Gothic Ivories Project | Double-sided diptych, 1 register, 3 arches across (plaquettes; frise d'arcatures) (Side 1)

Side 1
Wing, left
Annunciation; dove of the Holy Spirit; vase of lilies.
Wing, right
Nativity and Annunciation to the Shepherds; Virgin holding the left hand of Christ.
Side 2
Wing, left
Standing Virgin and Child (Vierge glorieuse); two angels swinging censers.
Wing, right
Crucifixion with the Virgin and saint John the Evangelist.
Pointed trefoils in the spandrels.

Westwood 1876 and Vöge 1900: German, 14th century.
Volbach 1923: France, 2nd half of the 14th century.
Koechlin 1924: France, 2nd half of 14th century.

Attribution
Unknown

Hinges
Two modern hinges.

Polychromy - Gilding
Extensive traces of polychromy and gilding, especially on side 2: green (clothes, spandrels), gold (background, hair, hems, censers), brown red (cross, trefoils).

Reverse
Carved on both sides.

Object Condition
Side 2 is considerably whiter than side 1, probably from prolonged exposure to light.

Provenance
Acquired by the Kunstkammer in 1852.

Bibliography
J. O. Westwood, Fictile Ivories in the South Kensington Museum (London, 1876), no. 422-425 (`73.153-156).
W. Vöge, Die Königlichen Museen zu Berlin. Beschreibung der Bildwerke der christlichen Epochen. Zweite Auflage. Elfenbeinwerke (Berlin, 1900), no. 130, pl. XXXIV.
W. F. Volbach, Die Bildwerke des Deutschen Museums, Die Elfenbeinbildwerke (Berlin, 1923), p. 40, pl. 47.
R. Koechlin, Les Ivoires gothiques français (Paris, 1924), I, pp. 195, 203, 225; II, no. 562.

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