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Yale University Library

39002009456196

NOTICE OF SCULPTURE

IN IVORY

'fgwe theft Saoici
'di: the forniintgiftiCeltegt irtrihis Colony'

DEPOSITED BY
THE SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS
1933

ARUNDEL SOCIETY,
24, OLD BOND STREET, LONDON, W.

FAC-SIMILES OF ANCIENT IVORY CARVINGS.
ISSUE OF A SUPPLEMENTAL CLASS.

— -^s-ee®*^ —

The Council of the Arundel Society desire to make known that they have lately made an
important addition to the collection of Casts from Ancient and Mediaeval Ivory-carvings which
have long been on sale at the Office. The original series, consisting of one hundred and seventy
casts, was divided into fourteen Classes, arranged so as to illustrate the progress of the sculptural
Art from the second or third century after Christ to the period of Renaissance; and a catalogue,
published in 1855, described each specimen in detail. Since the Society by these and similar
means directed attention to these relics of early Art, a very fine collection of ivory-carvings has
been formed at the South Kensington Museum. From that collection the Council have now
selected twenty-five examples, of various dates and styles, from which moulds have been made
by .the same Formatore who moulded the original collection for the Society, but of increased
delicacy and sharpness, owing to improvements which experience has enabled him to make iu
the manufacture. As it would be inconvenient to disturb the classification of the former series by
piecemeal additions, it has been resolved to form the new pieces into a Supplemental Class, which
will be sold at £5 15s. Qd. to Members, and £6 16*. Qd. to Strangers. At the same time, to meet
the wishes of those who desire only a few specimens of this Class, and likewise to admit of less
costly purchases being made, Members of the Society will be allowed to select at their own
discretion casts both from the Supplemental Class and any of the old Classes, conditionally on
the selection amounting altogether to a value of not less than Two Poimds, according to a separate
price-list prepared for the purpose. The sale of the original series, and of the catalogue, will be
continued as before; but owing to a recent advance in the cost both of materials and labour, the
Council have been compelled to assent to an ad^itroV'ot' fifteen per cent, to the prices originally
required for the casts. The following is a description of the new Class.
. lo \2 6 0 6

CATALOGUE OF EXAMPLES
IN THE
SUPPLEMENTAL CLAS §&£**&)

* For the following descriptions the Society is indebted to Mr. Maskell's book, entitled " Ancient and Mediaeval Ivories
in the South Kensington Museum." Subject op the Sculpture.

One leaf of a Roman diptych
of the third century, known
as the Diptyehon Melere-
tense, formerly attached to
a reliquary at Moutiers in
France. The other leaf
is now preserved in the
Museum of the Hotel de
Cluny at Paris. Size Ill-
Price 6s.

X 4J inches.

b. 1

and 2. Two leaves of a
Consular diptych of Ru-
finus Gennadius Probus
Orestes. Byzantine of the
sixth century. Size of each
leaf, 13-J X 4-J inches. Price
of the two pieces, 12s.
Book - cover. Carlovingian
of the ninth century. Size
15 X 10)- inches. Price 2 Is.

5^- X 3|-

\J d. Plaque. Probably formed
part of a casket. Car
lovingian of the ninth
century. Size
inches. Price 3s
v e. 1 and 2. Two Plaques. Pro
bably formed part of a
casket. Carlovingian of
the tenth century. Size
of each, 3J- x 2f inches.
Price of the two, 4s.

A priestess standing before an altar on which a fire is lighted. She is in the act of
dropping incense into the flame. Behind the altar is a young female attendant
presenting a bowl and vase to the priestess. Behind the attendant is an oak tree,
and above this is the title SYM MACHO RVM

Orestes, who was consul A.D. 530, is represented sitting, and on each side of him
stands a female symbolizing the cities of Rome and Constantinople. Above the
figures is a broad tablet running across both leaves bearing the inscription RVF
CENN PROB ORESTIS V C ET fNL CONS ORD
To be read, " Rufinus Gennadius Probus Orestes, Vir clarissimus et illustris
consul ordinarius."
This magnificent book-cover is complete and uninjured, and probably is not to be
surpassed by any other example of the same style and period now existing. It is
almost identical with an ivory preserved in the Museum of the Vatican, which
still forms the cover of a manuscript containing the Gospels of St. Luke and
St. John. The entire cover is composed of five pieces : a centre, with two
narrower panels at the sides, and at the top and bottom a panel occupying the
whole width of the cover.- The centre subject represents the Virgin seated with
the Child in her arms. On the left panel is a prophet (perhaps Isaiah) standing,
holding in his left hand a long open scroll. On the right panel is the figure of a
man probably intended for Melchisedec. In the top panel two angels floating
upon the clouds hold in their hands a round shield, inside which is the bust of
our Lord. The lower panel has two subjects ; on the left and centre is the Nativity,
and on the right is the angel appearing to the shepherds.
Scenes from the life of our Lord. The carving is divided by a foliated border into
two compartments ; the lower has for its subject the anointing of the Saviour's
feet by Mary Magdalene. In the upper division is the Entry into Jerusalem.

On one piece is represented the Transfiguration with tlie three Apostles below. The
other has two scenes ; Christ healing the paralytic, and Christ giving sight to the
blind.

f. Plaque. Anglo-Saxon of the
eleventh century. Size
14 x G-L inches. Price 8s.
/ ij. Book-cover. Rhenish By
zantine of the eleventh
century. Size
inches. Price 6s

81 x 1\

o. Mirror- case. French of the
fourteenth century. Dia
meter 14 inches. Price 3s.
;>. Group. Fragment of a panel.
French of the fourteenth
century. Size 2* X 2^
inches. Price 2s.

V h. Book-cover. Rhenish By
zantine of the eleventh
century. Size 8{ X 7 J
inches. Price 6s.
*" 1. 1,2, and 3. Plaques (three).
Pieces from a casket. By
zantine of the eleventh
century. Length of 1,
6 inches ; of 2 and 3,
10 inches; width of each,
1-J inches. Prico of the
three pieces, 9s.
I;. Plaque. This probably
has been the cover of a
small book. Carlovingian
of the eleventh century.
Size 4 -J X 2-jj inches. Price
2s.
V I. Plaque. Part of a casket.
Byzantine of the twelfth
century. Size 10;jx2£
inches. Price 4s.
vm. Book-cover. Byzantine of
the thirteenth centuiy.
Size 9-{ X 5| inches. Price
6s.
v n. 1, 2. 3, 4, and 5. Casket
(in five pieces). French
of the fourteenth century.
Height of casket, 44; inches;
/ length, H* inches; width,
5^ inches. Price of the
five pieces, £1 -is.

Subject of the Sculpture.
The Adoration of the Kings, the figures of the Virgin and Child disproportionately
large in comparison to the three kings.
The Nativity. The greater part of this panel is filled with the walls of a city repre
senting Bethlehem. The space inside is occupied with the subject of the Nativity.
Outside the walls are the shepherds listening to the angels. The border is decorated
with interlacing leaves
The Adoration of the Kings. This subject is represented under an arcade of three
round arches. To the left the Virgin is seated with the Infant. Two of the
kings are under the centre arch, and the third, alone, under the arch to the
right.
No. 1 has the Baptism of our Lord. Upon No. 2 are three subjects : — the shepherds
listening to the angels singing on high ; in the centre, the Nativity ; on the right,
the Virgin with the Infant Jesus receiving the offerings of the three kings. Upon
No. '¦'> are three groups representing the Resurrection (or the visit of the women
to the sepulchre).

The Apostle Paul standing, lifting up his right hand and carrying a double rolled
scroll on his other arm. Round the moulding of the border is incised the
inscription: — " Pernicies . fidei . Saulus . cedendo . fidelcs . invigila . . . dei
verba . serendo . di.",

Two sui jects. That on the left represents a king or warrior stretching his arm towards
two men who approach him submissively, apparently carrying tribute. On tlie
left sits the same king attended by three warriors; he turns to listen to the message
hastily brought in by two soldiers.
This cover has five medallions. The centre one occupies the whole width of the plaque,
and is filled with the head and bust of our Lord. The four smaller medallions
have the busts of S.S.Philip, Stephen. Andrew, and Thomas; their names written
in Greek characters perpendicularly by the side of each.
The carvings on this casket represent scenes from mediaeval romances. On the centre
of the lid is a tournament; on each side of this, the attack by the knights, and
defence by the ladies, of the Castle of Love. The front of the casket is divided
into four compartments, the subjects taken from the romances of Alexander and
Tristan. On one end is the fable of the Unicorn and an incident from the
romance of Tristan. The subject at the other end represents a knight received
by an old man at the gate of a castle. The back of the casket is filled with
subjects from the romance of Lancelot.
In the upper part arc three pointed arches with a balcony in front, where men and
women are talking and caressing. Below is a garden in which three pairs of
lovers are conversing. There have been four crawling dragons round the edge of
the case, but two are lost.
The Virgin is standing, suckling the Infant; before her kneels a nun, behind whom
are S. John the Baptist and a Bishop.

q. Plaque. North Italian of
the fifteenth century. Size
9| X 4-| inches. Price Gs.
v r. Plaque. Italian of the six
teenth century. Size 4-J-
X 5i inches. Price 4s.

Subject or the Sculpture.
A figure in low relief of S. Sebastian, tied by his hands to a tree, his head leaning a
if exhausted.
Six apostles standing. In the middle, S. Peter with his cross turning to S. Paul.
Behind is S. Bartholomew with his knife; and three other apostles.

1 16

6

9

5

0

1 16

6

2

5

0

1 16

6

2

5

0

The following are the prices at which the several Classes in the-original collection will now be sold : —
TO MEMBERS. TO STRANGERS
£ S. d. £ S.
Class I. (6 pieces). Roman Diptychs of Mythological character ... ... ... ... 19 0 ... 1 16
Class II. (13 pieces). Roman and Byzantine Diptychs of Historical character ... ... 2 17 6 ... 3 13
Class III. (5 pieces). Ecclesiastical Diptychs, anterior to A.D. 700 ... ... ... 13 0 ... 1 9
Class IV. (7 pieces). Book Covers, anterior to A.D. 700  2 2 0 ... 2 12
Class V. (17 pieces). Diptychs and Book Covers of the 8th, 9th, and 10th centuries ... 2 12 6 ... 3 5
Class VI. (5 pieces). Miscellaneous objects, anterior to A.D. 1000 ... ... ... 130 ... 19
Class VII. (17 pieces). Carvings of the Greek school of various periods, posterior to the
age of Justinian ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 2 12 6 ... 3 5 0
Class VIII. (24 pieces). Ornaments of a Casket of the Greek school, of uncertain age,
in the Treasury of the Cathedral of Sens ...
Class IX. (13 pieces). Carvings of the Italian school of the 14th century
Class X. (14 pieces). English, French, and German schools, 11th and 12th centuries ...
Class XL (19 pieces). English, French, and German schools, 13th and 14th centuries,
Sacred Subjects  2 10 0 ... 3 3 0
Class XII. (11 pieces). English, French, and German schools, 13th and 14th centuries.
Secular Subjects  1 9 0 ... 1 16 6
Class XIII. (4 pieces). English, French, and German schools, 13th and 14th centuries,
Statuettes  1 3 U ... 19 0
Class XIV. (12 pieces). Italian, French, English, and German schools, 15th and 16th
centuries ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 112 6 ... 2 00
Class XV. — Supplemental Class (25 pieces). Miscellaneous objects, from the 3rd to the
1 6th centuries
The Entire Collection of fifteen Classes
A Select Class is also sold, containing fourteen of the most important specimens from
the various schools and periods ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 3 13 6 ... 4 14 6
Note. — The Ivories can be packed safely and sent to any part of the world. The charge is 4s. for one class, and
Is. Gd. for each additional class. For packing the entire collection, £1 5s. Od.
A " Notice of tiie Art of Sculpture in Ivouy," by Sir M. Digby Wyatt, and a Catalogue by Edmund Oldfield, Esq., of
the various specimens in the original collection of the Society, can be obtained, price S#.

5 15 6

6 10

1
6

30 0 0

.. 35 0

0

Arundel Society,
24, Old Bond Stiieet, London.— 1873.

F. \Y. MAYNARD,
Secretary.

NOTICES

SCULPTURE IN IVORY.

(CLASS IV.) a. 1.

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J. A Sivnctr, pkototrr.
LEAF OF A BOOK-COVEE OF THE SIXTH CENTURY,
In the Treasury of tlio Cathedral of Milan,
Representing subjects from the Qospela.
Size 154 inches by 12J.
NOTICES

Gift of K.E.Sr] sb

SCULPTURE IN IVORY,

CONSISTING OF (

LECTURE ON THE HISTORY, METHODS, AND CHIEF PRODUCTIONS OF THE ART,
DELIVERED AT THE FIRST ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE
ARUNDEL SOCIETY, ON THE 29th JUNE, 1855,

BY M. DIGBY VTYATT,
ARCHITECT,
HONORARY MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY, ETC.

% (LUitalogne of ipmmcns of %\\tm\\ Jkrn-Carbings in Various (Collections.
(CASTS OP WHICH ARE SOLD BY THE SOCIETY IN CLASSES EXEMPLIFYING THE PRINCIPAL SCHOOLS ANT> PERIODS)
By EDMUND OLDFIELD, M.A.
Fellow of Worcester College, Oxford ; Assistant in the Department of Antiquitios, British Museum.
WITH NINE PHOTOGRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS, BY J. A. SPENCER.

LONDON:
OFFICE OF THE ARUNDEL SOCIETY, 24, OLD BOND STREET.
1S5G.

ADVERTISEMENT.

In issuing the present volume, as part of the seventh annual publication of the Arundel Society, the
Council think it right to prefix a few words of explanation. In the spring of 1855 the Society became
possessed of a valuable collection of moulds and other materials for the manufacture of casts, representing,
nearly in facsimile, some of the most interesting specimens of ancient Ivory-carvings now in existence. The
precise character of this collection, and the circumstances of its acquisition, are explained in the Preface to
the Catalogue which forms the latter part of this Volume. At the First General Meeting of the Society, in
June last, a set of the casts was exhibited, and Mr. M. Digby Wyatt very obligingly read a paper, illustrated
by reference to the specimens before him, on the Art of Sculpture in Ivory. This paper, at the request of
the Meeting, was placed at the disposal of the Society, and having since received considerable additions
and emendations from Mr. Wyatt, is now published as a general introduction to the subject which the casts
supply the means for studying more in detail.
As soon as it was determined by the Council that casts should be manufactured for sale, it was
thought desirable that a particular description of them should be prepared for the benefit of purchasers ;
and this was accordingly drawn up by Mr. Edmund Oldfield, a member of the Council of the Society, who had,
previously to the delivery of Mr. Wyatt's Lecture, arranged the collection in classes, illustrative of the several
schools and periods of the Art. This Catalogue was first published in August last, being delivered
gratuitously to all purchasers of the casts, as well as to any member of the Society who might apply for it,
and sold at one shilling to other persons. Upon these terms the original or separate edition is still to be
obtained. A reprint of this Catalogue, with some slight additions and corrections by the author, completes
the present publication.
In order to give a better, though still imperfect, idea of the interest of the casts, nine specimens have
been photographed by Mr. J. A. Spencer, as illustrations to the Lecture and Catalogue. The time required
for the production of a sufficient number of photographic impressions, amounting in all to several thousand,
has been the chief cause of the delay in the appearance of this volume ; but the Council trust that, when
the climate and season in which they have unavoidably been executed are considered, these illustrations will
be regarded as not unworthy of the approbation of the Society.

24, Old Bond Street,
•2nd April, 1SJ0.

LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS.

V The Letters and Numerals prefixed to each title refer to the Classification of the Ivories im the Catalogue. PAGE
(CLASS IV, a. 1.) LEAF OF A BOOK-COVER OF THE SIXTH CENTURY, IN THE TREASURY OF THE CATHEDRAL OF
MILAN, REPRESENTING SUBJECTS FROM THE GOSPELS ... . Frontispiece
(CLASS II, b. 1.) LEAP OP A ROMAN DIPTYCH, IN THE TREASURY OP THE CATHEDRAL OF MONZA, SUPPOSED TO
REPRESENT VALENTINIAN III. AND GALLA PLACIDIA  14
(CLASS V, g. 1.) LEAF OF A BOOK-COVER OF THE CARLOVINGIAN SCHOOL IN THE BIBLIOTHEQUE IMPERTALK,
PARIS, REPRESENTING THE CRUCIFIXION  8
(CLASS XI, a.) TABLET, PROBABLY OF ABOUT A.D. 1300, IN THE POSSESSION OF JOHN LENTAIGNE, ESQ., M.D.,
REPRESENTING THE PRESENTATION, AND CHRIST AND THE VIRGIN IN GLORY . . 14
(CLASS XII, d.) SIDE OF A MIRROR-CASE OF ABOUT A.D. 1300, IN THE POSSESSION OF M. SAUVAGEOT,
REPRESENTING DRAUGHT-PLAYERS  15
(CLASS XIV, d.) GROUP FROM A BAS-RELIEF OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY, IN THE POSSESSION OF W. MASKELL,
ESQ., REPRESENTING THE ADORATION OF THE SHEPHERDS ... . . 17
(CLASS II, /.) LEAF OF A BYZANTINE DIPTYCH, IN THE KUNSTKAMMER, BERLIN, REPRESENTING ANASTASIUS,
CONSUL OF THE EAST, A.D. 517 ...  35
(CLASS VII, /.) GREEK TRIPTYCH, PROBABLY OF THE ELEVENTH CENTURY, IN THE BIBLIOTHEQUE QIPERIALE,
PARIS, REPRESENTING THE CRUCIFIXION AND VARIOUS SAINTS .... .42
(CLASS X. h.) LEAF OF A BOOK-COVER OF THE TWELFTH CENTURY, IN THE POSSESSION OF J. B. NICHOLS,
ESQ., REPRESENTING THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST  47

A LECTURE

HISTORY, METHODS, AND PRODUCTIONS OF THE ART OF

SCULPTURE IN IVORY,

DELIVERED AT IHE

FIRST ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE ARUNDEL SOCIETY ON THE 29th JUNE, 1855,

By M. DIGBY WYATT.

