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
end of 10th c. CE
- Site:
- Berlin, Germany (reproduction)
Trier, Germany (original) - Location:
- 726 University Avenue, Cornell University
Berlin, Germany (reproduction)
Trier, Germany (original) - ID Number:
- CCC_0602
- Accession Number:
- 4427. (on back)
S (in heraldic crest shape) on back at viewer's lower left corner
609 - File Name:
- CCC_0602.tif
- Original Measurements:
- 21 (H) x 12.4 (W) x 1.4 (D) cm
- Culture:
- Saxon
- Style/Period:
- Ottonian
- Work Type:
- casts (sculpture)
reliefs (sculptures) - Materials/Techniques:
- plaster cast (sculpture)
ivory sculpture in relief (original) - Subject:
- Jesus Christ
Evangelists - Image View Type:
- overall
- Image View Description:
- from front
- Measurement:
- 20.8 x 12.1 x 2 (centimeters, height x width x diameter)
- Description:
- This is a plaster cast of a small ivory carving from the decorative cover of a manuscript. The original was produced at Trier during the Ottonian era and is housed in Berlin. Christ is depicted here seated on an imagined throne with his feet on an imagined footrest in the pose of Christ in Majesty, or ruler of the world. He is bearded, haloed, holds his right hand out in a gesture of blessing, and holds a book in his left hand. He is framed by a quatrefoil aureola. At the corners of the composition four evangelists sit on stools, each holding a stylus and writing in a book. The winged symbols of these evangelists--a man, an eagle, a bull, and a lion--are shown here hovering above and speaking to the evangelists as they write. The pupils of the human and animal figures are carved. The rectangular frame in which the the composition is situated is decorated with a slightly modified egg and dart pattern. 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. 2423 - Bibliography:
- Gipsformerei, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Katalog der Originalabgüsse, Heft 7, Elfenbein: Byzanz, Abendland, no. 4427, pl. 17
J. O. Westwood, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Fictile Ivory Casts in the South Kensington Museum (London, 1876) - 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.