Medieval ivory book cover depicting Christ in Majesty
- Title:
- Medieval ivory book cover depicting Christ in Majesty
- Collection:
- Cornell Cast Collection
- Creator:
- Gipsformerei (reproduction)
Unknown (original)
- Photographer:
- Mericle, Danielle
- Date:
- ca. 1880-1910
9th or 10th c. CE
- Site:
- Berlin, Germany (reproduction)
Western Germany (original) - Location:
- 726 University Avenue, Cornell University
Berlin, Germany (reproduction)
Western Germany (original) - ID Number:
- CCC_0600
- Accession Number:
- 4428. (on back)
S (in heraldic crest shape) on back below coper imprint
611 - File Name:
- CCC_0600.tif
- Original Measurements:
- 19.5 (H) x 12.8 (W) x 1.1 (D) cm
- Culture:
- Frankish or Saxon
- Style/Period:
- Carolingian or Ottonian
- Work Type:
- casts (sculpture)
- Materials/Techniques:
- plaster cast (sculpture)
ivory sculpture in relief (original) - Subject:
- Jesus Christ
Evangelists - Image View Type:
- overall
- Image View Description:
- from front
- Measurement:
- 19.5 x 12.9 x 2.1 (centimeters, height x width x diameter)
- Description:
- This is a plaster cast of a small Carolingian or Ottonian era ivory carving from the decorative cover of a manuscript. The original is housed in Berlin. Christ is depicted enthroned here with his feet on a footrest in the pose of Christ in Majesty, or ruler of the world. He is haloed, holds his right hand up in a gesture of blessing, and holds a book in his left hand. The swirling folds of Christ's drapery are intricately rendered. He is flanked at the shoulders by two heavily feathered, six-winged seraphim. Below these in roundels at elbow-level are busts of the sun and moon. He is framed by a mandorla (an almond-shaped aureola) and sits on a vegetal wreath that encircles and frames his legs and feet. At the corners of the composition are symbols of the four evangelists in the forms of winged creatures. The rectangular frame in which the the figures are situated is decorated with vegetation rimmed by dentils. 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. 2629 - Bibliography:
- Gipsformerei, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Katalog der Originalabgüsse, Heft 7, Elfenbein: Byzanz, Abendland, no. 4428, pl. 11
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.