LECTURE,

Not only the members of the Arundel Society, but all who recognise a happy fruit and element of
peace in the cultivation of Art, must feel grateful to those gentlemen whose zeal and intelligence have
collected the choice series of reproductions of ancient ivory-carving, upon which we now purpose concentrating
our attention, and upon which the skill and fancy of the best artists of past ages have been unsparingly
lavished. The value of ivory has always consisted, not in its intrinsic worth, but in its admirable adaptation
for expressing in outward form the jnspirations of the sculptor. Hence it has always been reserved for the
ripest talents of every period, while at the same time it has never offered the same temptations to the destroyer
that have been presented by the precious metals. The happy consequence of this quality has been,
that while almost every work of ancient Art convertible into bullion has disappeared in the successive dark
ages of barbarism, many a relic, the intellectual part of which has been embalmed in this apparently less
durable material, has come down to our days almost as uninjured as when it passed from the hand of its
sculptor to the possession of its original owner. Another circumstance, which has preserved to us in ivory
carvings many a phase of religious Iconography, which fanaticism in one form or another would have
remorselessly defaced had the design of the artist been embodied in wood or marble, is the portability of
the majority of the specimens, and the comparative ease with which they might be concealed from menaced
sacrilege. The effect of these happy immunities has been, that the student in Art-history may find, even
in the small collection now brought together, illustrations of styles and periods of plastic dexterity, to
which he cannot hope to find parallel specimens in any other material, serving to throw many a light upon
times otherwise absolutely obscure. Thus we may more especially direct attention to these relics as
illustrative of the decline and fall of Roman sculpture ; as the principal monuments in which the artistic
Hagiology of the East, and its legendary faith, varying from age to age, are recorded ; as presenting the most
complete picture of the Carlovingian escape from tradition ; and as the most copious commentary on the
spiritual and romantic life of the Middle Ages, which the art of sculpture has bequeathed to us. With such
claims upon our attention we feel that it would be an injustice to our theme did we not endeavour to
present the whole subject in its integrity, though necessarily only in outline ; and although the earliest of
the specimens now exhibited date from an age subsequent to the Christian era, and the latest extend only in
exceptional cases to the period of the Renaissance, we shall not hesitate to offer a few remarks on the
peculiarities of the art, not only during the space of time comprised within those two periods, but also
antecedent to the former and posterior to the latter of thorn.
The many references in Holy Writ to the trade in ivory, and the singular relics of sculpture in that
material which the Assyrian researches of a distinguished member of this Society, Mr. Layard, have brought
to light, carry back to the remotest ages the records of its abundance, and the skill attained in the art of

carving it. In the East, from time immemorial, ivory, no less than gold and jewels, has been held to_fee the
pj3culiar„ appendage- oi royalty. To sit, like Solomon, upon an ivory throne, with the feet upon an ivory
footstool, and to hold an ivory sceptre in the hand, has been the privilege only of those whose breath was
law. In Egypt the ivory carvings, like the stone carvings, are most excellent, in proportion as they are most
ancient. Among the Assyrian specimens is one very interesting one carved with Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Mr. Bonomi appears to consider that the artists of Assyria very frequently imitated those of Egypt. This
certainly does not hold good in the execution of their ivory-carvings, for-while the Egyptian are in low relief
and smoothly wrought, the Assyrian are in very high relief, and are chiselled with extraordinary crispness.
\\ The Greeks, who carried off the most valuable spoil from Egypt, Persia, and India, appear to have
\) dedicated this precious material chiefly to the service of the Gods : though Homer and Hesiod make
also many references to its employment, even in the heroic ages, for personal decoration and domestic
furniture, — as in the couch of Ulysses, the seat of Penelope, the shield of Hercules, &c. The classic authors
generally designated works composed of gold, wood, and ivory, as in the " ancient style," and the peculiar
technicalities with which these materials were wrought in the very infancy of Grecian Art, no less than the
Asiatic or African sources from whence they must have been derived, may possibly be thought to point
towards the " great Asian mystery " of some extinct civilisation, the parent of Pharaonic and Assyrian
; Art, of which no fossil vestiges have descended to our days. By some writers the origin of the art of
carving in ivory is referred to Daedalus, but the mere fact of such an ascription is equivalent to a palpable
admission of ignorance. Two sculptors whose existence is less fabulous, Dipoenus and Scyllis of Crete, are
reported to have made the hair of some of their statues in ebony and the buskins in ivory.
At the Temple of the Dioscuri at Argos the most ancient statues of this kind were to be found, and
from such rude beginnings there can be little doubt that the most exquisite Greek chryselephantine statues
were subsequently elaborated. Twenty statues of gold and ivory, executed " in the ancient style," wer#
contributed to the decoration of the Hereeum of Olympia by the two brothers Doryclidas and Medon,
pupils of the last-named artists.
To Smilis, the supposed founder of the iEginetan school, were attributed chryselephantine statues of
the Hours, placed beside a statue of Themis, one of the best works of Doryclidas. Of these Pausanias
speaks highly.
About 525 b.g. a statue of Diana was made at Sicyon, of gold and ivory. This town produced many
sculptors in the latter material, the most celebrated of whom was Polycletus.
The fame of all these works was however entirely eclipsed by that acquired, immediately upon their
execution, by the colossal chryselephantine monuments of the imm_ortal_Phidias, who was born at Athens
about 490 years before Christ. The principal of these, and, so far as we know, the only ones produced by
the sculptor's own hands, were the celebrated Minerva of the Parthenon, and the still more celebrated
Olympian Jupiter, which decorated the Temple of the God at Olympia. The former represented the
Goddess as the Protectress of Athens, and was no less than 26 cubits high, or about 39 English feet. Erect,
and armed with shield and lance, she bore in one extended hand a figure of Victory, four cubits high. On the
inner side of her large shield were carved the wars of the Giants, and on the outer the battles of tha
Amazons, while upon the pedestal were bas-reliefs of the legend of Pandora. The statue was completed in
the year 438 b.c, the entire surface of the head, hands, and feet, with the figure of Victory and some other of the
accessories, being of ivory, and that of the remainder for the most part of gold. The Jupiter was of yet larger
dimensions, attaining a height of no less than about 58 English feet, although represented seated. The able
restoration of this figure, and the learned comments upon it, by M. Quatremere de Quincy, are so well known,
and the fame of the monument itself so transcendent, that a further description of it is unnecessary!
Words, however skilfully arranged, could convey but a poor idea of the masterpiece of the greatest artist who
ever lived.

Seneca relates that Democritus the philosopher, who lived about the same time as Phidias, discovered
a method of softening ivory, but this is probably only a tribute to the marvellous dexterity with which the
great sculptor moulded the material to his purposes. Various pupils of Phidias also worked in ivory, a
Bacchus by Alcamenes being most admired.
In the middle of the fourth century B.C. the practice of covering marble statues with a species of
encaustic varnish of white wax is thought to have been adopted, probably to imitate ivory and avoid the
labour and expense of working in that material. Praxiteles (about 336 b.c.) is supposed to have brought
this latter process to perfection.
The art of sculpture in ivory was extensively adopted in other countries : thus we find that in Egypt
the ship of Ptolemy Philadelphus was adorned with ivory statues, wonderful in workmanship and magni
ficence. Specimens of the dexterity attained by the Egyptians in carving this material are rare, and the
British Museum collection is fortunate in containing a little statuette of admirable execution.
About 170 b.c. Antiochus Epiphanes, King of Syria, endeavoured to revive this art in Greece. He
employed Cossutius, a Roman architect, to continue the erection of the Temple of Jupiter Olympius at
Athens, and caused many ivory and gold statues to be made there. He commanded that a colossal Jupiter,
after the celebrated one of Phidias, should be made at Antioch ; and it was no doubt owing to this revived
activity, that the sons of Polycles made a Minerva Cranaea in gold and ivory near Elatea.
The first work in ivory mentioned as executed at Rome was by Pasiteles, a Greek artist, about 75
years before Christ. There is Uttle ground to suppose that ivory statues were produced in the early ages of
Rome ; since it isjaot until we approach the Christian era, that allusions to them are to be met with. Under
Hadrian many chryselephantine statues were made at Athens, and as late as a.d. 150 the art was occasionally
practised. The large importation of elephants under the Roman Empire for the purposes of the amphi
theatre extended more widely the use of ivory. Horace seems to intimate that it was employed in the
decoration of sumptuous houses ; and Ovid, in his Epistle to Greecinus, refers in the following words to the
practice of making Consular seats of it, —
" Signa quoque in sella nfissem formats curuli,
Et totum Numidas sculptile dentis opus."
In addition to these, couches, footstools, sceptres, toilet-boxes, and musical instruments were made
in ivory : but to us the most interesting application of the material is furnished by the Roman note-books,
or pugillares. This description of object, when of mythological character, is of extreme rarity. It has been selected
to form the First Class of the collection * before you, since the style of Art it exhibits is not only the earliest,
but also probably the best of any in the series. Some antiquaries have supposed these plaques, or leaves, to
have formed portions of such ivory thrones as that alluded to by Ovid, or other grand pieces of furniture ;
but their identity in form with regular diptychs, consisting of two leaves hinged together, like the covers of a
book, appears clearly to establish the fact of their having been used as pugillares, or waxed tablets, on the
inside of which the possessors were accustomed to write with the sharp-pointed style, using its blunt end to
obliterate the writing at will.
Among the Romans the pugillares bipatcntes, or diptycha, appear to have been objects frequently
selected to form items among the " apophoreta," or after-dinner gifts to favourite guests ; and the poet
Martial, in a lively series of distichs, has celebrated a complete set of such offerings to friendship, which
appear to have been distributed much after the fashion of the trifles which form the ornaments of Christmas-
trees in the present day. Among them he makes playful allusion to various objects connected with the
subject under consideration, such as money-boxes of ivory, or " loculi eborei : "
* The collection of casts belonging to the Arundel Society, which was exhibited during the Lecture.

" Hoa nisi de flav& loculoa implere monet*
Non decet, argentum vilia ligna ferant "—

note-books made in wood, or " pugillares citrei : "

" Secta nisi in tenues essemus ligna tabellas,
Essemus Lybici nobile dentis onus "' —
and note-books made in ivory, or " pugillares eborei : "
" Languida ne tristes obscurent lumina cerse, ;
Nigra tibi niveum litera pingat ebur."
Commentators have universally agreed that such note-books were often used for the purposes of
conveying declarations of love, and the passage in Juvenal (Sat. 9), "et blandse, assidua, densaeque tabellae
sollicitent," has been supposed to refer to such an employment of the pugillares or diptycha.
Such books were usually carved upon the outer faces of both leaves, which were hinged together with
silver pins. The elaborate character of the carving in every specimen that has descended to our time, and
the value of the material, fairly lead to the assumption that ivory pugillares were used only by the wealthiest
classes. The specimens contained in Class I. of the Arundel Society's collection are of the greatest value
and highest interest, since not only are they the best, but so far as my knowledge extends, almost the only
relics of the ancient Roman diptych, anterior to the period when its use became associated with office, and with
Imperial or Consular dignity. The valuable plaque representing the Apotheosis of Romulus, and described
by Gori as belonging to the family of the Gherardesehi of Florence, with another published by the same
author as the diptych of Moutier, representing priestesses of Bacchus, and a half diptych in the Louvre with
the figures of Apollo and the Muses, are apparently the only important mythological specimens wanting.
An inspection of the six carvings included in the Class will serve at once to convince the student that artists
of eminence could alone have been employed upon their production ; for it is manifest that the bas-reliefs
of iEsculapius and Telesphorus, and Hygieia and Cupid (La), upon the Fejervary pair of leaves, as well as
the seated Author, and Muse with her lyre (I. c), upon those in the celebrated treasury of the Cathedral at
Monza, are of the Augustan style of Roman Art, — Augustan at least in merit, if not in date.
Intermediate between these Mythological diptychs and the Consular, it may be well also to examine a
few almost unique. These have been styled in the Catalogue,* as of Uncertain Personages, although the
ingenious hypotheses of Mr. Oldfield and of Mr. Pulszky have gone far to deprive them of that title.
The earliest of the series, and probably the finest specimen of its kind existing, belonged to the celebrated
Fejervary collection, which was inherited by the last-named gentleman, who has done so much to illustrate
the invaluable relics of which it consists. Upon this plaque or tablet (II. a), are portrayed, by the hand
of an admirable carver, three individuals seated, as in the Imperial box of an amphitheatre ; the central
one is evidently the Emperor, and on his right and left are stationed two dignitaries of his court ; below
them, as it were in the area of the circus, are men fighting with stags, whilst attendants are opening the
doors of the carceres, or dens, from which the animals are issuing ; the whole scene being depicted with the
greatest animation. The Emperor is supposed to be Philip the Arab, who presided over the saecular
games given in the year a.d. 248, to commemorate the millennial era of Rome. The other specimen
(II. b), which consists of two leaves, is from the treasury of the Cathedral at Monza. The photograph
conveys an excellent idea, not only of the subjects of the principal leaf, but of the graceful style in which
they are treated. The standing figures of the Lady and the Boy have been explained by Mr. Pulszky with
much probability as representing the Regent Galla Placidia, and her son Valentinian III.; though
Mr. Oldfield has pointed out that the portraiture would be equally applicable to Valentinian II. and his
* 7. Inf. p. Si.

(CLASS II.) 6. 1.

J. A. Spencer, phoiogr.

LEAF OF A ROMAN DIPTYCH,
Iu tho Treaaury of tho Cathedral of Mousa,
Supposed to represent Valentinian 111. and Galla Placidia.
Sizo 18i inohos by 64.

mother Justina ; for, by a singular coincidence, both these sovereigns succeeded to the Imperial purple at
five or six years of age, and remained for some years under maternal tutelage. If the latter hypothesis be
correct, the diptych may be referred to about a.d. 380 ; and if the former, to about a.d. 428. The female
figure is very graceful, and the boy, though apparently not above ten years old, has a noble and dignified
expression. His costume is interesting, as showing the peculiar, large, and upright fibula. The architecture
represented is as debased as the period would lead us to expect. On the companion leaf is carved a fine
figure in military costume, the identification of which of course depends upon the explanation adopted for
the two figures just described. On Mr. Pulszky's hypothesis, the personage intended is probably one of the
two rival generals, Aetius or Bonifacius ; but if the Emperor be Valentinian II. , the companion figure may
perhaps represent his brother and colleague Gratian, who was about twelve years his senior.
It is singular that, with the somewhat doubtful exception of the diptych formerly preserved in the
Riccardi Palace at Florence, and now in the Antiken-Kabinet at Vienna, which has been, without much
reason, conjectured to represent the Emperor Justinian, all vestige of this, which may be called the Imperial
class of ivory diptych, disappears at about the period of the earliest examples now remaining of the
Consular. To the more ancient class belongs the celebrated Barberini specimen, representing the Emperor
Constantius, engraved in Gori, though a doubt has been raised, whether this should not rather be regarded
as a book-cover than a diptych. It would almost appear as if the consuls, in ceasing to be the choice of
the people, and sinking as they did to be the mere nominees of the monarch, adopted the diptych as a
portion of their Imperial livery.
The Consular diptychs of ancient Rome contained the names, and often the portraits, of the consuls
in office, and were presented by them to their friends on gaining that dignity. Quintus Aurelius Symmachus,
who was consul in the year 391, in his "Epistohe" (Lib. IL, Ep. xxi.), exactly describes the ordinary
custom in the following words : — " To my Lord and Prince," says he, " I sent a diptych edged with gold.
I presented other friends also with ivory (pugillaribus, or) note-books, and with silver (eanistellis, or) small
baskets." Sometimes the gift of the diptych was accompanied with money ; thus, again, Symmachus
(Lib. V. Ep. lvi.) sends to Sallustius a diptych, together with two pounds of silver. Claudian, in writing the
praises of Stilicho, who was Consul in the years 400 and 405, describes, in somewhat hyperbolical strains, the
elephants of India despoiled of their teeth, which, " when cut into tablets, and glittering with gold, inscribed by
the Consul sculptured thereon with his name in red letters, would be distributed amongst nobles and people."
A diptych engraved by Gori, and formerly in the possession of M. du Tilliot, at Dijon, is supposed by
Montfaucon to represent this very Stilicho at the time of his second consulate. It appears that the consuls
were the only officers permitted officially to make presents of ivory diptychs, as well as of purses of gold,
for it was specially enacted by a law of Valentinian, Theodosius, and Arcadius, with a view, no doubt,
to put a check to bribery and corruption on public occasions, that magistrates of inferior rank should be
allowed only to give purses of silver, and diptychs in commoner materials. In spite, however, of this
sumptuary restriction, the actual practice of making presents of carved ivory diptychs does not appear to
have been entirely limited to consuls : for Symmachus states, in the former of the two passages referred to,
that the ivory diptychs were sent by him on behalf of his son, who filled merely the office of quaestor ; and
the same expressions are used by tlie writer on another similar occasion. (Ep. vii.)
The earliest Consular diptych winch, as far as I am aware, has ever yet been published, and
probably the most ancient now in existence, is that which commences the series of specimens inscribed
with the names of the Consuls in the Arundel Society's collection, and is entered in the Catalogue as
II. c. It exhibits, in a somewhat barbarous style of Latin Art, a standing figure of Flavius Felix, Consul
of tlie West in the year 428. The original is in the Imperial Library at Paris. The next (II. d) is
considerably later, but is most interesting as an illustration of the class of sculpture prevalent at n
period immediately preceding the reign of Justinian the Great. It represents a seated figure of

Clementinus (Consul of the East, a.d. 513) holding the Mappa Cireensis, or napkin, by throwing
down which the consul gave the signal for the commencement of the games in the Circus; beside
him, Rome and Constantinople personified; above, busts of the Emperor Anastasius and the Empress
Ariadne ; below, the distribution of largesses, — amongst which may be perceived both the ivory diptychs
and golden purses alluded to in the edict of Valentinian. A comparison of this specimen with the preceding
is interesting, since we see in them the types respectively of the diptychs of the Eastern and Western
Empire. This specimen, of which both leaves are preserved, is also curious, as illustrating the practice
of carving the same figure upon each leaf, varying the inscription only. Thus, one leaf is inscribed —
FLAVIUS • TAVRVS • CLEMENTINVS • ARMONIVS - CLEMENTINVS, with KAHM€NTINOY in a
monogram, while the other with the same subject bears — VIR " ILLUSTRIS ' COMES " SACRARUM •
LARGITIONUM • EXCONSULE • PATRICIUS • ET • CONSUL • ORDINARIUS. The main differ
ence between the types above alluded to appears to be, that in the Western diptychs the consul is usually
shown standing, while in the Eastern he is comfortably seated in the sella curulis, or chair of state. It may
further be remarked, that in point of artistic merit the Eastern are generally superior to the Western.
Yet in the former we may already trace the antique element dying out, and being gradually replaced by those
features of conventionality, which we shall subsequently meet with, asserting an independent style of their own.
As the reign of Justinian the Great, (a.d. 527-565,) was the period when this great change assumed a concrete
shape, a diptych approximating in date to his accession to the throne has been selected for illustration by
photography, and the print will be found facing the description in the catalogue (II. f). It represents a
seated figure of Anastasius (Consul of the East, a.d. 517), with the usual Consular insignia, and the
ampitheatre below, in which men are thrown in baskets to be attacked by bears. In the rigidity of the
principal figure, that of the consul, and its unmeaning head, may be traced the loss of antique skill in
depicting human life, while in the elaborate seat, and rich embroideries of the Consular robes, the
footstool and the chair cushion, may already be recognised that tendency to florid ornamentation, which
formed the basis of the style subsequently famous as Byzantine.
The latest specimen of this class in the collection, that of Philoxenus, Consul of the East, a.d. 525
(II. g), is remarkable, not only because it gives a new type of arrangement, having only heads in
medallions instead of full-length figures, but because it bears an exceedingly interesting inscription, to the
following effect : — " I Philoxenus, actual Consul, offer this present to the wise Senate," — thus pointing out
the specific use to which this particular object was applied. Nine years afterwards the Consular office in
the Western Empire expired in the person of Decimus Theodorus Paulinus, whilst at Constantinople it
subsisted only until the consulate of Flavius Basilius Junior (a.d. 541), of whom the Grand-ducal Museum
at Florence is so fortunate as to possess a diptych.
Many of the Consular diptychs were subsequently applied to Christian purposes. In Gori's
" Thesaurus Veterum Diptychorum " are to be found engraved some very remarkable specimens which,
although of evident Roman work, yet exhibit Christian symbols. The Arundel Society's collection contains
one very curious example (III. c), which is believed to have been originally a Consular diptych of the early
part of the Vlth century, in which the figure of the consul on each leaf has, by a slight modification of its
insignia, been converted into that of a Saint; the name having been removed to make way, on one leaf, for a
superscription of " David Rex," and on the other, for " Sanctus Gregorius." The palimpsest, or substituted
letters, appear to be of the age of St. Gregory, who died in the beginning of the Vllth century. In 'another
case, the consul's name was obUterated, to be replaced by the inscription—" Pio Presule, Baldrico jubente."
We proceed now to diptychs of Christian character, commonly distinguished as " Ecclesiastical "
These appear to have been applied to multifarious uses in the early and mediaeval Church It is mentioned
both in the Litany of St. Basil, and in that of St. John Chrysostom, that the deacon commemorated the
living and the dead, by reading aloud the names of those recorded on ivory tablets, called diptychs consisting

of two parts, and folding together. Some were reserved for the living, others for the dead. On the former
were inscribed the names of the sovereign pontiffs, the patriarchs, the bishops, and the priests, and after
them those of the emperors, princes, and magistrates, and those of donors or benefactors to the Church.
Sometimes the names of general councils were inscribed upon them. They were usually read to the people
from the altar in the early ages of the Church, and from the roodloft in the later. Some diptychs
contained the names of those presented for baptism. The exterior frequently represented sacred
mysteries, or Scriptural scenes, in relief. The difference between the liturgical uses of the diptych in
the Western and Eastern Churches appears to have been, that in the former the names of the dead inscribed
in the diptych were read over, and their souls prayed for by the priests during the performance of mass,
shortly after the consecration of the elements ; while in the latter the names were read by the deacon from
the altar, — out of one diptych the names of persons who were to be prayed for, and out of another, those of
magistrates and others for whom praise was to be given to God. Ducange preserves an interesting picture
of such a service from the annals of the fifth Oecumenical Council. — " At the time of (reading) the diptychs,
all the multitude gathered together with great silence about the altar, and listened ; and when the titles of
the four preceding Holy Councils, and of the Archbishops Euphemius, Macedonius, and Leo were read, all
with a great voice cried out, ' Glory be to thee, 0 Lord ! ' "
The erasure of the name of a person from the diptych in which it had been inscribed was only effected
by a solemn act of the Church, and was tantamount to excommunication, or at least to an anathema. Hence
the total degradation of such an act as that described by Anastasius in his Life of Pope Agatho, in which he
says : " Then they took away from the diptychs of the Churches, from the paintings of the Church, and
from its doors, wherever it could be done, the names and figures of those patriarchs, Cyrus, Sergius, Paul,
Pyrrhus, and Peter, through whom error had contaminated the orthodox Church."
Both Salig and Gori go deeply into the further liturgical uses of Ecclesiastical diptychs, but the
conclusions at which the latter at least arrives appear somewhat arbitrary, and at any rate in no wise affect
these objects as works of Art. Their general uses appear to have been such as we have described, and to
have been preserved pretty regularly for many centuries, probably from the fourth to the twelfth. The
earliest and finest specimen now probably to be seen is the half diptych with the noble Angel in the British
Museum (III. a), in which a grand devotional character is united to a style of drawing and treatment of
drapery, which seems very little, if at all, later than the age of Constantine.
The inscription of the names of nobles, benefactors, and persons of distinction in the " Diptycha
Vivorum " was probably the origin of the celebrated Golden Book of Venice. It is in some instances
difficult to distinguish the Christian diptych from a class of objects closely resembling it in treatment, and
sometimes in form, and which we shall next consider, the carved ivory book-covers. Of these the Arundel
collection possesses what are, I believe, both the earliest and the finest specimens in existence, though, by
a singular chance, they appear never to have been introduced to the notice of the public, by description or
engraving, down to the present time. I allude to (IV. a) the splendid pair of Gospel-covere, apparently of
the sixth century, now preserved in the treasury of the Cathedral ot Milan, and one of which has been
selected to form the frontispiece to this publication. The whole of the subjects from the sacred text are
finely grouped and carved, and about them there yet lingers much of the grace of the antique ; and although
the introduction of the jewelled cross and Agnus Dei upon their sides is a somewhat Eastern feature, I
should be inclined to attribute them to the hand of some excellent Latin workman. The next pair of Gospel
covers to which I would invite attention is (IV. b) from the Bibliotheque Impe'riale at Paris, a somewhat
analogous specimen to the last, but evidently wrought by an inferior artist. Both of these examples present
us with the usual Latin series of subjects, in which a more ample profession of faith is intended to be
conveyed than is actually warranted by an acceptation of the facts represented irrespective of symbohsm. It
will be found, I believe, that at a slightly later period, after the expulsion of the Byzantine artists by the

