Art of Medieval Spain, A.D. 500–1200. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1993. no. 128, pp. 268–69.
Evans, Helen C., and William D. Wixom, ed. The Glory of Byzantium: Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era, A.D. 843–1261. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1997. no. 304, pp. 466, 478.
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Abenza Soria, Verónica Carla. "El Díptic de Jaca i la reina Felicia de Roucy." In Síntesi: Quaderns dels Seminaris de Besalú. Vol. 2. 2014. pp. 28–53, fig. 1, 3.
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Stein, Wendy A. How to Read Medieval Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2016. p. 12, fig. 4.
Bolton, Andrew, ed. Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination. Vol. 2. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2018. pp. 300, 322.
Abenza Soria, Verónica Carla. "The Jaca Ivories: Towards a Revaluation of Eleventh Century Female Artisitc Patronage in the Kingdom of Aragon." In Romanesque Patrons and Process: Design and Instrumentality in the Art and Architecture of Romanesque Europe. New York: Routledge, 2018. pp. 183–193, fig. 15.1.
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Perratore, Julia. "Spain 1000-1200: Art at the Frontiers of Faith." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n. s., 79, no. 2 (Fall 2021). pp. 32–5, figs. 39, 41.
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