Diptych with Scenes from the Passion of Jesus

These two rectangular ivory panels are joined with a pair of metal mounts, allowing them to swing closed like a book. At 8 inches (20.3 cm) tall, the panels could either fit in the palms of the hands or be placed on a small altar to aid private meditation and prayer. The backs of the panels are smooth, revealing the vertical orientation of the grain typical of French ivory carving of the fourteenth century. The long edges of the panels are beveled, making the closed diptych octagonal in section. This treatment is common on diptychs of the fourteenth century and may have aided the storage and removal of the diptych from a boiled leather case, known as an étui. The interior faces of both panels are divided into three registers of figural imagery, and a canopy of five cusped and crocketed gothic arches surmounts each register.

The figure carving represents the Passion, the events leading up to the death of Jesus on the Cross. The narrative begins on the upper left with the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and proceeds to the Last Supper at the right. It then goes down to the Washing of the Apostles’ feet and, at the right, the vigil in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus’s arrest in Gethsemane is depicted in the lower left corner, and the Crucifixion occupies the lower right.

The carvings are finely executed and demonstrate a strong design sensibility. The groupings of figures, individual postures, and the flow of draperies work in concert to produce a dynamic rhythm offset by a bold use of negative space. The carvings are in excellent condition, with few visible traces of wear or breakage. The ivory is largely free from discoloration and displays only a few minor dehydration cracks. No traces of original paint are visible to the naked eye. Other parts of the panels demonstrate signs of prolonged use. The bottom edge of the left right panel shows six roughly circular scratch marks. Small spots of discoloration are visible on the backs of the panels, which also preserve a collection sticker. A sliver of ivory has been added to the right panel where the attachment of the hinge caused damage. A dark rectangular outline crosses both panels behind the upper hinge and may be a trace of an adhesive strip.

In his 1924 three-part study of medieval ivory carving, Ivoires Gothiques Francais, the French art historian Raymond Koechlin criticized fourteenth-century craftsmen for their willingness to repeat standardized models of Biblical imagery, and indeed the current diptych displays the same six scenes from the Passion as another in The Met’s collection (acc. no. 17.190.289). The more recent analysis by art historian Harvey Stahl has called attention to the invention and creativity that craftsmen employed when they ordered the scenes. He notes that carvers rearranged elements of their stock collection of workshop models to forge parallels between events, heighten the sense of drama or irony within a story, and signify the importance of specific moments in biblical narrative.

Intriguingly, while the current diptych displays the same six scenes as The Met’s other diptych of the Passion, it displays them in a different order that support different interpretations of the base narrative. The other diptych displays the scenes from the Passion in a historical order that descends from left to right. The narrative of the current diptych by contrast wanders over the surface of the two panels, suggesting that the carver sought to match scenes to create parallels and break the overarching narrative into thematically resonant sub-plots. The carver, for instance, vertically juxtaposed the donkey-back entry of Jesus into Jerusalem with the scene where he washes the apostles’ feet, a coupling that calls attention to his humility. The scene of foot-washing also stands directly above his betrayal by Judas, producing a sharp contrast between the love Jesus displayed for his disciples and his betrayal. The narrative on the right panel can also be read as a focused contemplation on the ways that Jesus emotionally came to terms with his coming death. On the upper register, he foretells his betrayal at the Last Supper while Judas eats from his hand, an allusion to the sacrament of Communion that memorializes both this meal and the salvation that came from the death on the cross. At center, Jesus finds his resolve tested but eventually accepts his coming death to be a necessity. The order of these scenes aimed to materialize a form of devotional "seeing", where users contemplated sacred events in tandem to extract meaning from sacred narratives. While unintuitive to modern viewers, this diptych demonstrates a creative attempt to encourage a unique type of meditation and religious devotion.

Further Reading:

Harvey Stahl, "Narrative Structure and Content in Some Gothic Ivories of the Life of Christ," in ed. Peter Barnet, Images in Ivory: Precious Objects of the Gothic Age (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997): pp. 95-114.


Catalogue Entry by Scott Miller, Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial and Research Collections Specialist, Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters, 2020–2022

[ Frédéric Spitzer (Austrian), Paris (sold 1893)]; his posthumous sale, Chevallier and Mannheim, Paris (April 17–June 16, 1893, no. 106); Robert S. Lopezor R. Lopez (from 1893); Emile Baboin, Lyons (sold 1912); [ E. Stora & Co., New York (sold 1950)]

La Collection Spitzer: Antiquité, Moyen-Age, Renaissance. Vol. I. Mâcon: Imprimerie Protat Frères, 1890–1891. Ivoire 71, pp. 47–48.

Spitzer, Frédéric, ed. La Collection Spitzer: Antiquité -- Moyen-Age -- Renaissance. Vol. 1. Paris: Maison Quantin, 1890–1893. Ivoire 71, p. 50.

Catalogue des objets d'art et de haute curiosité: antiques, du moyen-âge & de la renaissance: composant l'importante et précieuse Collection Spitzer. Vol. 1. Paris: Chevallier and Mannheim, April 17–June 16, 1893. no. 106, p. 21, pl. III.

Koechlin, Raymond. Ivoires Gothiques: Collection Émile Baboin. Lyons: A. Rey, 1912. no. 20, p. 36, pl. XVII.

Rorimer, James J. "'Reports of the Departments,' Incorporating the Eighty-First Annual Report of the Trustees for the Year 1950." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 10, no. 1 (Summer 1951). p. 26.

Randall Jr., Richard H. Masterpieces of Ivory from the Walters Art Gallery. Walters Art Gallery, 1985. p. 218.

Wixom, William D. "Medieval Sculpture at the Metropolitan: 800 to 1400." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 62, no. 4 (2005). p. 26.