Medieval walrus tusk relief depicting two Apostles
- Title:
- Medieval walrus tusk relief depicting two Apostles
- Collection:
- Cornell Cast Collection
- Creator:
- Gipsformerei (reproduction)
Unknown (original)
- Photographer:
- Mericle, Danielle
- Date:
- ca. 1880-1910
11th c. CE
- Site:
- Berlin, Germany (reproduction)
Rhineland, Germany (original) - Location:
- 726 University Avenue, Cornell University
Berlin, Germany (reproduction)
Rhineland, Germany (original) - ID Number:
- CCC_0597
- Accession Number:
- 4420 c P (incised in back)
606 - File Name:
- CCC_0597.tif
- Original Measurements:
- 7.2 (H) cm
- Culture:
- Germanic
- Style/Period:
- Medieval Rhineland
- Work Type:
- casts (sculpture)
- Materials/Techniques:
- plaster cast (sculpture)
walrus tusk sculpture in relief (original) - Subject:
- Apostles
Jesus Christ - Image View Type:
- overall
- Image View Description:
- from front
- Measurement:
- 7.2 x 5.4 x 1.9 (centimeters, height x width x diameter)
- Description:
- This is a plaster cast of a small panel carved from walrus tusk from a portable altar produced in the Rhineland in the 11th c. The original was previously held in Berlin and was destroyed by fire in WWII, along with the panels from which ID nos. 607 and 608 were cast. The casts preserve the objects in their entirety. The two apostles sit side by side facing front on a bench with their feet on a footrest. They have narrow heads and pronounced noses and lips. Both are haloed and both wear tunics and robes. The apostle on the viewer's left holds a book in his right hand and holds his left hand up, palm out. He has a mid-length beard with a blunt edge. The apostle on the right holds an open book to his chest with both hands and has a longer, pointy beard. His robe is bordered with a maeander. The rectangular frame in which the figures are situated is bordered by an xo 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.
nos. 603-608, series - Bibliography:
- Gipsformerei, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Katalog der Originalabgüsse, Heft 7, Elfenbein: Byzanz, Abendland, no. 4420, pl. 15
J. O. Westwood, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Fictile Ivory Casts in the South Kensington Museum (London, 1876) - Related Work:
- ID nos. 606, 607, and 608 are all from the same portable altar.
- Repository:
- Cornell University (current)
formerly 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.