Iconoclastic Emperors, a very great change took place throughout Europe in the selection of Gospel
subjects; and that both the Passion and Triumph of Christ, which had been but symbolised during the
prevalence of the traditions of the Art of the Catacombs, are rendered dramatically, and frequently with
legendary additions, by the pupils of the succeeding school. Through numerous examples, up to the
Carlovingian era, we trace the gradual falling away from the antique, and observe even the foliated
ornament, which was one of the last reminiscences of a Roman original, to be now evidently executed at the
artist's good pleasure rather than in obedience to any kind of classical restraint. About the end of the ninth
century we recognise some strange anomalies. For instance, Charles le Chauve of France possessed a
celebrated Evange'liaire, or collection of Gospels, and a copy of the Book of Psalms ; both were covered with
plates of carved ivory, and both are yet existing in Paris. In the cover of the Evangeliaire, which is represented
in the Society's collection (V. k), we meet with subjects exhibiting a mixture of Pagan and Christian allegory,
and executed in a smooth and roundly modelled 'style, although in low relief ; on the cover of the Book of
Psalms, on the contrary, we have one sublime composition of " God in glory" filling the whole surface, the
figures in the highest relief, and cut most sharply and brilliantly, the costume for the most part not less
resembling our own Anglo-Saxon than the peculiar style of drawing, which corresponds to a nicety with that
of some of our best manuscripts of that period. It would appear that in Central Europe there met, just
about the tenth century, streams of contending Art-influences from the East and from the North — the mingled
Latin and Byzantine traditions meeting the already lively Celtic and Teutonic energy. Out of this impact
may not fire have been struck, which blazed through Europe about the period of our Conquest, and which
eventuated in the ascendancy of the principle of life, and the birth of the Pointed style ? It is about the
year 900 that the Teutonic element first asserts its importance ; and for about 150 years, mainly through the
energies of three great men, Tutilo of St. Gall, Willigis of Mainz, and Bernward of Hildesheim, it assumed
substantiality, and gave a form to plastic Art, which, although rude, was at least daring and original. In the
Public Library of St. Gall are yet preserved some specimens of the ivory-carving of Tutilo, and the
engraving of one of his Gospel-covers, given by Otte in his " Kirchlichen Kunst-Archaologie," assures us
of his rare ability in the treatment of this material. The Arundel collection possesses several specimens
which appear to me to present the characteristics of early German Art, some of them closely resembling the
carvings of Bishop Bernward on his celebrated bronze doors and column at Hildesheim. Among the most
interesting of these specimens should be pointed out (V. d) a book-cover from the Museum at Orleans; in
its very original treatment we see already the germ of invention piercing the barren soil of tradition. The
Catalogue thus describes its curious subjects : — " In the centre Christ is represented seated, delivering the
keys to St. Peter, whilst on the other side of the Saviour, an angel is applying a live coal to the lips of
Isaiah ; above, a pile of edifices, perhaps Sion ; below, Christ preaching in the Temple ; and round the edge,
animals and flowers."
In such mystic subjects we meet as it were with the " Theogony" of Christian Mythology; and upon the
refinements of such subtle symbohsm was doubtless based that system of scholastic teaching which overlaid the
Gospel traditions with that profusion of legendary and fanciful imagery which characterised the Iconography
of the entire Middle Ages. It is a somewhat curious circumstance in the history of Art, that hardly ever is
novelty in subjects unaccompanied by novelty in technical treatment, and hence we need not be surprised to
find in these curious Carlovingian sculptures a sharpness of execution, and a daring altitude of relief, coincident
with the independence of thought manifested by the singularity of the main elements of the composition.
To illustrate these features, a very interesting book-cover (V. g. 1) from the Bibliotheque Imperiale has been
chosen for reproduction by photography, and it will doubtless be admitted that its mode of handling betokens
a transition in Art no less than its subject does a great movement in faith. That subject is thus explained in
the Catalogue :— " In the centre, the Crucifixion ; above it, the Evangelists, and the Sun and Moon ; to the
left of the cross, the figures of the Synagogue, with her banner, and of Jerusalem with a turreted crown ;

(CLASS V.) g. 1.

J. A. Spncer, iikologr.
LEAF OF A BOOK-COVER OF THE CARLOVINGIAN SCHOOL,
In tho Bibliothbquo Impe'rialo, Paris,
HepraenHng the Crucifixion.

Size 94 inches by 5.

at its foot, the Church seated between Earth and Ocean." In the Xlth century the covers of books were
occasionally made round-headed instead of square. M. Labarte cites three rare specimens so modified.
The two first are preserved in the public library at Bamberg, and were made for the Emperor Henry II.
(1024) and his wife Cunegonda. The upper part of each leaf of the manuscript is cut into a semicircle,
and the sheets of ivory which form the cover follow the form of the vellum. On each of the covers of one
book standing figures of Christ and the Virgin are represented, and on the other St. Peter and St. Paul.
The Greek inscriptions and the style of these carvings show their Byzantine origin. The third manuscript is
to be found in the Royal Library at Berlin ; the covers are of ivory cut into a semicircle like the two others
of which we have spoken. Upon them Christ is shown sitting, and giving benediction according to the usage
of the Greek Church.
It is extremely rare to meet, upon any of the early Christian diptychs or book-covers, with any
representation of contemporary events. The most interesting exception, or supposed exception, to this rule
is the very curious bas-relief of the Baptism of Clovis, formerly in the possession of Dr. Rigollet of Amiens,
(by whom it has been described), and now in the Public Library of that city. M. Du Sommerard, who
examined it attentively, pronounced it to be of low Roman Art, and hazarded the hypothesis that it may
have been one of the very diptychs distributed by Clovis on his admission to Consular dignities. It should,
however, be mentioned, that a much later date is assigned to the work by M. Adrien de Longperier, and his
opinion is supported by that of Mr. Nesbitt. Certainly, it does not appear unnatural that Clovis should have
selected the subject of his baptism to adorn the diptychs he would have had prepared to commemorate his
nomination to the office, since we have the authority of Gregory of Tours for the fact, that it was " from the
very day of his public profession of faith that he was hailed Consul and Emperor." The same chronicler
tells us also, that on that day the new Consul followed the practice adopted by all consuls on their accession
to office, of distributing with their own hands ample largesses. One difficulty, however, in accepting the
supposition of M. Du Somnierard, arises from the fact, that the plaque contains, in addition to the bas-relief
of the Baptism of Clovis, two subjects exhibiting miracles effected by St. Remi, with which the christianised
sovereign had nothing personally to do. In the historical scene the King appears immersed in a bath or
font, his Queen Clothilda standing by his side, crowned, and bearing her royal veil. Upon the head of
Clovis descends the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove, bearing in its beak an ampulla, or vessel for containing
the oil of chrism or anointment. Near the font stand two Bishops with nimbi, clad in tunics and
chasubles only, and with neither cross nor mitre. One, probably St. Remi, places his hand upon the head of
the King, the other holds the linen for drying him on his issuing from the bath. Three priests, one of whom
holds a book, assist at the ceremony.
We have, hitherto, spoken only of ivory-carving executed on thin plaques : we now approach a class
of remains in which the tooth or tusk has been used either in a more entire, or a more solid form. Of
such, the most important relic known is the state-chair, or throne, of Maximian, Archbishop of Ravenna from
a.d. 540 to 556. M. Du Sommerard thus describes this remarkable monument, which was originally placed
as the seat to be used by the Archbishops of Ravenna, during their attendance on the sacred offices, in
the Presbytery of the Cathedral of that city. It is entirely covered with plates of ivory in high relief,
representing subjects from Holy Writ. In the lower part of the throne are portrayed the Deity and tin
four Evangelists, framed in borders of a very singular style. These borders are composed of scrolls of
foliage issuing from a vase, and including in their convolutions birds and animals of various descriptions,
as well as fruits and flowers. Above the part which forms the seat, the back is also covered with bas-reliefs,
both externally and internally. Among tlie various subjects the most remarkable are — the Baptism in
the River Jordan, the Annunciation, the Flight into Egypt, and the Adoration of the Shepherds. Tlies.;
bas-reliefs are similarly divided to those which cover the lower part of the throne. The arms are uls.>
enriched with elaborate carving, worthy of the friend of Justinian the Great. Having been regarded

10
as a holy relic from the period of the death of Maximian to the present, it has fortunately escaped
destruction and desecration, and but for the beautiful tint with which time has invested it, it would wear
an aspect but little different from that it originally presented in the lifetime of the illustrious prelate for
whom it was made. This valuable object can hardly have been all wrought at one time, as Dr. Kugler
distinctly traces in it the handling of three different artists, who could scarcely have all lived at the same
period. Some of the plates resemble diptychs. Thus, the series portraying the history of Joseph in
Egypt is quite classical ; another, and less able artist in the same style, provided the plates for the back,
and in one set of five single figures the Greek artificer stands apparent. The simplest explanation appears
to be, that the throne was made up by the last-mentioned artist out of materials provided for him, and that
what was wanting to make it entire was supplied by him.
The most beautiful specimen of a detached object in ivory I have ever seen is the early and very
remarkable round box in the BerUn Museum. Around the side are sculptured in relief figures of the
twelve Apostles, of Christ teaching, and the Sacrifice of Isaac, executed with all the life and spirit of a fine
sarcophagus of the fourth century.
The Rev. Dr. Rock has kindly directed my attention to a similar round box preserved at that ancient
seat of learning, and centre of missionary operations, Bobbio in Italy, and carved with the interesting
Early Christian subject of Orpheus and the Beasts, a subject which probably occurs more frequently in the
Catacombs than any other, excepting perhaps "The Good Shepherd." This valuable relic of primaeva}
faith and art has been figured in Botazzi's work, " Degli Emblemi e simboli del sarcofago di Tortona."
Another round box of analogous style and period is preserved in the treasury of the Church of Sant'
Ambrogio at Milan. It exhibits another of the ordinary symbolical subjects of the persecuted Christians,
the History of Jonas, together with some of the miracles of our Lord. It is figured in Gori and
D'Agincourt. The rare statuette of a consul in his robes (VI. a), belonging to Mr. Fountaine, appears scarcely more
than a hundred years later than the Berlin box. The chronological succession is kept up in our collection
by the remarkable comb of St. Loup (IV. d), ascribed to about a.d, 623, and preserved in the Cathedral at
Sens, an object which bears a marked resemblance to some Celtic remains ; as well as by the dodecagonal
Casket of curious Greek work (Class VIII. of the Arundel Society's collection) also in the treasury of the
same Cathedral. Of all these early miscellaneous objects, however, none is so interesting as the celebrated
situla, or holy-water vessel, of Godfrey, Archbishop of Milan from 973 to 978 (IV. e). The inscription around
its rim is — " Vates Ambrosii Gotfredus dat tibi Sancte
Vas veniente saoram spargendum Cesare lympham — "
the Caesar being the Emperor Otho, who visited MUan at the time when this vessel was presented by the
Archbishop to the Cathedral, where it is still preserved in the treasury. The handle is decorated with
grotesque animals; the body is encircled with five continuous arches ; under one of them are the Virgin and
Child, and two angels, of whom one holds a model of the vessel itself; under the others, the four Evangelists;
round the edge runs the above distich.
The ivory used in Classical times, and in great part of Europe during the Middle Ages, was obtained
from the tusks and teeth of the Asiatic and African elephants: in the North, however, a different
substance generally took its place. This was derived from the fine-grained tusk of the rosmar' or rostungr,
found in the Northern seas, and known as the walrus, morse, or sea-horse. That distinguished antiquary!
Mr. Albert Way, tells us that such tusks were sculptured in the Scandinavian countries, and highly esteemed
from an early period. This material, which has been ably commented on by Mr. Way, the « huel bone " of
Chaucer, the "whale's bone" of ancient English song, welljraited to form a substitute for ivory in times
when difficulty of communication with the East must have rendered the tusk of the elephant a costl rarity

11
was largely used by the skilful sculptors of the North for various purposes of ornament or convenience. In
Germany, moreover, where in the ninth and tenth centuries ivory was employed, the carvings of the eleventh
and twelfth centuries were usually executed in the tusk of the walrus : fine examples of which are to be seen
in the Reliquarium at Hanover, in the collection of Prince Soltykoff, and in that of Colonel Meyrick at
Goodrich Court. Amongst objects carved in this material, as we learn from the treatise of the Archbishop
of Upsala on the Antiquities of the Northern Nations, as also from Olaus Magnus, chessmen, very
elaborately carved, were so esteemed as to be included with royal gifts. Of these, probably the most
remarkable collection existing is that discovered in the Isle of Lewis, and now preserved in the British
Museum. Others are to be met with in the Bibliotheque Imperiale, at_ Paris, the Museum of Northern
Antiquities at Copenhagen, and elsewhere. Chessmen of Oriental origin, however, such as those presented
by Charlemagne to the monks of St. Denis, decorated with Cufic inscriptions, and now preserved in the
Bibliotheque Imperiale, were invariably of elephant's ivory.
Highly important, also, among the carved objects of the North were the drinking-horns, the whole surfaces
of which were covered over with incidents of the chase or of war, or occasionally, in the earlier Scandinavian
examples, with interlaced dragons and foliage. Such horns were commonly used for many centuries. The
earliest known date from about a.d. 900, and with occasional gaps, they come down to modern times. An
interesting specimen is in the collection of M. Carrand, bearing the name of Rou (or Rollo) in Runes. In
the Bayeux tapestry, and in many manuscripts, figures are represented drinking out of such horns. The
circumstance which has probably conduced to the preservation of a large number of these objects, is that
they were very frequently made the visible symbol of tenure, passing from seller to buyer with the transfer of
real estate. In addition to the drinking-horns of Scandinavian type, there exist many which, on a cursory
inspection, might be taken for Northern work of an early period, but which, in reality, are of Southern
workmanship, and of a date posterior to 1500. They invariably represent hunting-scenes, -"with a strange
compound of Oriental and European characteristics, and generally contain some heraldic allusions to the
bearings of Portugal. They have been supposed by M. Pulszky, and other authorities, to have been executed
in some of the Portuguese settlements, either in Africa or the East. The most important specimens of this
class are to be found in the Fejervary, the Kircherian, the Florentine, and the Newcastle-on-Tyne
collections. M. de Laborde notices, in his valuable " Glossaire et Repertoire," another substance different from
walrus-tusk, but no less resembling ivory, and which was occasionally used in the Middle Ages — namely, the
horn of the narwhal, one of the Cetacea. This splendid horn, which occasionally reached the length of six
and even seven feet, was looked upon as possessing magical virtues, being identified with the " lieorne," or
fabulous unicorn's horn, supposed to be an antidote to poison, or at least an indication of its presence. No
doubt can exist that the unicorn's horns, recorded in ancient inventories, were really those of the narwhal :
for not only is their peculiar spiral conformation clearly described in such entries as the following, in the
inventory of Charles VI. of France (1399), — " une grande piece de corne d'une Unycorne de la longueur de
trois piez ou environ, et est toutte tucrsc, laquelle achepta le Roy aux estraines l'an 94," — but naturalists
found upon examination that the celebrated specimens which had been preserved from time immemorial,
until the Revolution of 1793, among the national relics of France in the Abbey of St. Denis, near Paris, were
neither more nor less than the horns of the narwhal, an animal which had been first brought into notice by
the learned Jesuit Kircher. Philip de Commines, the annalist of Louis XL, estimates the value of an entire
horn of the supposed unicorn, which was stolen from Pietro de' Medici towards the close of the XVth
century, at no less than six or seven thousand ducats. The following interesting extract from the " Estate du
Due de Bourgogne" of 1174, which precisely describes the formalities of the service of the table, in which the
" lieorne " played a very distinguished part, is given by M. de Laborde : — C 2

12
" Le Sommelier porte eh ses bras la nef d'argent — ensemble le baston d' argent, et la lieorne, ou faict
I'espreuve en la viande du Prince — Et doibt le vallet servant prendre la petite nef, oii est la lieorne, et la
porter au Sommellier qui est au buffet, et le Sommellier doit mettre de I'eaue fresche sur la lieorne et en la-
petite' nef, et doibt bailler I'essay au Sommellier, vuydant de la petite nef en une tasse, et la doibt apporter en
sa place, et faire son essay devant le Prince, vuydant I'eaue de la nef en sa main." It will scarcely be
believed, but it is nevertheless true, that so highly were the virtues of the unicorn's horn esteemed, that even
up to the end of the XVIth century, when gold was worth 148 crowns the pound, the same weight of " corne
de lieorne " was worth no less than 1270 crowns. It need scarcely be added that the horn of the narwhal*
though more beautiful in texture and less liable to discoloration than ivory, does not ever appear to have
been entrusted to the hands of the carver ; — the jeweller alone was employed to mount fine specimens of it
with the richest garnitures of gold and enamels.
The preceding remarks have carried us somewhat into the field of Western and Northern Art;
but before tracing the full development which was there attained in the mediaeval period, we will endeavour
to obtain some idea of the interesting and remarkable school of which the chief seat was Constantinople^
In Class VII. of the Society's collection Mr. Oldfield has with admirable judgment grouped an assortment
of Byzantine carvings, some being ornaments of book-covers, others triptychs, others isolated devotional
tablets, or destined to other uses. Of these the Bibliotheque Imperiale, at Paris, supplies the most
important and choicest examples. No problem is more difficult to the archaeologist than to affix
dates to Byzantine antiquities, owing to the religious adherence to certain traditional types througTi
many succeeding centuries. The following broad principles may, however, I think, be generally
assumed in judging of ivories, as of mosaics and other objects. From about 330 to 527, i.e., from
Constantine to Justinian, Greek and Latin Art were almost identified. In Justinian's time the new
elements, to which allusion has been made in our notice of the diptych of Anastasius, became first
apparent, and although the details of technical execution were still borrowed from the antique, they were
modified to a remarkable extent. Roundness of modelling and breadth of composition were almost entirely
neglected, surface-decoration and elaborate linear marking taking their place. The Riccardi diptych,
showing the Emperor seated on his throne beneath a species of ciborium, with the new feature of a domical
roof, exhibits this change yet more distinctly than the diptych of Anastasius. While Latin Art fell
away altogether after the age of Justinian, Greek skill rather increased than diminished for about two
centuries subsequent to that period. This gradual improvement was, however, checked by the persecutions
instituted by the iconoclasts under Leo the Isaurian, a.d. 726, when the treatment they experienced at home
drove forth multitudes of intelligent artists and artificers over the whole face of Europe. The Roman
pontiffs gladly gave shelter to them, giving up the monastery attached to Sta. Maria in Cosmedin for their
use. From this celebrated seminary, or " Scuola Greca," as it was called, ready-made artists were furnished
to the rest of Europe, and France, England, and Germany were visited by the refugees. Hence probably
proceeded much of that technical improvement which, superadded to local classical tradition, went far to
create the Carlovingian style of Art which we have already noticed as the basis of Gothic in the north and
west of Europe. During the period of persecution, which endured for about 120 years, tlie traditions of
antique Art were so impaired in the Eastern Empire, that when the Byzantine sovereigns desired to take up the
lost thread, they found that it could no longer be recovered. In the celebrated " Menologion," executed for
the Emperor Basil II. in the Xth century, which presents us with miniatures of tlie subjects lawful to be
pourtrayed by the artists of his empire, the compositions betray unmistakeably tlie influences brought to
bear upon the old Greek painters during their long migrations. From the date of the execution of the
Menologion, however, Byzantine progress was rapid, completely distancing all foreign competition and in
the Xlth century the highest perfection of this school was attained. Class VII. comprises many specimens
of these vicissitudes of style, and is especially rich in masterpieces of the best period of Greek Art. The date

