Carolingian ivory book cover depicting scenes from the life of Jesus Christ
- Title:
- Carolingian ivory book cover depicting scenes from the life of Jesus Christ
- Collection:
- Cornell Cast Collection
- Creator:
- Gipsformerei (reproduction)
Unknown (original)
- Photographer:
- Mericle, Danielle
- Date:
- ca. 1880-1910
ca. 870 CE
- Site:
- Berlin, Germany (reproduction)
perhaps Metz, France (original) - Location:
- 726 University Avenue, Cornell University
Berlin, Germany (reproduction)
perhaps Metz, France (original) - ID Number:
- CCC_0601
- Accession Number:
- 4417. on back
S (within heraldic crest shape) on back at viewer's lower left corner
610 - File Name:
- CCC_0601.tif
- Original Measurements:
- 22.4 (H) x 11.8 (W) x 0.9 (D) cm
- Culture:
- Frankish
- Style/Period:
- Carolingian
- Work Type:
- casts (sculpture)
- Materials/Techniques:
- plaster cast (sculpture)
ivory sculpture in relief (original) - Subject:
- Jesus Christ--Miracles
- Image View Type:
- overall
- Image View Description:
- from front
- Measurement:
- 21.9 x 11.6 x 1.5 (centimeters, height x width x diameter)
- Description:
- This is a plaster cast of a small Carolingian era ivory carving from the decorative cover of a manuscript. The original is housed in Berlin. The carving was made in three registers and depicts three scenes from the life of Jesus Christ: the adolescent Jesus in the temple at Jerusalem, the miracle of turning water into wine at the wedding at Cana, and the healing of the lepers. Figures are shown between three-quarter and frontal views with their heads between three-quarter and profile. Most are heavily clad, with the exception of the servants in the middle register and the leper in the lower register. Jesus is haloed in all scenes. Each register is framed by a linear acanthus pattern. In the top register, Jesus looks left (viewer's) and sits in the center among elders, some seated, others standing. Jesus faces right and stands to the viewer's left of center in the central register, pointing to the water buckets at this feet. Behind him stand three men. On the right half of the scene, several men dine at a table and servants tend to them and to the buckets. In the lower register, Jesus stands on an uneven ground line, facing right and to the right of center of the scene. Several men stand behind him. He is approached by a crouching leper from the right. An architectural structure is depicted in the background. Collectively, plaster casts of classical and medieval ivory carvings are known as fictile ivories. These were molded and produced in volume in the second half of the 19th c. This object contains an imprinted copper medallion on its reverse, indicating that it was produced by the Gipsformerei of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.
- Notes:
- Items in the Cornell Cast Collection are meant for inventory and reference purposes. Metadata may not be complete in all cases.
no. 598 - Bibliography:
- Gipsformerei, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Katalog der Originalabgüsse, Heft 7, Elfenbein: Byzanz, Abendland, no. 4417, pl. 10
J. O. Westwood, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Fictile Ivory Casts in the South Kensington Museum (London, 1876) - Related Work:
- Fictile ivories in Cornell's collection are ID nos. 605, 606, 607, 608, 609, 610, 611.
- Repository:
- Cornell University (current)
Berlin, Skulpturensammlung (original) - Collecting Program:
- Cornell Collections of Antiquities
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- The images in the Cornell Collection of Antiquities: Casts are protected by copyright, and the copyright holders are their creators, generally Cornell University Library, Annetta Alexandridis, and Verity Platt. This collection of plaster casts owned by Cornell University was photographed by Cornell University Library, Alexandridis, Platt, and Andreya L. Mihaloew from 2010-2015, with funding from a Digital Collections in Arts and Sciences Grant to Annetta Alexandridis. Cornell is providing access to the materials for research and personal use. The written permission of any copyright and other rights holders is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use that extends beyond what is authorized by fair use and other statutory exemptions. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item. Please contact Annetta Alexandridis and Verity Platt for more information about this collection, or to request permission to use these images.