Saint Louis with crown, sceptre with fleur-de-lys and hand of justice; saint Denis holding his head; saint Agnes with a lamb and book; Saint Margaret emerging from the dragon unharmed, holding a crucifix. Saint George and the dragon; princess holding the dragon on a leash; king and queen in castle.
Crosshatched background. Pointed trefoils and elaborate tracery.
Dalton 1909: French, late 14th century.
Leeuwenberg 1969: Northern French or Flemish, late 18th or early 19th century.
Museum's opinion 2011: Northern French or Flemish, late 18th or early 19th century.
Attribution
Master of the Agrafe Forgeries (Leeuwenberg 1969)
Reverse
Covered by a wooden panel. Modern ink inscription 'BL. 1633' referring to the lot number from the Ralph Bernal sale at Christie's, 1855.
Object Condition
Cracked and repaired.
Comments
Probably part of the same ensemble as a panel now in an unknown location (former Brummer collection). See related objects.
Provenance
Collection of Ralph Bernal, 93 Eaton Square, London (b. 1783, d. 1854): sold, his sale, Christie's, London, Wednesday 21 March 1855, lot 1633; purchased by the British Museum, from John Webb, through Christie's, 1855.
Bibliography
O. M. Dalton, Catalogue of the Ivory Carvings of the Christian Era in the British Museum, (London, 1909), no. 309.
J. Leeuwenberg, 'Early Nineteenth-Century Gothic Ivories', in Aachener Kunstblätter, 39 (1969), pp. 111-148 (pp. 129, 137).
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