13
of these may be approximately fixed by means of the subject represented upon one of them, — the tablet
distinguished in the Catalogue as VTI. g, which refers, in a symbolical form, to the marriage and coronation
of the Emperor Romanus TV., an event which took place in a.d, 1068. This tablet is second only in
execution to the next specimen (VTI. h), from the Fejervary collection — a portion of a book-cover, enriched
with a truly noble figure of St. John the Baptist.
One of the principal objects on which the skill of the ivory-carver was exercised during the
mediaeval period was the triptych. It consisted of a table ("tabula,") which was a vertical picture,
or bas-relief, with two hanging doors by which it could be closed in front. Such objects are to be
found of all dimensions, from a few inches high to many feet. Enamelled triptychs are of very early
date. The Earl of Shrewsbury has one of the Xllth century, of rich champleve' enamel, the borders set
with ornamental stones. Ivory triptychs were often carved with scriptural or legendary subjects, the doors
being occasionally set with silver. . I am happy in being able to draw your attention to a very perfect Greek
example in the Arundel Society's collection (VTI./), the original of which is in the Bibliotheque Imperiale
at Paris : it exhibits, on the central tablet, the Crucifixion, with the Archangels Michael and Gabriel
watching above ; beside the cross, St. Mary and St. John ; and at its foot, Constantine the Great represented
as a Saint, and his Mother, St. Helena ; on the inside of each door or wing, five heads of saints ; and on the
exterior of the right wing, a cross, with the inscription, — IC — XC — NIKA. This beautiful specimen has
been selected for illustration (vide Catalogue, page 42), since not only does it serve admirably to
show the best style of Greek design and workmanship, but it also conveys a clear idea of the mode
of hinging and enriching the triptych. A comparison of the figure of the Saviour crucified, with that
exhibited in the Carlovingian book-cover from the Bibliotheque at Paris, will not be uninteresting, as it
will suffice to show how far the Greek. and Latin traditions of the treatment of that subject had become
distinct from each other towards the epoch of the Norman conquest of this country. In the Greek tablets
under notice, the principle so invariably followed by the artists of the Catacombs, of avoiding to exhibit
the Saviour as emaciated or affected by suffering, is closely adhered to ; whereas, in the Carlovingian
specimen, which shows us the established type with the mediaeval artists of the West, His figure is
represented as worn and bowed down by agony, most truly as "a man of sorrows and acquainted with
grief," a mode of treatment altogether abjured by the earlier Masters, Latin as well as Greek. But whilst
the growing cultivation and increasing importance of the principal European nations rendered them more
independent of the services of the Byzantine artists, the indirect influence of Greek style was felt long
after the Greeks ceased to monopolise the processes necessary to carry out the arts of design. Class. X of
the Collection contains some specimens of objects produced in the West of Europe, more or less
inspired by the reminiscences of Greece. Of such, the leaf of a book-cover (X. h), belonging to Mr. J. B.
Nichols, and of which a photograph is given in its proper place in the Catalogue, is a very interesting example.
It exhibits our Saviour in the act of Ascension, leaving his Apostles on earth, and received hy angels in
Heaven. At the foot of the mount from which he ascends is represented the prophet Habakkuk.
Although the modelling is rounder, and less understood in parts than at the best period of Greek work,
it yet possesses considerable merit, from the general liveliness of the action, and skilful distribution of the
composition. It has many features of early Limoges work, and, from the imitation of punching in the
hollows of the drapery, common in the metal work of the locality, I should be inclined to ascribe it to the
school of that interesting district.
The art of working in ivory began to revive in Italy about the end of the thirteenth century, and
made great and rapid progress in France, England, Flanders, Holland and Germany. Towards the middle
of the century ancient inventories mention a great number of these carvings, and describe the most common
variety amongst them as " Ung tableaux d'yvire de deux pieces historiez de la passion. . . Ung tableaux
d'yvire de deux pieces tres menument ouvrez et historiez." In the XlVth century the ground was

14
occasionally coloured, and the figures upon it received touches of gold and colour. The term " tabula "
or " table " was of constant use in the middle ages, and was applied indiscriminately to subjects painted
on flat surfaces, and to those wrought in more or less high relief. As almost all sculpture was more
or less coloured at that period, the " peintres-imagiers " prepared these historical tables, whether
flat or carved.
The plaques of ivory, covered with carvings of sacred subjects, which are to be met with in abundance
in every large collection, have for the most part served for devotional purposes, either in the shape of the
tabula or simple bas-relief, or in combination with other plaques, contributing to make up either covers for
the Gospels or other sacred books, or diptychs for the altar, or retables, or triptychs, or portable tablets
shutting up so as to conceal the sculptured side. Sometimes they have belonged to caskets, and occasionally
to furniture. The most perfect Art is usually applied to the portable tablets, which were sometimes suspended
by a chain to the ladies' girdles, and used by them as stimulants to devotion. Many of these objects remain in
the present day as complete in all their mountings as when they were originally manufactured. Occasionally
a curious modification of the ordinary devotional tablets was made by enclosing a statuette in front of
a fiat piece of ivory, from which projected a base for the figure, corresponding in plan to a canopy which
surmounted it, with doors, or " volets," hinged to one another and to the central piece, and covered with
bas-reliefs on the inside. Thus, when the whole was closed, it appeared only as a plain square or hexagonal
upright block of ivory ; but, when opened, and fully developed on the priedieu altar, it showed as a miniature
retable, with a figure in the middle, supported by numerous representations of sacred subjects. A noble
example of this kind is contained in the Soltykoff Collection, presenting, when opened out, a beautiful
statuette of the Virgin and Child in the centre, and six bas-reliefs from the Gospels upon each side, the
whole being about one foot in height.
Until the end of the XIHth century, artists appear to have employed themselves almost exclusively
upon religious subjects, but in the XlVth they allowed themselves more liberty, and we must look to the
Secular as much as to the Ecclesiastical carvings of this period for true artistic style and genius. Neverthe
less, religious subjects (such as the tablet XI. a, of which the original is in the possession of Dr. Lentaigne,
of Dublin, and of which a photographic illustration is annexed,) still obtained the preference.
The noblest monuments of ivory-carving in the XlVth century now existing are, so far as my
acquaintance with the subject extends, the celebrated " Retable de Poissy," in the Louvre, and the retable
now in the possession of Mr. David Falcke, of New Bond Street. The former was made for Jean de Berry,
brother of Charles V. of France, and for his second wife, Jeanne Countess of Auvergne and Boulogne. Jean
and his wife are represented upon it, kneeling, and accompanied by their patron saints. It is no less than
seven feet six inches wide, and is one mass of carving. It consists of three arcades, surmounted by canopies,
and supported by angle pilasters, and a base. The whole of the subjects of the sculptures are taken from
the New Testament, and from the Legends of the Saints. It is beUeved by the best judges to be of Italian
workmanship, the little figures having much Giottesque character in their treatment. This view is supported
by the character of the material, the work having been executed in bone, in which tlie majority of ItaUan
carvings are wrought, and also by the ample introduction of marquetry, which does not appear to have been
practised extensively in any other country of Europe in the XlVth century.
The retable belonging to Mr. Falcke is both less in dimension, and inferior in beauty, but is yet a very
remarkable specimen. It is carved in ivory, and consists of a large triptych, decorated with no less than
forty-seven figures in the round. In the centre are the three principal subjects— the Coronation of the
Virgin, the Crucifixion, and the Death of the Virgin. On the left-hand wing are represented the
Annunciation, the Nativity, and our Saviour standing between his Parents; and on the right wing are the
Visitation, the Adoration of the Magi, and the Flight into Egypt. This remarkable object was during six-
and-twenty years, one of the rarest gems in the private coUection of Dr. Bohm, of Vienna Director of the

(CLASS XI.) o.

J. A. Spencer, pkotagr.
TABLET, PROBABLY OP ABOUT A.D. 1300,
In the possession of John Lentaigne, Esq., M.D.,
Reprttcnting the Presentation, and Christ and the Virgin in Glory.
Size 8 inches by 4£.

(CLASS XII.)*/.

J. j. f&prwetr, pbttogr.

SIDE OF A MIRROR-CASE OF ABODT A.D. 1300,
Id tha poMesaion of M. Sauvagoot,
Stprtsntiufi DraugJU- Players.
Suo ii inches by 4 J.

15
Imperial CoUection of Coins and Medals. Dr. Bohm states that it was presented by the Pope to the
Emperor about the middle of the fourteenth century, and that records exist of its having been handed over
by an Empress, at the end of the fifteenth century, to a convent of nuns, together with a quantity of reUcs,
the authenticity of some of which were attested by the Pope himself. In the church attached to the convent
it remained until the great reduction of such establishments in the reign of the Emperor Joseph IL, when
it was appropriated for his own coUection by one of the chief officers entrusted with the execution of the
Imperial decree. From the descendants of that officer it was purchased by Dr. Bohm. Upon a first
inspection, the observer wUl doubtless find it a Uttle difficult to imagine this splendid monument of
mediaeval ivory-carving to be of ItaUan workmanship, so Uttle does it possess of that spirituaUty which
distinguishes the school of Giovanni and Andrea Pisano, and other artists working under the influence of
Giotto. A more careful examination, however, wiU probably lead to a conviction that it could not have
been executed in any other country than Italy. We are too apt to imagine that because one particular style
flourished in a certain place at a certain period, others essentially different from it could not have existed
contemporaneously. Thus we readUy accept the sculptures on the CampanUe of the Cathedral, and in
the Or' San Michele at Florence, as the types of Tuscan art in the XlVth century: yet the works of
Andrea di Puccio d'Ognibene, Pietro di San Lionardo, Pietro d'Arrigo at Pistoia, and Cione at Florence,
prove to us that other currents of design had descended from the great Niccola Pisano, than that which,
for want of a better term, we may designate as the Dantesque. It is to the school of Andrea d'Ognibene,
or Cione, that Mr. Falcke's noble triptych may be most correctly referred.
Among the principal private coUections of medieval ivory-carvings must be mentioned those of
Prince Soltykoff, M. Sauvageot, M. Carrand, and M. MicheU, in France, and those of Colonel Meyrick, Mr.
MaskeU, Mr. Fountaine, the Rev. Walter Sneyd, and Mr. Pulszky, in this country. The Museum of the
Louvre is particularly rich in coffrets, or boxes, either oblong with gabled covers, or hexagonal with
pyramidal tops, similar in form to that of the interesting casket of Sens, in the Arundel coUection. Of
such coffrets it contains no less than ten, several of which are of large dimensions, and aU covered with
sculptures. The subjects appear to be indifferently taken from traditional sources, and from contempo
raneous Ufe and customs. The former class of subjects may be divided into sacred and profane ; the one
drawn from the Gospels and the Lives of the Saints, and the other based upon the romantic Uterature
of the period ; among which last may be cited, as favourite subjects, and weU illustrated in Class XII.
of this CoUection, the story of Pyramus and Thisbe, the Assault of the Chateau d' Amour, and the
Elopement of Queen Ginevra and Sir Lancelot. The most graceful and amusing subjects, however,
belong to the latter class, representing scenes from every-day life. In them knights and ladies are
constantly seen hunting and hawking, flUting, and playing at chess or draughts. A charming specimen
(XII. d) representing a party of four persons, engaged in the last-named innocent amusement, the original
of which is in the coUection of that accompUshed connoisseur, M. Sauvageot, has been selected for repro
duction by photography.
The Soltykoff coUection, and that of Mr. MaskeU, are particularly rich in statuettes, principally of
the Virgin Mary, some being of comparatively large dimensions. Mr. Herz's specimen (XIII. c) is exceedingly
graceful, and agreeably iUustrates the style of the early XlVth century.
Ivory was a good deal employed in the XIHth and XIYth centuries for the heads of croziers,
pastoral staves (of which the Soltykoff coUection preserves two noble specimens), and the "baculi cantorum. '
or batons for leading choirs; it was also much used for the handles of the aspersoria, or h.dy-wnter
sprinklers, and of the flabellu, or fly-flappers, which were waved to drive away the flies which might approach
to desecrate the sacred vessels in the performance of the offices of the Church. Many of these last
named objects were exquisitely carved, and a magnificent specimen of early date is possessed by M. Carrand
of Paris. They occur in ancient inventories indifferently under the titles of Jlabella, muscaria, csmouchuir* ,

16
esventours de plumes, and muscifugia. Both paxes and pixes were occasionaUy made of ivory, as
were the distaffs used by ladies of rank, who rarely altogether abandoned the primitive occupation
of spinning. The skill of the artificer in this material was also frequently demanded to decorate the backs of
mirrors, which, as well as ornamented combs, were in the greatest possible vogue in the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries. The subjects which were treated on these mirror-cases were of the gayest description^
and love-making forms an important item in the majority of instances. Our photograph of that belonging
to M. Sauvageot (XII. d) represents the usual form of the mirror-case, to the interior of which the mirror
was attached. Mirror-cases were, however, frequently of other forms, for we read in the inventory of
Charles V. of France, quoted by M. de Laborde, of such varieties as " deux haultz miroirs a deux piedz
d'yvofre, l'un plus grand que l'autre," and " Uns tableaux d'yvire a ymages, garnis d'or, ou dedans sont
deux miroers garnis d'or et ij escussons de France dessus." From the " Comptes Royaux " we learn
that the cost, about the year 1400, of a great comb and mirror, aU of ivory, " pour servir le Roy," was
"lvis. p."
Another use, to which ivory-carving was appUed in the middle ages, was to decorate the exterior
of note-books, the inside of which, Uke the ancient pugillares, was covered over with wax, upon which
the writing was indented with a " stylus " or " pointel." Tablets which have once been so appUed are
frequently taken for parts of ordinary book-covers, but they may be distinguished from them by the
circumstance that they have the surface of the reverse sUghtly hoUowed out, leaving a narrow raised rim,
They may also be distinguished from the portable devotional tablets which, when in detached plaques,
they greatly resemble, by observing the arrangements made for hinging. In the folding devotional tablets,
the hinges are so affixed that the sculpture may be shut in, while in the covers of note-books the hinges
are arranged so that the carving may ornament the exterior. A specimen of a note-book, complete in aU
its detaUs, belonged to the celebrated Montfaucon, and is figured by him ; it was adorned with subjects from
the "Lai d'Aristote."
When we turn from the details of ivory-carving, and attempt to generalise with respect to national
pecuUarities, we are met by many difficulties, foremost amongst which is the faciUty with which the objects
might be transported from place to place, rendering the criterion of present locality comparatively worthless.
Happily, however, nationaUty is generally so marked by style, that the judicious connoisseur wiU distinguish
it almost by sympathy, To define precisely why one specimen is beUeved to be French, another German,
and a third EngUsh, would be often no easy task, and yet the greatest authorities arrive almost invariably
at an unanimity of judgment. It may suffice in this place to point out that France was by far the largest
i manufacturer, and that the subjects selected by her artists were, even when of a sacred nature, "toujours
j gais." A peculiar " nez retrousse," a dimpled,, pouting,, and yet smiling mouth, a general^' gentiUesse^oT
' treatment, and aJbrilUant^ yet j^apid mode of technical execution, stamp the French work with an almost
unmistakealile -character,. We have already adverted to the two leading varieties of Italian~expression,
the one spiritual and sublimated, and the other partaking more of Greek immoveabUity, a Uttle " raide "
and uncouth, like the mosaics, but always dignified and grand. German work is invariably admirable
in finish and minute elaboration, more especiaUy of drapery, but rarely rising to an elevated type, either of
physical or intellectual beauty. The English style, of which Prince Soltykoff's coUection contains one of
the noblest specimens extant, in the shape of a triptych of the XlVth century, representing Christ enthroned,
with the Virgin Mary by his side, the Crucifixion, and four Saints, may be assigned a position midway
between the French and the second Italian manner. It certainly does not exhibit the gaiety and tenderness
of the former, nor has it quite the grandeur of the latter, but it is marked by a sober earnestness of
expression in serious action, which neither of those styles possesses. This vigorous action is now and then
carried almost to caricature in EngUsh work, With respect to manipulation, it may be noticed in most of

(CLASS XIV.) <2.

J. A. Spencer, photogr.
GROUP FROM A BAS-RELIEF OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY,
In the possession of W. MaskeU, Esq.,
Representmg the Adoration of tlie Shepherds.
Size 6 inches by 8.

