Christ’s arms are outstretched to display his wounds. The seven cloud-like forms on the periphery of the central medallion may refer to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. The style and composition of the subject suggest a close link to manuscript illuminations produced in the scriptorium of the Benedictine monastery at Fulda, a leading center of learning during the Ottonian period.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Plaque with Christ and the Symbols of the Four Evangelists
Date:ca. 1050
Geography:Made in possibly Fulda, Germany
Culture:Ottonian
Medium:Elephant ivory
Dimensions:Overall: 6 15/16 x 3 7/8 x 5/16 in. (17.7 x 9.8 x 0.8 cm)
Classification:Ivories-Elephant
Credit Line:Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Object Number:17.190.51
Inscription: Inscribed: IHC/XPC.
Charles Bowyer, London (sold 1906); his sale, Christie's, London, Feb. 16-17, 1906, no. 24); J. Pierpont Morgan (American), London and New York (1906(?)–1917)
Kunstmuseum Basel. "GOLD & GLORY. Gifts for Eternity," October 11, 2019–January 19, 2020.
Robinson, J. C., ed. Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Works of Art of the Mediæval, Renaissance, and More Recent Periods, on Loan at the South Kensington Museum, June 1862. London: South Kensington Museum, 1862. no. 173, p. 14.
Robinson, J. C., ed. Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Works of Art of the Mediæval, Renaissance, and More Recent Periods, on Loan at the South Kensington Museum, June 1862. Revised ed. London: South Kensington Museum, 1863. no. 173, p. 14.
Burlington Fine Arts Club. Catalogue of bronzes and ivories of European origin, exhibited in 1879. London: Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1879. no. 266, p. 44.
Catalogue of the Collection of Old Italian Bronzes and Objects of Art and Furniture of the 15th, 16th, 17th & 18th Centuries: Statuary and Objects of Antiquity, formed by Charles Bowyer, Esq.. London: Christie, Manson & Woods, February 15, 1906. no. 24, p. 5.
Breck, Joseph. "Pre-Gothic Ivories in the Pierpont Morgan Collection." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, o.s., 15, no. 1 (January 1920). p. 15.
Goldschmidt, Adolph. Die Elfenbeinskulpturen aus der romanischen Zeit, XI.-XIII. Jahrhundert. Vol. 3. Berlin: Bruno Cassirer, 1923. no. 115, p. 32, pl. XXXVII.
Breck, Joseph, and Meyric R. Rogers. The Pierpont Morgan Wing: A Handbook. 2nd ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1929. p. 48.
Gold & Ruhm: Kunst und Macht unter Kaiser Heinrich II. Basel: Historisches Museum Basel, 2019. no. 74, p. 198.
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