Medieval walrus tusk relief depicting Christ in Majesty
- Title:
- Medieval walrus tusk relief depicting Christ in Majesty
- 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_0598
- Accession Number:
- 4420,A H (incised on back)
608 - File Name:
- CCC_0598.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:
- Jesus Christ
Evangelists - Image View Type:
- overall
- Image View Description:
- from front
- Measurement:
- 7.3 x 5.5 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. 606 and 607 were cast. The casts preserve the objects in their entirety. Christ is depicted facing front, haloed, and enthroned here with his feet on a footrest in the pose of Christ in Majesty, or ruler of the world. He is fully draped in a long tunic and robe with long sleeves and a circle-patterned border. He holds his right hand up in a gesture of blessing and supports a book between his left hand and left knee. Christ's upper body is framed by a mandorla (an almond-shaped aureola) decorated with a maeander. 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 bordered by a rope pattern. With the exception of the lowest portion of his beard, Christ's head has been broken away and is missing from this cast. 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. 604 (destroyed by fire in WWII) - 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.