17
the EngUsh carvings, that the mark of the cutting tool is very seldom subdued by finishing with abrasive
implements. The surface, being rarely scraped, shows each stroke of the chisel, and a curiously hard
expression is given to most of the heads by this practice. OccasionaUy, however, confusion has arisen
between EngUsh and French ivories, owing to many objects, the nationality of which is supposed to be
attested by the introduction of EngUsh heraldic bearings, having been executed by French artists for
English knights and nobles during their various partial occupancies of the country of our gaUant aUies.
Among the multitude of mediaeval works which time has spared to us, we are unable to identify the
author of any single specimen. The only name of a mediaeval ivory-carver which I have been able to meet
with is that of Jean LebraeUier, who was carver to Charles V. of France, and is mentioned in his inventory as
having executed " deux grans beaulx tableaulx d'yvoire des troys Maries." This artist was one of the first
sculptors and designers of his time. So important, however, was the manufacture of ivory tablets and
ornaments in Paris, that it gave a name to a street which was occupied by artificers in that material. M. de
Laborde cites a passage from GuiUebert de Metz's " Description de Paris," written in 1407, to the foUowing
effect : " La rue de la tableterie ou Ten faisoit pignes, oeUles, tables et autres ouvrages d'ivoire." According
to the "Us des Mestiers" of Paris in 1260, the trade of " Ymagiers-taiUeurs," whether in ivory or in any
other material, was declared to be open, and freed from fine : " Quar leurs mestiers les aquite par la reison de
ce que leurs mestiers n'apartient fors que au service de Nostre Seigneur et de ses sains et a la honnerance de
Sainte YgUse."
Towards the close of the fifteenth century a very palpable change took place, not only in the
subjects selected for representation in ivory, but in the objects to which the carving was appUed.
Devotional tablets become less frequent, and Pagan divides the field with Christian mythology. In the
specimen XIV. d., a German bas-reUef of the fifteenth century, representing the Virgin and ChUd, (of which
a photographic illustration is given on the opposite page) we may already trace the abandonment of
Gothic character, and the substitution for it of that individuaUty of physical type which is one of the marked
signs of " Renaissance " Art. At length, in the sixteenth century, the old legendary and romantic subjects
were abandoned, and instead of ivory-carving being called in to assist the cause of religion and morals, as it
invariably did in the middle ages, it was too often made to pander to an elegant, though somewhat prurient
taste, and that in the productions of the best artists, such as Jean Goujon himself. Nudity was sought
rather than avoided in the statuettes. The loves of the gods were the favourite subjects of the bas-reUefs,
whUe Bacchuses and Silenuses, Nymphs and Fauns, were made to sprawl about very gracefuUy, but not always
very decorously, upon ivory tankards and portions of hanaps and wiederkoms. The " pingniers," or comb-
makers, who also made mirrors, soon added to their trade the manufacture of sword and dagger hUts,
powder-horns, and knife and spoon handles. Infinite dexterity in the execution of spirited arabesques was
constantly lavished upon these costly trifles, specimens of which may be found in every coUection of ivory
carvings of any importance. Some remarkably pretty objects of this kind, selected with great judgment,
are possessed by M. Sauvageot and M. Carrand, of Paris. The late Mr. Bemal had also some choice reUcs
of the best period of the French " Renaissance." It is difficult to trace from what cause ivory ceased to a great
extent to be employed for articles of personal use in France in the beginning of the reign of Louis XIV.
Certain it is, however, that with the exception of statuettes, occasional bas-reUefs, stick-handles, and
snuff-boxes, ivory was but rarely used in that country during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
It is to Italy and Germany that we must mainly look for a continuation of the history of ivory-carving during
those centuries. The Museums of Vienna, Munich, and Berlin, possess a number of beautifuUy carved vessels, made
generally out of the large hoUow end of the elephant's tusk, the gold and sUver-gUt settings of which are in
the style of the last part of the sixteenth, and of the beginning of the seventeenth, centuries. The Elector of
Saxony, Augustus the Pious (who died 15S6), himself a carver in ivory, was the founder of the Museum of

18
the Griine Gewolbe, where many of his works are still preserved, as weU as two snuff-boxes said to have been
sculptured by Peter the Great. The Elector of Brandenburg, George WilUam (died 1640), and the Elector
of Bavaria, Maximilian (died 1651), devoted much of their leisure to carving in ivory. The Kunstkammer at
Berlin contains a vase carved by the former, and to the latter we owe a lustre enriched with carvings in
excellent taste, which is now in the Royal Palace at Munich, as weU as a number of other works preserved
in the Vereinigten Sammlungen in the same city.
In the second part of the XVIth, and beginning of the XVIIth, centuries, ivory-carving was
appUed to a greater variety of useful objects ; arms of all kinds, and even domestic utensils, were thus
ornamented in both Italy and Germany.
The inferior parts of the ivory were used for these purposes, and their value was enhanced by settings
of brass and sUver gUt, chased by the ablest goldsmiths of the day, and often in the best taste.
The great hall of the Palazzo Vecchio at Florence contains some ivory-carvings remarkable for the
beauty of their workmanship and the purity of their style. A Christ bound to the column, and a
St. Sebastian, are said to be the work of Benvenuto CelUni, to whom is also attributed a crucifix preserved in
the Imperial Treasury at Vienna. This museum possesses likewise a drinking-cup, on which is carved in
high relief SUenus supported by Satyrs ; this, as well as a crucifix shown in the Vereinigten Sammlungen
at Munich, is said to be the work of Michael Angelo. These carvings have certainly great artistic merit,
but it is remarked by M. Labarte that their style belongs to the schools of Rubens and Raphael rather than
those of Michael Angelo and Cellini ; and the belief that these artists executed works in ivory rests merely
upon supposition, as no unquestionable proofs exist of their ever having done so.
There are, however, many existing works to prove that the ItaUan carvers of the XVIth century were
almost invariably admirable artists, though many of their names have been lost in the briUiant assemblage
of genius by which they were surrounded.
Cicognara thinks that we owe the ivory-carvings of the sixteenth century to the pupUs of Valerio
Vicentino and Giovanni Bernardi di Castel-Bolognese, who were designers and sculptors of much merit.
These carvings wUl often bear comparison, for purity of design and deUcacy of execution, with the best works
of the cameo-cutters of this period. He particularly cites, as worthy of the highest admiration, the exquisite
basreUef of the dying Christ, supported by two Angels, formerly in the possession of the Count Costanzo
Taverna of Milan, and apparently identical with the carving of that subject in the coUection of the British
Museum. In that sublime and beautiful work of Art I recognise the ultimate perfection of cabinet carving
in ivory, having never seen a specimen equal to it.
Amongst the ItaUan artists of the XVIIth century who were workers in ivory, we may mention
AUessandro Algardi, who, like many of his cotemporaries, was compeUed in his youth to gain his UveUhood
by this. art.
As we enter upon the age of the revival of letters and the invention of printing, the history of Art changes
its character altogether. " Men and their deeds are sung," but the former are brought much more prominently
forward than the latter. Henceforward Art-history becomes Art-biography, and we shall therefore now notice
a few of those in chronological order who have carried on the practice of ivory- carving to our own days.
Germany and Flanders have carefully preserved the names of those who foUowed the art which in those
countries was so greatly admired. The foUowing list, for which I am in a great measure indebted to the
valuable Introduction by M. Labarte * to the Catalogue of the Debruge-DumenU coUection, comprehends the
most celebrated artists of the schools of Northern Europe. That collection, now so unhappUy dispersed,
contained, next after the Griine Gewolbe at Dresden, and the Vereinigten Sammlungen at Munich, the finest
specimens of those schools.
* Since the delivery of this Lecture, an illustrated English translation of M. Labarto's Introduction has been published by Mr. Murray,
under the title of "A Handbook of the Arts of the Middle Ages and Renaissance"

19
Francois du Quesnoy, surnamed Fiammingo, who was born at Brussels in 1594, was sent to Rome
with a small pension by the Archduke Albert VI. On the death of his protector, which happened not long
after the sculptor had settled at Rome, his circumstances were so much reduced that he was compeUed to
work for the trade in wood and ivory. The exceUence of the works thus produced soon procured him the
patronage of Prince FUippo Colonna, for whom he executed, among other objects, his masterpiece, the
celebrated Crucifix, three palms in height, which the Prince ultimately presented to Pope Urban VTII.
A series of bas-reliefs, of beautiful technical execution, for many years in the possession of the late Mr.
VuUiamy of PaU MaU, and considered by many competent judges as unquestionably the work of Fiammingo,
has lately been acquired for the Museum at Marlborough House. One of the most important specimens of
ivory-carving in this country, the group of Adam and Eve, in the possession of Mr. Phillips of Cockspur
Street, has also been ascribed, and with every appearance of probabiUty, to the hand of this great master.
I have not met with any example of greater refinement in anatomical detaU than this beautiful work presents.
It bears the date of 1627, together with the initials IIPF — the precise connection of which with Fiammingo
I have been unable to trace. At a later period in the artist's career he appears to have abandoned the
practice of ivory-carving, except in occasional instances, when he probably took it up as a relaxation from
more arduous pursuits.
Jacob Zeller, a Dutch artist, one of whose works (dated 1620) is preserved in the Griine Gewolbe : the
subject is a frigate upon a pedestal, on which is represented Neptune driving sea-horses.
Leo Pronner, of Nuremberg, was born in 1550 at Thalhausen in Carinthia, and died in 1630. His
works were remarkable for their extreme minuteness. The Griine Gewolbe has some cherry-stones carved
by him, upon which, with the aid of a magnifying glass, as many as a hundred heads may be seen. This
power of minute workmanship the artist possessed up to within a year of his death.
Christoph Harrich, also of Nuremberg, who died, according to Doppelmayer, in 1630. The subjects
which he has chosen are anything but pleasant; Death's heads, and young girls embracing skeletons. The
Debruge collection contained several interesting specimens of his dexterity.
George Wickhard and Lobenigke were celebrated about the same time for turned works. Lobenigke
was also a carver of statuettes.
Gerard Van Obstal of Antwerp may be numbered amongst the French artists ; he was a member
of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture at Paris, of which he died President in 1668. He carved in
ivory some very beautiful works for Louis XIV. Cicognara cites a colossal relic of his skUl (at least colossal
for ivory carved in the soUd material), preserved in the Casa Volpi at Venice. It represents Abraham, Isaac,
and the interruption of the Sacrifice by the Angel, the whole of the figures for the most part nearly nude,
averaging one braccio and a half (about 39 inches) in height. The execution is stated to be bold, but the
design poor. Leonhard Kern, of Forschheim in Bavaria, worked principally at Nuremberg ; he was for some years in
Italy, but lived also at Berlin ; he cUed at the age of eighty-three at Halle in Swabia.
Christoph Augermayer executed for tlie Crown Prince MaximiUan I. of Bavaria, between the years
1018 and 1621, a money-chest in ivory, which forms one of the most elegant objects in that material in the
Royal CoUection at Munich.
Marchio Barthel, by birth a Saxon, worked principaUy at Venice, where he had cultivated the ItaUan
style of desi°m under Justus le Court. His manner assimilates to that of Bernini. His best works are
copies from the antique of groups of animals. The Griine Gewolbe contains two works by this artist ; one is
a horse attacked by a Uon, and the other a bull led to the sacrifice by two priests. Barthel died at Dresden
in 1691. Pfeifhofen Uved about the same time (1694); his works are bas-reUefs.
Van Bossuit of Brussels, (born 1635, died 1092,) was one of the ablest artists of his time ; he greatly

20
excelled in figures of women and chUdren ; he lived for a long time in Italy, where many of his best works
are preserved. A coUection of drawings of them was engraved and pubUshed at Amsterdam in the year 1727.
Lorenz, Peter, and Stephan Zick, of Nuremberg. Lorenz, the head of the famUy, who died in 1666,
aged seventy-two, devoted himself to turning, and in imitation of the Chinese he manufactured moveable
bails one within the other. His son Stephan, who died in 1715, inherited his industry, and has left some
remarkable works, among which are eyes and ears with all the internal mechanism requisite for sight and
hearing. The Kunstkammer and Griine Gewolbe contain some curious works of these artists. Doppelmayer
dweUs with enthusiasm on the works of Lorenz, who held the appointment of Crown Turner to the Emperor
Ferdinand III. Peter Zick had the honour of instructing the Emperor Rudolph II. in his art.
Among the artists of the XVIIIth century we may name the foUowing : —
The Norwegian Magnus Berger (died 1739), by whom the most beautiful piece of ivory-carving in the
Royal CoUection at Windsor was executed. The Kunstkammer possesses a bas-reUef by this artist of
the date 1690.
Balthazar Permoser is considered one of the best of ivory- carvers. The Griine Gewolbe possesses
some fine works by him, especiaUy a large-sized copy of the group by John of Bologna of the Rape of a
Sabine. Permoser was born in Bavaria in 1650, he worked in Italy for fourteen years, and died at Dresden
in 1732. Luck was a carver of busts and crucifixes: he worked at Dresden from 1720 to 1740 : he then was
engaged for eighteen years by the Duke of Mecklenburg- Strelitz; subsequently he visited St. Petersburg
for seven years, and in his old age settled at Dantzig, where he died in 1780.
Simon Troger of Nuremberg (died 1769). The Vereinigten Sammlungen of Munich possesses many
beautiful works of this artist. One, the Sacrifice of Abraham, is preserved in the Griine Gewolbe. Troger
often used a brown wood for his draperies and accessories. He was born at Haidhausen, near Munich, and
began Ufe as a cow-boy. The talent with which he cut little figures in wood with his penknife attracted
the attention of the Elector MaximiUan II. , by whom his education was provided for. Many of his works are
preserved in the GaUery at Schleissheim — among them are groups of the Death of Abel, the Sacrifice of
Abraham, and the Triumphs of Pluto and Bacchus.
Krabensberger was an imitator of the style adopted by Troger.
Michael Daeler Uved at the end of the eighteenth century ; his carvings, which are always most
carefuUy executed, were groups of chUdren and animals for the heads of canes.
About the same period Krueger, of Dantzig, employed himself in carving Uttle grotesque figures,
such as hunchbacks and beggars, having diamond buttons on their coats. Of these the Griine Gewolbe
contains many specimens. His masterpiece is in the cabinet of the Duke of Saxe-Gotha, and represents
Augustus II. of Poland on horseback.
Many artists carved medalUon portraits in ivory. Of these the best known are : —
Raimond Falz, who was born in 1658 at Stockholm ; he was educated as a goldsmith and medal
engraver, and was afterwards employed at Paris by the French court, by which he was retained at a pension
of 1200 francs per annum ; he also sent many of his works to Sweden. He was summoned by Frederick III.
to BerUn, where he died about the year 1703.
ChevaUer. — the Kunstkammer possesses a portrait by this artist of Mary the Second of England,
signed—" CavaUer, Londini, 1690."
Giovanni Pozzo, of Rome.— A medaUion portrait in the same collection bears the date of 1717.
There were many ivory-carvers amongst the French artists, but the names of few of them are known.
Some pieces attributed to Girardon, sculptor to Louis XIV., still exist.
The Germans have retained up to the present day their fondness for cabinet carving, and much
clever work in ivory, as well as in the common white woods and meerschaum, is frequently executed by them.

21
In recent times the art of ivory-carving has been very satisfactorily revived in France, principally at
Dieppe and Paris. The Louvre contains a clever statuette of an old man seated, executed by Meugniot of
Dieppe in 1829, and also various specimens of considerable merit purchased by Louis PhiUppe in 1833 from
M. Blard, " ivoirier " of the same locaUty. In Paris not only is a great deal of ivory-carving and turning
constantly produced for commerce, but artists of great eminence have turned their attention to the employment
of this material in works of fine Art. Many wiU probably remember the specimens exhibited in 1851 by the
late M. Froment Meurice — more particularly the graceful Nymph pursued by a Cupid, sculptured by Henri
Triquetti, and the Leda by Pradier. In the late Exposition des Beaux Arts, however, the results were
exhibited of the most important experiment in the art which has been made for many centuries. In his
colossal Minerva, executed for that profound connoisseur and most Uberal patron, the Due de Luynes,
M. Simart the sculptor has attempted, with much erudition, to revive the practice of the Greeks in their
chryselephantine monuments. To point out in what respects he has succeeded, and in what 1'aUed, would
demand more space than can now be accorded to the subject.
No just appreciation of the relative merits of those who at different periods have applied the same
material to various uses, and wrought it in various aspects, can be formed without a clear apprehension of
the technical processes employed. Fortunately, as respects ivory and bone carving, we are suppUed with
full information upon this head ; sufficient indeed to enable us to understand not only the present, but the
Greek, Roman, and Byzantine methods, and the mediaeval practice as well. Pausanias and Pliny are the
great fountain-heads of information with respect to the classical styles, which have in modern times been so
ably iUustrated by Miiller, Quatremere de Quincy, and others. The monk Theophilus is aUowed to have Uved
in an age of active transition, at a moment when Europe was just commencing to cast the slough of the
Romanesque in order to put on the new skin of the Pointed style. It is true that at the end of tlie Xltli
century, the period when the artist-priest is supposed to have given his " Schedula diversarum Artium" to the
world, the sun of the golden age of mediaeval Art had not risen ; but already its rays had stolen, as harbingers
of day, far over the Western continent. This rare artificer opens to us the arcana of his various crafts, and
among other instructions he thus relates how ivory and bone are to be carved : —
" In sculpturing ivory," (to quote the able translation of Mr. Hendrie), " first form a tablet of the
magnitude you may wish, and, superposing chalk, pourtray with a lead the figures according to your pleasure,
and with a pointed instrument mark the lines, that they may appear ; then carve the grounds as deeply as
you wish with different instruments, and sculp the figures, or other things you please, according to your
invention and skiU. But should you wish to ornament your work with a leaf of gold, lay on the glue of the
bladder of the fish which is caUed ' huso,' or sturgeon, and the leaf being cut into smaU pieces, overlay it as
you please. Fashion also round or ribbed handles from ivory, and make an opening through the middle
lengthwise ; then, with various files, proper for this work, enlarge the opening that it may be inside as outside,
and let it be smooth everywhere, and moderately thin ; and pourtray flowerets around it very finely, or
animals birds, or dragons, twisted together by the necks and taUs, and transpierce the grounds with very fine
instruments: then sculp as gracefuUy and artistically as you may be able. Which being done, fiU the opening
inside with oak wood, which you cover with thin gUt copper, so that through aU the grounds the gold can be
seen ¦ and so two pieces being joined in from a particle of the same ivory, close the hole before and behind,
you will fasten these on with ivory pegs, so cunningly, that no one may be able to see how the gold is laid in.
After this, make an opening into the smaU piece in front, in which the blade is placed, the handle of which,
being heated, can be easily inserted, because the wood is within, and it wiU stand fast ; make also a plain
handle, and, according to its size, make the opening in which the blade should be placed, and join the wood
carefuUy into it, and according as the wood is fashioned, so cause the handle of the knife to be made. Then
grind some clear thus (resin) into the finest powder, and fiU the opening of the handle with it, and envelop the
blade near the handle with a wet cloth, in a threefold manner, and placing it before the furnace, worm tbis

22
handle until it slightly glows, and immediately fix it carefully in the handle, that it may be well joined in, and
it will stand firmly."
Here we have the very practice, with regard to the inserted gilt copper, of the knife-handles of
India, and, with respect to the mode of retention of the tongue of the blade in the handle, of Birmingham
and Sheffield in the present day. His next description shows how ivory was stained red, and at how early
a period the lathe played an important part in its working.
" There is likewise," says TheophUus, " a herb caUed ' rubrica,' the root of which is long, slender, and
of a red colour ; this being dug up, is dried in the sun, and is pounded in a mortar with the pestle, and so being
scraped into a pot, and a lye poured over, it is cooked. In this, when it has weU boiled, the bone of the
elephant, or fish, or stag, being placed, is made red. The knobs in the staves of bishops and abbots, and the
smaUer nodules, fit for different utensUs, can also be made in turned work from these bones or horns. When
you have turned which, with sharp instruments, you wUl smooth them with shave grass, and, coUecting
the scrapings in a Unen cloth, you will rub them strongly, by turning upon them, and they are made quite
bright. You will be able to polish horn handles, and the horns of huntsmen, or tablets in lanterns, with
ashes, sifted, and set in a Unen cloth ; but, at last, you must not forget to anoint them over with walnut oU."
We now come to the decoration of ivory by water-gUding ; and, considering how strongly TheophUus
insists, in two places, upon the necessity of its being so adorned, it is curious that so few fragments should
have descended to our times, which show signs of ever having been enriched with gold or colour.
" All sculpture which ornaments ivory demands leaf-gold. Should you wish to cause this to be placed
upon ivory, do what I point out to you in writing. Seek glaire (white of egg), and the very clear gummy
Uquid which is made from the bladder of the sturgeon (in other words, isinglass). Should you possess this,
cook a portion of it in a vessel with water, and it wiU be immediately turned into a gum Uquor. When you
wish, therefore, to decorate the sculpture of ivory with gold, anoint it with this same (Uquor) with a pencU,
and then, removed from the wind, lay on the leaf."
Mr. Hendrie, the learned editor of the " Schedula " of TheophUus, supplies us with some coUateral
evidence of an interesting character, from the writings of HeracUus, the Pliny of the 10th century, who gives
the foUowing details on the subject of the ancient method of softening and bending ivory by immersion in
a solution of salts in acid : —
" Should you wish to bend ivory and ornament it, take 'sulphate of potass (glumen rotundum), fossil
salt (sal gemma, muriate of soda), and vitriol (calcanthum, sulphate of copper). These are ground with very
sharp vinegar in a brass mortar. Into this mixture the ivory is placed for three days and nights. This being
done, you will hoUow out a piece of wood, as you please. The ivory being then placed in the hoUow, you
direct it, and wiU bend it to your will."
The exceedingly interesting manuscript of Sir Thomas PhiUipps— the " Mappaj Clavicula "—ascribed
to an EngUsh writer of the 12th century, suppUes us with a record of the common practice of the period in
terms of which the following is a translation : —
" Should you desire to bend or carve ivory, let it be placed for three days and nights in the foUowing
mixture. That being done, you will hollow out wood in whatever manner you think fit ; then having placed
the ivory in the cavity, you will mould and bend it at wUl.
" Take two parts of quick lime, one part of pounded tile, one part of oU, and one part of (stuppa
scissce) torn tow.
" Mix up all these with a lye made of elm bark."
In the Sloane manuscript, consisting of English notes of the years 1424 to 1456 on ItaUan technical
processes, is a similar recipe, with the addition that the ingredients specified are to be distiUed in equal parts ;
this (by the Alembic) would yield muriatic acid, with the presence of water ; the manuscript adds that " infused
in this water half a day, ivory is made so soft that it can be cut Uke wax ; and when you wish it hardened, place

