Diptychs and triptychs were private devotional objects that served as less elaborate substitutes for ivory tabernacles. This panel represents, in the upper register, the Crucifixion, with Longinus and Stephaton, flanked by the Virgin and St. John the Evangelist, executed in a larger scale. The Virgin and Child appear below, flanked by two angels. The architectural decoration allows the zones to be seen clearly while creating a rich decorative effect.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Central Panel of a Triptych
Date:ca. 1280–90
Culture:North French
Medium:Ivory and paint
Dimensions:Overall: 6 5/8 x 4 1/16 x 3/8 in. (16.8 x 10.3 x 1 cm)
Classification:Ivories
Credit Line:The Cloisters Collection, 1970
Accession Number:1970.324.6
Herrmann Sax, Vienna (until 1893) ; his sale, H. O. Miethke, Vienna (December 4, 1893, no. 121) ; Emil Weinberger, Vienna (until 1929) ; his sale, C.J. Wawra, Vienna (October 22–24, 1929, no. 256) ; Oscar Bondy, Vienna (1930–confiscated by Nazi officials in 1938) ; restituted to his widow, Elisabeth Bondy, New York (by 1950) ; [ Blumka Gallery, New York] ; Ernst and Marthe Kofler-Truniger, Lucerne (sold 1970)
Kunsthalle Basel. "L'Apocalypse: Tapisserien aus der Kathedrale von Angers," January 8–March 4, 1951.
Kunsthaus Zürich. "Sammlung E. und M. Kofler-Truniger, Luzern, Zürich," June 7–August 2, 1964.
Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design. "Transformations of the Court Style : Gothic art in Europe, 1270 to 1330," February 2, 1977–February 27, 1977.
Koechlin, Raymond. Les Ivoires Gothiques Français: Volume I, Text. Paris: Editions Auguste Picard, 1924. no. 47, p. 85.
Koechlin, Raymond. Les Ivoires Gothiques Français: Volume II, Catalogue. Paris: Editions Auguste Picard, 1924. no. 47, p. 22.
Koechlin, Raymond. Les Ivoires Gothiques Français: Volume III, Plates. Paris: Editions Auguste Picard, 1924. no. 47, pl. XIX.
Schnitzler, Hermann, ed. Große Kunst des Mittelalters aus Privatbesitz. Cologne: Museum Schnütgen, 1960. no. 17, p. 17, pl. 14.
Sammlung E. und M. Kofler-Truniger, Luzern: Ausstellung. Zurich: Kunsthaus Zürich, 1964. no. 717, pp. 76–77, pl. 68.
Schnitzler, Hermann, Peter Bloch, and W. F. Volbach. Sammlung E. und M. Kofler-Truniger, Luzern: Skulpturen – Elfenbein, Perlmutter, Stein, Holz; europäisches Mittelalter. Vol. 1. Lucerne: Verlag Räber & Cie, 1964. no. 54, pp. 20–21.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. "One Hundred First Annual Report of the Trustees for the Fiscal Year July 1, 1970 through June 30, 1971." Annual Report of the Trustees of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 101 (1971). p. 21.
Raggio, Olga, ed. Patterns of Collecting: Selected Acquisitions, 1965-1975; Explanatory Texts. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975. p. 17.
Gillerman, Dorothy, ed. Transformations of the Court Style: Gothic Art in Europe, 1270 to 1330. Providence: Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, 1977. no. 14, pp. 52–53, ill.
Randall Jr., Richard H. The Golden Age of Ivory: Gothic Carvings in North American Collections. New York: Hudson Hills Press, 1993. p. 53.
Guerin, Sarah Margaret. "'Tears of Compunction': French Gothic Ivories in Devotional Practice." PhD diss., University of Toronto, 2009. pp. 145, 360–61, fig. 3–20, pl. 10.
Lowden, John. Medieval and Later Ivories in the Courtauld Gallery: Complete Catalogue. London: Courtauld Gallery, 2013. p. 52.
Williamson, Paul, and Glyn Davies. Medieval Ivory Carvings, 1200–1550. Vol. 1. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 2014. p. 167.
Musée du Louvre Antoine-Köning, Élisabeth. "Quatre Ivoires Gothiques de L'Ancienne Collection Kofler-Truniger." La Revue des Musées de France: Revue du Louvre 3 (2019). p. 11, fig. 1.
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