23
it in white vinegar and it becomes hard." With these traditions of the past it is curious to contrast the
practical experience of the present, and upon such a subject no judgment is entitled to more respect than
that of the late Mr. Holtzapffel, who observes that " it is imagined by some that ivory may be softened, so as
to admit of being moulded like horn or tortoisesheU : its different analysis contradicts this expectation ; thick
pieces suffe» no change in boiling water, thin pieces become a Uttle more flexible, and thin shavings give off
their jeUy, which substance is occasionaUy prepared from them. Truly the caustic alkali wiU act upon ivory
as well as upon most animal substances, yet it only does so by decomposing it ; ivory, when exposed to the
alkalies, first becomes unctuous or saponaceous on its outer surface, then soft if in thin plates, and it may be
ultimately dissolved, provided the alkalies be concentrated ; but it does not in any such case resume its first
condition." Cicognara, in his " Storia deUa Scultura," makes some very just comments upon the various legends
in Plutarch, Seneca, Dioscorides, and Pliny, concerning processes for softening ivory. " Ad ognuno," says
he, "chi si rese facile U lavorare di alto o basso reUevo fu indifferente l'uso deUa materia qualunque, e per
conseguenza fu trattato mirabUmente l'avorio moUe e cedente a qualunque ferro, o Uma, o raschia, o pomici,
o pelU ruvide di pesci, senza bisogna di ricorrere per questo a cio che scrissero parecchi autori del modo di
rendere maneggiabile questa sostanza coU' azione di alcuni fondenti, o del calore."
In one respect at least modern practice coincides with the prescriptions of antiquity, since even in the
present day the sturgeon's bladder forms the basis of the only good cement for attaching ivory. The
Indians appear to be ignorant of this recipe ; for as far as I have had opportunities of observing, they
employ only preparations of lac, which do not adhere at all, and hence the unfortunate UabUity of their
ivory furniture to tumble to pieces.
While touching upon practical matters, I may be pardoned for offering a few words of advice to
collectors of original specimens. The colour and_ surface of ivory afford no clue to its age. Some of tlie
most ancient reUcs are white and almost calcareous-looking, while others are of a dull orange -colour — some
are dried up so as to be perfectly mat, whUe others of the same age are completely patinated.
It is a fallacy to shut up specimens of ivory in closed cabinets ; those objects best retain their shape,
surface, original tint and transparency, which are kept in an equable temperature and abundant Ught. This
applies especially to comparatively recent specimens, in which the animal oil has not assumed its ultimate
consistency, (as well as to the stearined plaster in which casts of ivory-carvings are usually made) ; and it is
of the more importance, since no means exist of restoring the pecuUar deUcacy of the tint and texture when
once injured. " It may be asked," says Mr. Holtzapffel, " what means there are of bleaching ivory which has
become discoloured ? the author regrets to add that he is unacquainted with any of value. It is recommended
in various popular works to scrub the ivory with Trent sand and water, and similar gritty materials ; but these
would only produce a sensible effect, by the removal of the external surface of the material, which would be
fatal to objects delicately carved by hand, or with revolving cutting instruments applied to tlie lathe."
Some persons boil the transparent ivory in pearl-ash and water to whiten it ; this appears to act by the
superficial extraction of the oily matter, as in bone, although it is very much better not to resort to the
practice, which is principaUy employed to render that ivory, which is partly opaque and partly transparent,
of more nearly uniform appearance. Where the cohesion of the particles which make up the ivory has been
destroyed by age or exposure, and the surface has become friable, strength may be restored by immersion in
gelatine, or probably even better, in melted wax. Great care, however, is required in the use of these
processes, to the former of which we are indebted for the present existence of some of the most interesting
specimens brought from Assyria.
I know not how better to conclude tlie present inadequate attempt to sketch the leading features oi
what I look upon as a highly important section of the general history of Art, than by vindicating it from the
charge of possessing an antiquarian interest alone. It affects the artist of the present day in this remarkable

24
wise, that the productions of the branch of Art which has here been considered teach him in a more
compendious form than any other can, that beauty attracts, or ugliness repels, entirely irrespective of style.
In the present advanced state of general information with respect to the past in Art, and with such means as
the Arundel Society's coUection gives us of studying, even in our very chambers, the details of form
pecuUar to successive ages, an original style can only be developed through the medium of Eclecticism.
The essence of beauty can only be distiUed from existing materials, and he wiU extract the greatest
sweetness, who cuUs his flowers of fancy with most discrimination, and from the widest field. The
specimens of ivory-carvings now brought under your notice, small though they be in bulk, are still
as redolent of suggestion, as the great monuments of many a land ; while they possess the additional
value of being able to be brought under the student's eye synchronously, and in juxtaposition one
to another. Better than any other class of the remains of antiquity, they prove, that the simple rendering of
a pure thought outweighs any amount of elaboration, and that wherever the artist has aimed high, and
done his very best to realise his aspiration, pleasure is always afforded. Whether the aspiration has to
reach the heart through the feebleness of the traditional detaU of late Roman Art, the rigidity of the scholastic
Byzantine, the groping after new types of form by the early mediaeval artists, the subjection of the later
Gothic school to the types once engrafted, or the quaintness of pedantic " Renaissance," the flame of admiration
never has faUed, and never faUs, to be kindled within us, if the fire of genius has burned in the bosom of
the artist — even though that fire may have never glowed upon a cathedral, but animated only an ivory plaque
or triptych.

P.S.— The Author of the preceding Lecture cannot aUow it to be published without the addition of a
few Unes in sincere and grateful acknowledgment of the valuable assistance rendered to bim by his friends
Mr. Oldfield, and Mr. Nesbitt, both in the collection of the materials from which the Lecture has been
written, and in its careful editing for the press.

CATALOGUE
OF SELECT EXAMPLES OF
ANCIENT IVORY-CARVINGS
IN VARIOUS COLLECTIONS,
(CASTS OF WHICH ARE SOLD BY THE ARUNDEL SOCIETY IN CLASSES EXEMPLIFYING THE PRINCIPAL
SCHOOLS AND PERIODS OF THE ART)
By EDMUND OLDFIELD.

PREFACE TO THE OEIGLNAL EDITION OF THE CATALOGUE.

The coUection now brought before the pubUc by the Arundel Society is of no great pretension in
the category of vertu. The objects of which it consists are of common material ; they may be reproduced at
pleasure ; they have no pedigree ; and they are cheap. The entire series costs less than has frequently been
given for a single ivory-carving six inches square, even of the least valuable class, and not one-tenth of the
price that might reasonably be expected for the first specimen mentioned in the description. Vet it may safely
be affirmed, that from this assemblage of mere plaster copies more knowledge is to be obtained of the history
of the art they are intended to iUustrate, than from any single cabinet of originals in Europe. This wiU be
better understood when it has been explained how, and on what principle, the coUection has been made.
Its formation is chiefly due to the zeal and taste of Mr. Alexander Nesbitt ; but valuable additions
have been contributed by Mr. Westwood, the Author of Palceographia Sacra, and Mr. Franks, of the
British Museum. Their mode of proceeding was to take impressions in gutta percha from the ivories
themselves; an operation which, with due care, was uniformly effected without injury. From these im
pressions, as matrices, models, technicaUy termed types, were produced by Mr. Franchi, the manufacturer
of " fictile ivory," some in copper by electro-deposit, others simply in plaster of Paris ; and elastic moulds
were then made from the types, out of which casts were obtained in a superior species of plaster, which,
when saturated with a preparation employed for this purpose, acquired a hard and smooth surface,
approaching in appearance to ivory. The casts thus procured formed together a coUection not merely
beautiful in itself, but so replete with information, artistic and antiquarian, that its owners resolved to
relinquish their monopoly of possession, and aUow the series to be reproduced as freely as was consistent
with the precautions necessary to prevent the manufacture of inferior copies: and with this view they
transferred all their materials and their rights to the Arundel Society, a body whose professed purpose is
the " Promotion of the Knowledge of Art," to make arrangements for disposing of the casts in the
manner most conducive to their common object.
In obtaining the original impressions these gentlemen had been careful to bring together what may be
called typical examples of each age and style from every museum and cabinet they visited ; and their
endeavours were facUitated by the Uberality with which, for the most part, they were met by the proprietors
or guardians of these treasures, both in England and abroad. The mass thus selected was Ukewise sifted,
when placed at the disposal of its present possessors, by the withdrawal of such specimens as did not appear
to present any special iUustration, either of the progress of art, or the usages, taste, or religion of antiquity.
Though the coUection is wanting in examples of some of the appUcations of ivory to common uses, yet in the
point of view proper to the Arimdel Society this deficiency is of minor importance : for it is Art its. If, rather
than its adaptations, winch such a Society seeks to iUustrate, and the essential part of Art is best shown in
those productions which are most independent of external motives. The series of diptychs and book, overs
anterior to the eleventh century presents, in proportion to its extent, unequaUed materials for studying the
e 2

28
power and weakness of sculpture, such as it then was. The purpose of the artist in these productions was
always serious, generally devotional ; and his work had, in the case of diptychs, both pagan and ecclesiastical,
the advantage of a certain monumental character, without being fettered by architectural necessities. Such
a purpose could not faU to eUcit the highest skill then attainable ; whUst the use to which these carvings have
been commonly appropriated, either as tablets for inscribing Uturgical memorials, or as bindings to valuable
manuscripts, has preserved them from maltreatment or careless exposure. The value of such preservation is
enhanced by the rarity of any contemporary remains of sculpture on a large scale : for after the faU of the
Western Empire the poverty and insecurity of the times admitted of few works of any importance being
executed, and those few not having the good fortune, like so many of the monuments of heathen antiquity, to
sink into the protecting bosom of the earth, have generally perished by violence, or been dilapidated by
weather. It may be remarked that the collection includes few specimens, of the sixteenth century, and none of
any later age. But such specimens were not needed for the purpose here in view, which was to iUustrate, as
far as the means avaUable would admit, the least known period in the history of sculpture, — to fiU the void, in
fact, between the faU of ancient, and the rise of modern art. The Cinquecentisti have left abundant memorials
of their power, their learning, and their versatility, in every field of design ; and the sculptors, of the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are already quite as weU known as they deserve.
The casts have been arranged by me for the Arundel Society upon the system which has been
considered, on the whole, the most instructive, though not perhaps the most favourable to sale. The basis of
the classification is chronological; but where the carvings of any period were numerous, they have been
subdivided, with reference either to their schools, or (where this was impracticable) to the purpose for which
they were executed. Within each class, Ukewise, an attempt at chronological sequence has been made, so that
where no date is assigned individuaUy to an ivory, its age may be approximately inferred from its position in
the class. In the correctness of this arrangement, however, I do not pretend to certainty, or even to
confidence. The external evidence, with this species of monuments, is generaUy so sUght, and the technical
criteria so few, that he must be either a very learned or a somewhat sanguine connoisseur, who can expect
to arrive uniformly at a decision satisfactory to others, or even to himself. For my own part, without the
assistance and advice of the friends who have aided me with their judgment, and particularly of Mr. Nesbitt,
I should not have ventured on the attempt at aU.
The description of the objects is Umited to a brief statement of their most interesting particulars, with
here and there a word of explanation : any kind of criticism would have led me beyond the limits proper for
such a pubUcation. Mr. Digby Wyatt's interesting Lecture, deUvered at the rooms of the Arundel Society,
and intended shortly to be printed for the Members, wiU supply that broader view of the subject, without
which a mere catalogue of carvings suggests Uttle more idea of the art than tlie Ust of ships in the Iliad
gives of the Trojan war.
On the two following pages are enumerated simply those works in which any of the originals of this
collection are individually described or delineated, but by no means aU the works which indirectly iUustrate
those originals, still less all which throw light upon the art. Even this Ust, however, may give some idea of
the importance of such specimens in the eyes of various classes of writers.
The casts may be seen at the office of the Society, and further information obtained from the
Secretary.
E. 0.
London, August, 1855.

29

LIST OF BOOKS

CONTAINING ENGRAVINGS OR DESCRIPTIONS OF IVORY-CARVINGS INCLUDED
IN THE CATALOGUE.

%* The Ivories published im each Work are here distinguished by the Figures and Letters prefixed to them in the Catalogue ; and the
Notes to the descriptions in the Catalogue mil supply the particular references to the Works.

CHIFFLET. De Linteis Sepuloiieaxibus Chbisti Seevatoeis. Antverpise, 1624. 4to.
VII.. y.
DU FRESNE (DOM. DU CANGE). Disseetatio de Infeeiobis iEvi Numismatibus, appended to
the Qlossariwn ad Scriptores Media et Infimm Latinitatis. Paris, 1678. 3 vols., folio.
II. i, VII. a.
MABILLON. Annales Oedinis S. Benedict!. Paris, 1703—39. 6 vols., folio.
II.C,II.ff.
BANDURI. Impeeium Orientale. Paris, 1711. 2 vols., folio.
II. c, II. g.
MONTFAUCON. L'Antiqltte Expliqdee et Representee en Figuees. Paris, 1719—24. 15 vols., t'ulio.
II./.
KAL1G-. De Diptyciiis Veterum. Hala> Magdeb. 1731. 4to.
II./,II.<7.
GORI. TUESAUEUS VETEEUM DlPTYCUOEUM CoNSULARIUM ET EcCLESIASTICOEUM ; ACCESSEBE J. B.
Passebii Additamenta et Pb.efationes. FlorentitB, 1759. 3 vols., folio.
I. a, I. e, II. b, II. c, II. d, II. /, II. g, II. i, III. c, V. o, VI. e, VII. e, VII. g.
MILLIN. Monumens Antiques Inedits, ou >«"ouvelleiie>t Expliques. Paris, 1803. 2 vols., 4to.
1.4.
MILLIN. Voyages dans les Depabtemens du Midi de la France. Paris, 1807 — 11. 5 vols., bvo.
I. b, II. a, II. e, VI. d, VIII. *-y.

30
SEEOUX D'AGTNCOUET. Histoire de l'Art par les Monumens. Paris, 1811—23. 6 vols., foUo.
(English Edition here referred to in ihe Notes, London, 1847. 3 vols., folio.)
II. d, II. g, V. a, VI. e.
Vetusta Monumenta. Vol. V. Published by the Society of Antiquaries, London, 1834. Folio.
X.i.
Tbesor de Numismatique et de G-lyptique (bas-reliefs et ornemens). Texte par M. Ch. Lenormant.
Paris, 1836—9. 2 vols, folio.
II. c, 11. g, II. i, IV. b, V. k, VII./, VII..?, VII. k.
Le Moyen Age et la Eenaissance, par MM. Laceoix et Sere. Paris, 1851. 5 vols., 4to.
, 1.5.
Melanges d'Archeologie, par MM. Cahier et Martin. Paris, 1851. 3 vols., 4to.
Y.f,V.g,V.k.
KUGLEE. Kleine Scheiften und Studien zur Kunstgeschiohte. Stuttgart, 1853. 3 vols., 8vo.
II. h.

Handbook of the Arts of the Middle Ages and Eenaissance. Translated from the French of
ro. I, a, II. d, III. a.

M. Jules Labarte. London, 1855. 8vo.

31

LIST

or

THE PERSONS AND INSTITUTIONS POSSESSING THE IVORY-CARVINGS DESCRIBED
IN THE CATALOGUE.

*»* The Figures and Letters subjoined to each name are those by which the Ivories are distinguished in the Catalogue.

BASTARD, Le Comte Auguste De, VII. k.
BERLIN, Kunstkammer, II. /, III. b, TV. d, V. I, VII. a, VII. I, VII. c, VII. d, X.f, X. ff, X. m.
BOULOGNE, Museum, XII. i.
CARRAND, M., V.f (cast from).
FEJEEVAEY COLLECTION (late the property of Mr. Pulszky, now belonging to Mr. Mayer of Liver
pool), I. a, II. a, II. d, IV. c, TV. e, V. n, VII. h, XI. q, XII. b, XIV. f.
FOUNTAINE, A., Esq., VI. a, VII. I, XIV. b.
HALBEESTADT, Treasury of the Cathedral, II. h.
HAWKINS, E., Esq., IX. /, IX. ff, IX. h, IX. i.
HAWKINS, M. E., Esq., IX. e.
HEETZ, B., Esq., XI. d, XIII. c.
HOPE, A. J. Beeesford, Esq., XI. m, XI. r.
LENTAIGNE, John, Esq., M.D., XI. a.
L'ESCALOPIEE, Le Comte De, XI. ff.
LONDON, British Museum (CoUection of Antiquities), 111. a, X. »'., XI. n, XII. k.
„ (CoUection of Manuscripts), V. m, X. I.
Museum of Ornamental Art, Marlborough House, XII. c, XIV. /.
„ Soane Museum, VTL.p.
MASKELL, W., Esq., X. a, X. n, XI. b, XI. c, XL o, XII. f, XII. ff, XIV. d, XIV. k.
MICHELI, W, V. o, IX. a, IX. b, LX. c, IX. d, IX. I, IX. m.
MILAN, Treasury of the Cathedeal, IV. o, V. a, VI. e, VII. e.

32
MONZA, Treasury of the Cathedral, I. c, II. b, TIL e.
NICHOLS, J. B., Esq., X. h.
NICHOLS, J. G., Esq., XL/, XIV. e.
OELEANS, Museum, V. d.
OXFOED, Bodleian Library, V. e, V. e, VII. i, IX. le.
PAEIS, Bibliotheque Imperiale, IV. b, V. g, V. le, VII. g, VII. o, XI. h.
„ „ „ (Cabinet des Antiques), II. c, II. e, II. g, II. i, VTL.f.
Louvre, V. h, V. i, VII. n, X. b, X. c, X. d, X. 7c, XII. a, XIII. a and b, XIV. y.
SAUVAGEOT, M., XI. Te, XII. rf, XII. I, XIV. c.
SENS, Treasury of the Cathedral, VI. b, VI. d, VIII. a — y.
„ Public Library, I. b.
SNEYD, Eev. Walter, VI. c, VII. m, X. e, XII. e, XII. h, XIV. i.
TEOYES, Museum, XIII. d.
WAY, Albert, Esq., XL e, XIV. Ji.

CLASS I.

ROMAN DIPTYCHS OF MYTHOLOGICAL CHARACTER.

a* Both leaves ( probably
of the second century)
J-fBoth leaves (about the
third or fourth cen
tury), now the book-
cover of the Office des
Fous
e.JBoth leaves

Subject of tee Sculpture.
1. iEsculapiua and Telesphorus
2. Hygieia and Cupid
1. The Progress of Bacchus, — an allegorical composition,
probably of astronomical import
2. Diana Lucifera, with various attendant figures, — a com
position of similar character to the preceding
1. Muse, with a Lyre ; — apparently a Eoman lady in an
ideal character
2. Portrait of an unknown author §

Possession or the Original.
Fejervary Collection.
Public Library of Sens.

Treasury of the Cathedral
of Monza.

" Finely Engraved by Raffoelle Morghen (v. Palmerini's Catalogue, No. 201); cf. Gori, vol. iii. pi. xx, xxi.; "Handbook" (Labarte),
pp. xxxvi. 425.
t Millin, Mon. Ant, vol. ii., p. 836, pi. 1., Ii. ; Voyages, vol. L, p. 60, pi. ii. and iii. ; Le Moyen Age et la Renaissance, vol. v. (Reliure, pi. i.)
t Gori, vol. ii., p. 243, pi. viii.
§ Gori (loc. cit.) suggests that it may be either Claudian, Ausonius, or more probably Boethius. Tlie characteristics certainly are those
of a philosopher, rather than of a poet ; but the vigorous anatomical treatment seems to indicate an earlier date than the sixth century, to
which, on the last hypothesis, the diptych would belong.

34

CLASS II.

ROMAN AND BYZANTINE DIPTYCHS, OF HISTORICAL CHARACTER.

A.-DIPTYCHS OF PERSONAGES BELIEVED TO BE IMPERIAL.

a* One leaf

&.fBoth leaves

Subject op the Sculpture.
Three seated figures, perhaps the Emperor Philip the Arab,
and two other dignitaries, presiding at the Sseeular
Games of the millennial era of Eome, A.D. 248 ; below,
Men fighting with Stags in the Amphitheatre
1. Standing figures of a Lady and a Boy, probably the
Eegent Galla Placidia, and her son Valentinian III. %
(the Diptych being, in this case, executed about A.D.
428) (v. Photograph, p. 5)
2. "Warrior standing ; perhaps Aetius, or possibly Bonifacius

Possession op the Original.
Fejervary Collection.

Treasury of the Cathedral
of Monza.

B.-DIPTYCHS OF CONSULS, WITH THEIR NAMES INSCRIBED.

<?.§One leaf

<?.TfBoth leaves

Standing figure of Flavius Felix (Consul of the West, A.D.
428), inscribed— FLavii • FELICIS • Viri • Clarissimi ¦
COMitis • AC • MAGistri ||
1. Seated figure of Clementinus (Consul of ihe East, A.D.
513) with the insignia of his office ; beside him, Eome
and Constantinople personified ; above, busts of the
Emperor Anastasius and the Empress Ariadne, with a
cross between them ; below, the Distribution of Lar
gesses : inscribed— FLavius • TAVEVS • CLEMEN
TINVS • AEMONIVS • CLEMENTINVS, with
KAHM€NTINOY in a monogram
2. Same subject ; inscribed — Vir • ILlustris • GOMes • SA-
CEarum • LAEGitionum • EXCONSule • PATEICius •
ET • CONSul • OEDINarius •

Bibliotheque Imperiale,
Paris, (Cabinet des
Antiques).
Fejervary Collection.

* Millin, Voyages, vol. i, p. 400, pi. xxiv., fig. 3.
t Gori, vol. ii., pp. 219—242, pi. vii.
t Possibly Valentinian II., and his mother Justina, may be hore represented, tho warrior being Gratian, the brother and colleague of
Valentinian, and his senior by twelve years : this would carry tho diptych baok to about A.D. 880. It iB differently explained in Gori, loc. cit.
§ Mabillon, Lib. 37, no. 94 ; Banduri, Pars II., Lib. I., 36, (Tom. ii., p. 492) ; Gori, vol. i., p. 129, pi. ii ; TreSor, Part IL, p. 6, pi. xii.
|| The letters omitted in the inscriptions upon the originals are hore supplied in small characters.
IF Gori, vol. i., p. 229, pi. ix.; and partly engraved iu D'Agincourt, vol. ii., pi. xii., figs. 7, 8; «. also "Handbook" (Labarte), pp. xvii. 12.

(CLASS 11.)/.

J. a. Spencer, photogr.

LEAF OF A BYZANTINE DIPTYCH,
In tho Kunstkammer, BerUn,
Representing Anastasius, Consul of the East, A.D. Slf.
Size 14J mohes by 6J.

35

/

e* One leaf

/t One leaf

^ g.\ Both leaves

Subject of the Sculptubb.
Ornaments and inscriptions, in honour of Petrus (Justi-
nianus), (Sole Consul, A.D. 516) ; on a label at the top
— FLavius • PETEus ¦ S ABB ATius TVSTIXI ANus • Vir
iLlustris ; aud in a circular panel in the middle, the follow
ing hexameter, alluding to the destination of the diptych,
MVNERA • PAEVA • QVIDEM • PEETIO • SED • HONORIBus ¦
ALMA
Seated figure of Anastasius, (Consul of the East, A.D. 517)
with the usual Consular insignia ; below, Men given
to Bears in the Amphitheatre ; inscribed — FLavius ¦
ANASTASIVS- PAVLus • PEObVS • SAVINIANVS-
POMPeius • ANASTasius (v. Photograph)
1. Bust of Philoxenus (Consul of ihe East, A.D, 525) with
a female bust (perhaps that of Eome §) underneath ;
and between them, the following inscription, —
FLavius • THEODOEVS • FILOXENVS • SOTE-
EICVS • FILOXENVS ¦ VIE • ILLVSTris ; on the
unsculptured area, the first verse of a dedicatory distich
to the Senate, in Greek Iambics ||
2. Similar subject, with the inscription — COMes ¦ DOMES-
Ticus EX MAGISTEO • Militum • PER • THEACIAm •
ET • CONSVL • OEDINAEius, and the second verse
of the distich

Possession of the Obioikal.
Bibliotheque Imperiale,
Paris ( Cabinet des
Antiques).

Kunstkammer, Berlin.

Bibliotheque Imperiale,
Paris ( Cabinet des
Antiques).

C.-DIPTYCHS OF CONSULS, WITH NO NAMES INSCRIBED.

h.% Both leaves

i." One leaf

1. Consul standing, with the Mappa Circensis, between two
other personages; above, the Emperor seated, with
attendant figures ; below, a group of Captives, with
their armour
2. Similar subject
Consul, probably of the Imperial family, seated between
the figures of Eome and Constantinople ; above, a
laurel crown suspended

Treasury of the Cathedral
of Halberstadt.

Bibliotheque Imperiale,
Paris ( Cabinet des
Antiques).

* Millin, Voyages, vol. i., p. 889, pi. xix, fig. 2.
+ Salig, p. 7, and frontispiece; Gori, vol. i., p. 263, pi. xi. This diptych is meationed by Montfaucon, vol. iii., p. S9, with another very
Bimilur diptych of the same consul, engraved ibid., pi. liii.
% Mabillou, lib. iii., t. xxxvii., p. 2u2 ; Banduri, loc. cit.; Salig, p. 9; Gori, vol. ii., p. 19, pL xv. ; D'Agincourt, vol. ii., pi. xii., fig. 6;
Tritor, Part II., p. 26, pi. liii.
§ r. Loich, De Dipttichia Veterum (Lipsite, 1743), sec L, cap. 4, p. xv.
|| The entire distich reads as follows : —

TOYTI TO AtoPON TH CO<t>H TCPOYCIA
YnATOC YnAPXWN nPOC<t>€PW 4>IAOZ€NOC.
H Kugler, I., p. 135; also published by Forstermann in tho Journal of the Thuringian Saxon Society, vol.
*• Dncange, pi. i. ; Gori, vol. ii., p. 169, pi. ii. ; Tritor, Part II., p. 27, pi. liv.

vii., 2 Heft, p. 61.

36

CLASS III.

ECCLESIASTICAL DIPTYCHS, ANTERIOR TO A.D. 700.

One leaf (fourth or fifth
century)

b. Both leaves (probably of
the sixth century)
cf Both leaves (perhaps
originally a consular
diptych, of the fifth or
sixth century, subse
quently altered, and
converted into a cover
to an Antiphonarium
of St. Gregory's, al
leged to have been
presented by him to
Queen Theodolinda)

Subject of the Soulptuee.
Angel with a cruciferous globe and a sceptre : on a label
above, in raised letters, a Greek Iambic verse, of which
the sense is uncertain, being probably part of a sen
tence completed on the lost leaf of the diptych
1. Virgin and Child enthroned, with two angels
2. Christ seated between St. Peter and St. Paul
1. Standing Figure, in the Soman consular robes, but the
hair exhibiting the ecclesiastical tonsure, the Mappa
Cireensis transformed into a Sudarium, and the staff
surmounted by a cross: above, — SanCtuS GEEG°Eius;
and in the blank space, this distich : —
GREGORIVS • PrasSVL • MERITIS • eT • NOMINE • DIGNVS •
VNDE • GENVS • DVCIT • SVMMVM • CONSCENDIT ¦
HONOREM-
2. Similar figure, but without the tonsure, and bearing the
inscription— DAVID EEX

Possession of the Obigisal.
British Museum (Collec
tion of Antiquities)

Kunstkammer, Berlin.
Treasury of the Cathedral
of Monza.

" Handbook" (Labarte), p. 18.

t Gori, vol. ii., pp. 201—218, pi. vi.

37

CLASS IV.

BOOK-COVERS, ANTERIOR TO A.D. 700.

a. Cover of a gospel of the
sixth century (both
sides)

b* Cover of znEvangeliaire
(both sides)

c. Panel from a book-cover
(perhaps Greek)
d. Panel from a cover
e. Panel from a cover

Subject of the Sculpture.
1. In the centre, the Agnus Dei executed in jewellery;
above, the Nativity ; at the sides, six subjects from the
Gospels ; below, the Massacre of the Innocents ; at
the angles, heads and symbols of St. Matthew and
St. Luke (v. Photograph, Frontispiece')
2. In the centre, a Cross in jewellery ; above, the Adoration
of the Kings ; at the sides, six subjects from the Life
of Christ ; below, the Marriage-Feast at Cana ; at the
angles, heads and symbols of St. Mark and St. John
1. In the centre, the Virgin and Child enthroned, with two
angelB ; at the sides, the Annunciation, Visitation, the
meeting of St. Joseph and St. Mary (P), and their
Journey to Bethlehem ; above, two angels ; below,
Christ entering Jerusalem
2. In the centre, Christ enthroned between St. Peter and
St. Paulf; at the Bides, Christ healing the blind Man, the
Paralytic, the "Woman with an issue of blood, and the
Centurion's Servant ; above, two angels ; below, Christ
and the Samaritan Woman, and the Eaising of Lazarus
Crucifixion, with St. Mary, St. John, and soldiers ; the Sun
and Moon in the form of Apollo and Diana ; below, the
Women visiting the Tomb
Baptism of Christ, with the Jordan personified
Ascension of Christ

Possession of the Original.
Treasury of the Cathedral
of Milan.

Bibliotheque Impe'riale,
Paris.

Fejervary Collection.
Kunstkammer, Berlin.
Fejervary Collection.

* Trisor, Part II., p. 5, pis. ix. x. xi.
t M. Lenormant (loc. cit) considers this St. Matthew, attended by two other Evangelists; but with deference to bo eminent an
archeoologist, it may be doubted whether a figure so placed, and so pourtrayed (being the only one upon any part of the book-cover which
has the nimbus) can be a human personage. The uso of the bearded type, whilst in the adjoining subjects our Lord appears beardlees and
even youthful, may be explained by supposing that the central composition is a copy ; and this hypothesis is confirmed by a diptych already
described (III. 6.), which is almost identical in design, though superior in execution. It may also be permitted to question tho attribution
of the present carving to the fourth century ; for independently of the coarseness of its workmanship, it presents the Madonna in a position
for which no authentic precedent from so early a period bos yet been adduced.

F 2

38

CLASS V.

DIPTYCHS AND BOOK-COVERS OF THE EIGHTH, NINTH, AND TENTH CENTURIES.

a.* Diptych (both leaves)

5. Panel from a book-cover
y c. Side of a book-cover
y d. Side of a book-cover

Bodleian Library, Oxford.
Museum of Orleans.

Subject of the Sculpture. Possession of the Original.
1. Christ washing his Disciples' feet ; Christ before Pilate ; Treasury of the Cathedral
the Hanging of Judas; and the Soldiers beside the of Milan.
Tomb
2. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James visiting
the Tomb (following the description of St. Matthew,
xxviii., 1 — 4) ; Christ appearing to them ; Christ pre
senting himself to the Eleven ; and the Incredulity of
St.' Thomas
Christ standing, holding a book
In the centre, Christ standing on the lion and adder ; around
this, twelve small subjects from the life of Christ
In the centre, Christ seated; delivering the keys to St.
Peter (?), whilst on the other side of the Saviour, an
angel is applying a live coal to the lips of Isaiah ; above,
a pile of edifices, perhaps Sion ; below, Christ preaching
in the Temple ; round the edge, animals and flowers
Christ with the Evangelistic symbols, and two allegorical
figures beneath his feet, representing Earth and Ocean
Crucifixion, with personifications of the Church and the
Synagogue at opposite sides of the cross, the serpent at
its foot, and the dead rising from their sepulchres ;
below, the Women visiting the Tomb
1. Crucifixion; above, the EvangeUsts, and the Sun and
Moon; to the left of the cross, the figures of the
Synagogue || with her banner, and of Jerusalem (?)
with a turreted crown ; at its foot, the Church (f )
seated between Earth and Ocean (v. Photograph, p. 8)
* Gori, vol. iii., p. 267, pi. zxxiii., xxxiv. ; partly engraved in D'Agincourt, vol. ii., pi. xii., fig. 18. The latter author refers it to the tenth
century, but the style of design would indicate an earlier period.
f The carvings numbered e, f, g, h, i, are specimens of French sculpture of the Carlovingian period; k is probably by an artist of the
Greek school.
X Engraved, and very learnedly and ably elucidated in an essay by le Pere Cahier, in the Melanges d" ArehSologie, vol. ii, pp. 89  75,
pi. vii. Amongst objects of ecolesiological interest, he mentions (p. 50) that the chalice, in which tho Church is catching the blood of her
Founder, is of the form in use during those early ages when the saoramental oup was not withheld from the laity.
§ lb., pi. v.
|| M. Cahier, in his interesting comments on this composition, proposes to intorpret these two personages as the Church and the
Synagogue respectively, and the figure below, as Rome. The reasons which have led me to adopt a different explanation cannot be stated
within the limits required in such a publication as the present.

v e.\ Panel from a book-cover
f.% Panel from a book -co ver

v g.% Cover of anEvange'liaire
(both sides)

Bodleian Library, Oxford.
Unknown (from a cast in
the possession of M.
Carrand).
Bibliotheque Imperiale, "•'
Paris.

3d

h. Panel from a book-cover
i. Panel from a bookrcover
Je.* Cover of &n Evangeliaire
belonging to Charles
le Chawve, A.D. 840—
877 (both sides)
I. Panel from a book-cover
m. Panel from a book-cover
n. Panel from a book-cover
o. Panel from a book-cover

Subject of the Sculpture.
2. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome,
visiting the Tomb ; Christ and the two Disciples going
to Emmaus ; and Christ appearing to the Eleven
David enthroned amidst his attendants, dictating Psalms
to four scribes
Judgment of Solomon
1. Christ in glory, giving keys to St. Peter, and a book to
St. Paul ; below, an allegorical figure, with the com
bined attributes of Earth and Ocean
2. Virgin and Child enthroned
Crucifixion, with the Virgin and St. John ; above, the Sun
and Moon veiling their faces
Crucifix, with the four Evangelistic symbols
Christ and the adulterous Woman
Same subject ; or, perhaps, the healing of the crippled Woman

Possession of the Original.

Louvre.

Louvre.
Bibliotheque Imperiale,
Paris.

Kunstkammer, Berlin.
British Museum (CoUection
of MSS.)
Fejervary coUection.
M. MicheU.

* Described in the same dissertation by M. Cahier, p. 62. Engraved in the Tresor, Part I., p. 16, pL xx, and explained in a critique
which, however ingenious, is at least open to difference of opinion.

40

CLASS VI.

MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTS, ANTERIOR TO A.D. 1000.

Nature of the Object.
v a. Figure in alto-reUevo
(fifth or sixth century)
*S I. Circular box (perhaps, a
scrmiwm, or a pycois ?)
'-' c.* Piece of a box
v' d.f Ornament of a hair-
comb
\i e. % Situla, or vessel for holy-
water

Subject of the Sculpture.
A Consul seated in the sella curulis
A Lion-hunt
A Man addressing two Youths, — possibly an unideal repre
sentation of thelteturn of the Prodigal Son (?)
Two Lions and a Tree ; inscribed (in later characters)
p£CE«£$ §>. %Wm, (Comb of St. Loup, who was
Bishop of Sens about A.D. 623)
The handle decorated with grotesque animals; the body
encircled with five continuous arches ; under one of
them the Virgin and ChUd, and two angels, of whom
one holds a model of the vessel itself; under the others,
the four Evangelists; round the edge, the foUowing
distich (proving the vessel to have been dedicated by
Godfrey, Archbishop of MUan, A.D. 973—978, on the
occasion of the visit of the Emperor Otho) : —
VATES • AMBROSIi • GOTFREDVs • DAT • TIBI • SanCtE •
VAS • VENIENTE ¦ SACRAm • SPARGENDVm • CESARE •
LYm • PHAm ¦

Possession of the Original.
A. Fount aine, Esq.
Treasury of the Cathedral
of Sens.
Eev. Walter Sneyd.

Treasury of the Cathedral
of Sens.
Treasury of the Cathedral
of Milan.

* It is questionable whether this does not belong to a later period.
+ Engraved in Millin, Voyages, PI. 1., fig. 3.
X Gori, vol. iii., Dissertation by Passeri, p. 75, pi. xxv, xxvi; D'Agincourt, vol. ii., pi. xii., figs. 22, 23.

41

CLASS VII.

CARVINGS OF THE GREEK SCHOOL,
OP VAEIOUS PEBIODS, POSTEBIOE TO THE AGE OF JUSTINIAN.

Nature of the Object.

a. Two pieces from a casket

/ b. Panel from a book-cover
c.t Panel from abook-cover
t- d. Panel from a book-cover
" e.% Ecclesiastical Diptych
(both leaves)

Possession of the Original.
Kunstkammer, Berlin.

Kunstkammer, Berlin.
Kunstkammer, Berlin.
Kunstkammer, Berlin.
Treasury of the Cathedral
of Milan.

Subject of the Sculpture.
1. Joseph quitting his father, under the guidance of an
angel,* and Joseph taken up from the pit, and sold to
the Ishmaelites, who are mounted on camelopards
2. The steward searching the sacks of Joseph's brethren,
and the meeting of Jacob and Joseph
Crucifixion, with numerous figures j the soldiers in Byzan
tine armour
Ascension ; Christ seated on a rainbow, within an aureole
supported by angels
The Day of Pentecost ; above, the Twelve Apostles ; below,
the GentUes addressed in their own tongues
Each leaf has four compartments, the subjects of which are
explained by inscriptions in barbarous Greek : —
1. (a) The Annunciation, inscribed — TO X€P€ (ro
Xaipe, the address of the Angel), and Visitation,
inscribed — O AC II AC MO (6 do-iraa/ws, the
salutation of Mary to EUzabeth)
(b) The Nativity,— I T6NHCH (7 ylvvr,™)
(o) The Baptism of Christ,— I BAVIITHCHC (v
Ba-rrria-is)
(n) The Presentation in the Temple,— I VnOnANTH
(?) imairdvTT)0~is, or imavrr)o-is, the meeting of the Holy
Family with Simeon and Anna)
2. (a) The Crucifixion, with the words addressed by Christ
to St. Mary and St. John (v. John xix., 26, 27)
(b) The Women visiting the Tomb, inscribed — U) TA<t>0
(o Ta'd>or)
• The guardian angel of Joseph is represented in a miniature of the early Greek manuscript of Genesis, in the Imperial Library at
Vienna, (v. D'Agincourt, vol. iii., pi. xix., fig. 10.) The same figure appears in the Casket of Sens (v. inf. Class VIIL).
t The threo carvings numbered c, d, e, present a groat analogy of style, and the second of them a close correspondence in composition, with
tho subjocts represented on the door of damascened bronze, which formerly adorned the Basilica of St. Paul, near Rome, but which was in great
part destroyed in the fire of 182:3 (v. D'Agincourt, voL ii., pi. xiii — xx). As that door was executed at Constantinople, A.D. luTO, the ivories
may be assigned, with strong probability, to the eleventh century. Contemporary with these, though very superior in execution, are the four
carvings numbered/, g, k, t, which may safely be collected into a group whose date is determined by the coronation of Romanus Diogenes, and
which present us with, perhaps, the highest development of the powers of Byzantine sculpture ; whilst k is probably somewhat posterior.
X Gori, vol. iii., p. 260, pi. xxxi., xxxii. The best explanation of these, and all similar Byzantine compositions, is to be found in the
curious medisBval Greek manuscript, discovered by M. Didron in the Monastery of Mount Athos, entitled 'Zpttipnia rijs ZtrypapiK^t, and
published in the Manuel a" Iconographie ChrUicnne, Ortcque et Latine, Paris, IS 45.

42

Nature of the Object.

/.t Triptych J (with the
exterior of the right
wing)

^.|| Tablet, probably execu
ted on the marriage and
coronation of Eomanus
IV., A.D. 1068, and
now part of the cover
of an Evangeliaire
h. Panel from a book-cover
i. Panel from a book-cover

Je.% Tablet of
application

uncertain

Subject of the Sculpture.
(o) The Eesurrection of Christ and of the righteous
dead*— I ANACTACI (v avAmurK)
(d) Mary Magdalene and Mary the Mother of James
embracing the feet of Christ (v. Matt, xxviii., 9),
inscribed— TO XEP€T€ (to X<u>«, the word
with which He addressed them)
On the central tablet, the Crucifixion ; above, the Arch
angels Michael aud Gabriel; beside the cross, St.
Mary and St. John ; at its foot, St. Constantine (the
Great) and St. Helena ; on the left wing, heads of
St. John Baptist, St. Paul, St. Stephen, St. Chrysostom,
and St. Cosmas ; on the right, heads of St. Elias, St.
Peter, St. Pantaleemon, St. Nicolaus, and St. Damianus ;
all with their names inscribed in Greek. Over St. Mary
are the words — IA€ O VC C8, over St. John —
IA8 H IVH* C8 (v- John, loc. cit.) ; on the cross,
above the Saviour, the words (in Greek) Jesus Christ
the King of Glory; below (in a Greek Iambic verse) § —
As man (literaUy ,flesh) Thou hast suffered, as God after
suffering Thou redeemest. On the exterior of the right
wing, a cross, with the inscription (in abbreviated Greek)
—Jesus Christ conquers (v. Photograph)
Christ standing on a seabellum, which forms the apex of a
cupola, resembling that of St. Sophia at Constantinople,
and crowning Eomanus IV. (Diogenes) and Eudocia
Dalassena; over the Emperor— PU) MAN OC BACI-
AEVC PWMAIWNj over the Empress— EVAO-
KIA BACIAIC PIOMAIWN
St. John Baptist standing, with a scroll inscribed — IA€,
K. r. X. (v. John I., 29)
Christ enthroned, with part of a mutUated Greek inscrip
tion
Virgin and Child, on a gorgeous throne, with two angels
above, inscribed (in cursive Greek), probably by its
ancient proprietor, — Allones, servant of the Martyr

Possession of the Original.

Bibliotheque Imperiale,
Paris (Cabinet des
Antiques).

BibUotheque Imperiale,
Paris.

Fejervary coUection.
Bodleian Library, Oxford.
Le Comte Auguste De
Bastard.

* In this and many other mediaeval monuments, the Descent into Hades (frequently indicated by the open jaws of a monster), and the
release of the spirits from prison, which are properly accompaniments of the Death and Resurrection of Christ," seem to be substituted for
the representation of the latter event. In the present instance, the inscription explains the connection of the type.
t Tritor, Part II., p. 28, pi. lvii.
J The term Tpiirrvxov, in Latin Triplices (i. e. ceras), was in ancient times applied to a set of three writing-tablets, fastened together on
one side, like the leaves of a modern book ; — being in fact a diptyoh, with an additional leaf inserted. Passeri, in his Introduction to Gori's.
Thesaurus, p. xiv., proposes the word " Hagiothyris " to designate the religious tablets with two small doors or wings, which, in modern times,
have been commonly known as " Triptychs ; " and this nomenclature has been adopted by M. Lenormant in tlie T>-esor de Numismatioue et
de CHyptigue ; but in a popular catalogue, like the present, it has been thought better to adhere to the more familiar term.
§ ioc cape nenoNeAc wc ec nAewN Aveic.
The scholar will here detect an evidence of decline from the prosodiacal exactness of tho golden age of Greece, for the v iu Kieiv, though
common in the Epic poets, is always long in the Tragedians. Had the verse occurred iu a manuscript, a modern editor would probably
have transposed the last two words, with a sarcasm in polished Latinity on the carelessness of the transcriber.
H Chifflet, p. 61 ; Ducange, pi. v. ; Gori, vol, iii., p. 9 ; Tritor, Part II., p. 25, pi. Iii,
1 Trisor, Part II., p. 25, pi. Ii.

(CLASS VII.)/.

J .1 Sptmttr, pkattgr.

GREEK TRIPTYCH, PROBABLY OP THE ELEVENTH CENTURY,
In tlio Bibliotheque Imperiale, Paris,
Representing the Crucifixion, and varunu SaimU.

Sin 11 inches by 9$.

43

Nature of the Object.
i, I.* Panel from a book-cover
i m. Panel from a book-cover
s «. Panel from a book-cover
v o. Side of a book-cover
r p. Ornament from the
centre of a Triptych
(Eusso- Greek)

Subject of the Sculpture.
Christ's triumphant Entry into Jerusalem
Christ standing under a canopy between the Virgin and St.
John Baptist
Half-length figure of Christ, with a cross behind His head,
in Ueu of a nimbus
Elaborately designed foliage, and sixteen medaUions, with
heads of the canonical Prophets
The Glorification of the Virgin and Chdd, amidst a multi
tude of angels and saints, minutely executed

POSSESSIOH OF THE OrIOISAL.
A. Fountaine, Esq.
Eev. "Walter Sneyd.
Louvre.Bibliotheque Imperiale,
Paris.
Soane Museum.

This, and the succeeding carvings in this class, are of uncertain age.

44

CLASS VIII.
— ? —
ORNAMENTS OF A CASKET OF THE GREEK SCHOOL,
OP UNCERTAIN AGE,
IN THE TREASURY OF THE CATHEDRAL OF SENS.

A.-TWELVE PANELS FROM THE SIDES, EACH CONTAINING THREE TIERS OF SUBJECTS.
a. 1. (Lowest Tier) David rescuing his flocks from a wolf.
2, (Middle Tier) Joseph relating his dream to his brethren, whose flocks are seen behind.
3. (Upper Tier) Two peacocks.
6. 1. David killing a Hon and a bear.
2. Joseph's brethren conspiring together, and stripping him.
3. Two Uons.
e. 1. Jesse passing his seven sons before Samuel.
2. Joseph's brethren casting him into a pit.
3. Two peacocks.
d. 1. Samuel anointing David.
2. Joseph's brethren bargaining with the Ishmaelites.
3. Two Uons.
e. 1. David summoned by a messenger from Saul (?)
2. The completion of the bargain for the sale of Joseph (?)
3. Two peacocks.
f. 1. Saul making David his armour-bearer (?)
2. Uncertain subject : perhaps Joseph brought to Potiphar, misplaced.
[ The upper space is occupied by the fastening of the Casket]
g. 1. Samuel bringing David to Saul, — a subject not in the scriptural account, but determined by the Greek inscription
written in ink on the ivory.
2. Joseph's brethren bringing his coat to Jacob.
3. A gryphon killing an ox.
h. 1. David killing GoUath.
2. The Ishmaelites seUing Joseph to an agent of Potiphar.
3. A gryphon tearing off the leg of an ox.
i. 1. David returning with the head of Goliath.
2. Joseph brought before Potiphar and his wife.
3. A Hon killing a deer.
Te. 1. Saul casting a javelin at David.
2. Joseph and Potiphar' s wife.
3. A gryphon kUling a snake.
I. 1. David cutting the skirt of Saul's robe.
2. Potiphar's wife showing Joseph's garment to her husband.
3. A Hon killing a goat.

45
m. 1. David restoring the skirt of Saul's robe.
2. Potiphar reproaching Joseph (?)
[The upper space is occupied by the fattening of tlie Casket. ,]
1/ B.-TWELVE PANELS FROM THE PYRAMIDAL TOP OF THE CASKET.
n. Joseph tried, and sentenced to prison.*
o. Joseph fettered in the prison.
p. Joseph interpreting the dreams of the chief butler and baker.
q. Pharaoh's dream of the fat and lean kine.
r. Joseph taken out of prison.
*. Joseph interpreting Pharaoh's vision.
t. The steward searching the sacks of Joseph's brethren.
«. Judah defending his brethren from the charge of stealing Joseph's cup.
v. Jacob journeying to Egypt.
w. Joseph meeting Jacob : above, a group of uncertain meaning, — perhaps an awkward representation of the killing of
a fatted calf, in honour of Jacob's arrival.
at. Joseph entertaining his father and brethren.
y. Joseph riding in his chariot, and crowned by his guardian angel.
* The explanation of this composition is suggested by its similarity to a Greek painting engraved in D'Agincourt, vol. iii., pL xci., fig. vii..
representing Arius condemned by the Emperor Constantine at the Council of Nice, A.D. 325.

*„* The entire Casket, with each of its bas-reliefs, is fully described and engraved in Millin, Voyages, vol. i., pp. 97 — 111, pl. ix., fig. i,
and pl. x. (A & B). Tho explanation there given of the upper portion is, however, so unsatisfactory, even to the author himself, that it can
hardly be doubted that the order of the panels has been confused in some re-adjustment of the Casket; and I have therefore ventured to
transpose them in the description, and offer a new interpretation of a few of the most obscure. The subjoined outline, taken from Millin's
plate, will enable any purchaser to arrange the casts, by means of a simple framework, in the form of the Casket itself.

.i 2

4G

CLASS IX.
CARVINGS OF THE ITALIAN SCHOOL, ALL PROBABLY OF THE
FOURTEENTH CENTURY.*

Nature of the Objeot.
a. Piece from a JRetable t
b. Piece from a 'Retable
c. Piece from a Retable

d. Piece from a Retable
e. Part of a casket
f. Parts of a casket (eleven
pieces arranged in two
series)
g. Part of a casket, perhaps
the same as the pre
ceding
li, Parts of a casket,perhaps
the same (six pieces
arranged in two series)
i. Parts of a casket, per
haps the same (two
pieces)
1/ Jc. Triptych

l I- Triptych
i, m. Two wings of a Triptych

Sdbjeot of the Sculpture.
The Angel appearing to the Shepherds, and their Adoration
of Christ
Last Supper
The Annunciation ; above, a Vision of Angels, holding the
promised Infant; in the background, a Maid with a
distaff J
Baptism of Christ
A King, or Officer, addressing his attendants
Scenes from an unknown legend §

AUegorical figure of Geometry

1. Faith, Hope, and Charity
2. Temperance, Justice, and Prudence

Two Men holding shields

In the central portion the Virgin and ChUd between St.
Leonard aud another Saint ; in the wings, St. John
Evangelist (?) and St. Lawrence
In the centre, Virgin and ChUd between St. Catherine and
St. Agatha (?) ; in the wings, St. Peter and St. Paul
1. The Angel Gabriel, the Adoration of the Magi, St.
George, and three other Saints
2. The Virgin Annunciate, and legendary representations of
various Saints
* All the carvings in this Class, except perhaps the last, which is somewhat uncertain, may be attributed to the schools of Upper Italy.
+ The term Retable is borrowed from the French, to designate a speoies of portable ornamental soreon placed at the back of an altar iu
the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and removed after service. (Cy. Labarte, Description de la Collection Debruge Dumenil, Int>-oduction,
pp. 26 and 33.) The Reredos, or Dossal, on the other hand, was a fixture.
X The maid is similarly introduced by Giotto in the Arena Chapel at Padua, in his representation of St. Anna receiving from the
Angel the prediction of the birth of the Blessed Virgin ; soo the series of woodouts published by the Arundel Society, pl. iii.
§ A legend apparently similar is represented on a Venetian casket in the Musfie de l'Hotel de Cluny at Paris (No. 408), and is stated by
M. Du Sommerard to be taken from the mediajval romance of Le CMvalier au Cygne (v. Les Arts au Moyen Age, Album ; Premiere Serie, pl. 12).

Possession of the Original.
M. MicheH.
M. MicheH.
M. MicheH (?)
M. MicheH.
M. E. Hawkins, Esq.
E. Hawkins, Esq.
E. Hawkins, Esq.
E. Hawkins, Esq.
E. Hawkins, Esq.
Bodleian Library, Oxford.
M. MicheH.
M. MicheH.

(CLASS X.)h.

WM

\ /

¦A

jA

MP J

$

ff

t>-

£

J. ^. Sp#ncer, photocjr

LEAF OF A BOOK-COVER OF THE TWELFTH CENTURY,
In the possession of J. B. Nichols, Esq.,
Representing the Ascension of Christ.
Size 9 inches by Si.

CLASS X.
 ¦» — -
FRENCH, ENGLISH, AND GERMAN SCHOOLS,* ELEVENTH AND TWELFTH
CENTURIES.

Natube of the Object.
a.tLeaf of an ecclesiastical
Diptych

b. Tablet
c. Tablet
d. Tablet
e. Two panels from a casket
f. Panel from a casket
g. Tablet
k. Side of a book-cover
i. X Leaf of an ecclesiastical
Diptych
u h. Panel from a book-cover
I. Panel from a book-cover
m. Panel from a book-cover
n. Chess-piece

Subject op the SouLPTimE.
Above, the Annunciation ; in the middle, the Meeting of
St. Joseph and St. Mary ; below, the Nativity ; upon
the upper and lower edges, the remains of an inscrip
tion, referring apparently to the annals of some
bishopric
Visit of the Women to the Tomb, and Christ appearing to
them
Part of a larger subject ; — above, Christ in glory, with the
beatified ; below, Expulsion of the Money-changers from
the Temple
The Meeting of Abner and the servants of Ish-bosheth with
Joab and the servants of David, at the pool of Gibeon
(vide 2 Samuel u., 12 — 17) ; inscribed — LACU
GABAON
1. Christ in glory, between two Angels, and St. Peter and
St. Paul
2. Crucifixion, with two Soldiers, and St. Mary and St. John
Two Apostles or EvangeUsts; above, the Zodiacal signs of
Libra and Scorpio
Twelve Apostles, in two rows, with their names and emblems
Ascension of Christ ; at the foot of the mountain, a half-
length figure of the Prophet Habakkuk (v. Photograph)
Below, the Nativity ; in the middle, Angels appearing to the
Shepherds ; above, the Baptism of Christ
St. John the EvangeUst
St. Matthew, with his Gospel open ; upon it the words of
ch. xx., v. 8,— VOCA • OPEEAEIOS • ET • REDE
ILI • MEECEDE (sic)
The Annunciation ; or, perhaps, Christ in the garden with
Mary Magdalene (?)
Bishop seated in a chair

Possession op the Original.
TV. MaskeU, Esq.

Louvre.Louvre.

Louvre.

Rev. Walter Sneyd.
Kunstkammer, Berlin.
Kunstkammer, Berlin.
J. B. Nichols, Esq.
British Museum (Collec
tion of Antiquities).
Louvre.British Museum (CoUec
tion of MSS).
Kunstkammer, Berlin
W. MaskeU, Esq.

• These sohools have been classed together from the difficulty of distinguishing their respective productions. The majority uf tb«
apeoimens, however, are believed to be French.
t It may be doubted whether the first five carvings in this Class should not be assigned to au earlier period.
* Vetutta Monumenta, vol. v., pl. xxxi.

48

CLASS XI.

FRENCH, ENGLISH, AND GERMAN SCHOOLS, THIRTEENTH AND FOURTEENTH
CENTURIES.— SACRED SUBJECTS.

Nature op the Object.
^ a. Devotional tablet
L' b. Devotional tablet
'-' c. Devotional tablet
<y d. Devotional tablet
u. e. Pair of devotional tab
lets *
-' f Devotional tablet
^ g. Pair of devotional tablets

Y '-- h. Pair of devotional tab
lets
t> - - *• Devotional tablet

v Tc. Devotional tablet (pro
bably English)
I. Panel from a box
V m. Pair of devotional tab
lets
v n. Centre-piece of a small
triptych

Subject op the Sculpture.
Below, the Presentation in the Temple ; above, Christ and
the Virgin in glory (v. Photograph, p. 14)
Below, Adoration of the Kings ; above, Coronation of the
Virgin
Below, Adoration of the Shepherds ; above, the Resurrection
Virgin and Child, with two angels
1. Virgin and Child, glorified by angels
2. Crucifixion, with the Virgin, St. John, and angels
Virgin and Child, glorified by angels
Six Compartments: — (a) Judas bargaining with the Priests,
and his seizure of Christ ; (b) Christ before PUate,
PUate washing his hands, and the bUudfolding of
Christ ; (c) the hanging of Judas, the FlageUation, and
Bearing of the Cross; (d) the Crucifixion and De
position; (b) the Anointment of Christ, and Visit of
the Women to the Tomb ; (f) the Resurrectionf, and
" Noli me tangere "
1. Below, the Betrayal of Christ ; above, the Crucifixion
2. Below, the Plagellation ; above, the Deposition from the
Cross
Three Compartments : — (a) The Three Kings (part of an
Adoration, extending over a companion tablet); (b) Five
Apostles ; (c) Christ seated in Judgment
Above, the Coronation of the Virgin ; below, St. John the
Evangelist ; over the canopies, the armorial bearings of
John Graudison, Bishop of Exeter, (a.d. 1327 — 1369)
Nativity ; in the background, Angels appearing to the
Shepherds
1. Adoration of the Magi
2- Crucifixion
Nativity ; upon the edges of the ivory, outside the hinges of
the wings, arabesque ornaments

Possession op the Original.
John Lentaigne, Esq., M.D.
W. MaskeU, Esq.
W. MaskeU, Esq.
B. Hertz, Esq.
Albert Way, Esq.
J. G. Nichols, Esq.
Le Comte de FEscalopier.

Bibliotheque Paris.

Imperiale,

M. Sauvageot.

A. J. Beresford Hope, Esq.
British Museum (CoUec
tion of Antiquities). J

* These double tablets are frequently termed " Diptyels ; " but that title properly applies only to folding tablets, of which the exterior
is ornamented with carvings, and the interior employed for writing ; it has here therefore been used only in that stricter sense.
f Cf. supra, p. 16, Note*.
J In the original edition of the present Catalogue this carving, and one in the next olasB (XII k), are described as in the possession of
the Rev. W. Webb,D.D. That gentleman is since deceased, and tho carvings are now (1856) in the British Museum.

49

Nature op the Object.
^ o. Piece from a box
? p. Devotional tablet
tr q. Devotional tablet
y r. Devotional tablet

Subject op the Sculpture.
The Descent into Hades, within a smaU quatrefoU
Above, the Entombment; below, the Women visiting the
Tomb
St. John Baptist, St. Christopher, and St. James the Greater
Four Compartments ; — (a) the Crucifixion ; (b) Christ
appearing to Mary Magdalene ; beside him, St. James
the Greater ; (c) St. Lawrence, St. Peter, and St. Paul ;
(n) St. Stephen, St. James the Greater, and St. James
the Less

Possession op the Orioisal.
W. MaskeU, Esq.

Fejervary CoUection.
A. J. Beresford Hope, Esq.

50

CLASS XII.

FRENCH, ENGLISH, AND GERMAN SCHOOLS, THIRTEENTH AND FOURTEENTH
CENTURIES.— SECULAR SUBJECTS,

Nature op the Objeot.
I/1 a. Mirror-case (both sides)
w b. One side of a mirror-case
t- c. One side of a mirror-case
' d. One side of a mirror-case
i e. One side of a mirror-case
<- ' f. One side of a mirror-case
\y g. One side of a mirror-case
v h. Three pieces from a box
'¦ i. Cover of a box

1/ Tc. Diptych, or Writing-
tablet (both leaves)

I. Writing-tablet

Subject op the Sculpture.
1. Four groups of Lovers, under trees
2. Similar subject
Ginevra eloping with Sir Lancelot ; around the edge, four
monsters
Siege and capture of the Castle of Love ; around the edge,
statuettes of lions
A Lady and Gentleman playing at draughts ; two other
persons, looking on ; round the edge, four monsters
(v. Photograph, p. 14)
A Lady, and her Lover, with an attendant, hawking ; around
the edge, four monsters, crouching
A Lady and Gentleman, coursing a hare
Knight presenting a heart to a Lady ; on the edge, four leaves
1. Pyramus accosting Thisbe and her companion,
2. Pyramus addressing Thisbe ou the city-wall, and Thisbe
concealing herself from the Lion
3. Death of the Lovers
Four compartments ; — in the two central, a Tournament ;
on the right, the Siege of the Castle of Love, with a
knight below, preparing to discharge a basket of flowers
from a balista*; on the left, a Lady eloping with a Knight
1. Under a canopy, a Lover gathering flowers, which his
Lady makes into a wreath
2. Under a simUar canopy, a Lady and Gentleman riding
to a hawking-party
A Lady and Gentleman hawking

Possession op the Original.
Louvre.Fejervary CoUection.
Museum of Ornamental
Art, Marlborough
House.
M. Sauvageot.

Rev. W. Sneyd.
W. MaskeU, Esq.
W. MaskeU, Esq.
Rev. W. Snevd.

Museum of Boulogne.

British Museum (Collec
tion of Antiquities)

M. Sauvageot.

A military engine, precisely similar to this, is engraved in Meyrick's Ancient Armour, vol. i., pl. xxvi., fig. 8, as a specimen of the Tripied.

51

CLASS XIII.
— ¦*¦ —

FRENCH, ENGLISH, AND GERMAN SCHOOLS, THIRTEENTH AND FOURTEENTH
CENTURIES.— STATUETTES.

Subject op the Sculpture.
a Sf b. St. Mary and St. John, (two figures from a Crucifixion)
*/ c. The Virgin seated ; in her lap, the infant Christ, holding a bird
i^ d. The Virgin standing, with the infant Christ

PoSSESSIOH OP THE ORIGINAL.
Louvre. B. Hertz, Esq.
Museum of Troyes.

52

CLASS XIV-

ITALIAN, FRENCH, ENGLISH, AND GERMAN SCHOOLS, FIFTEENTH AND
SIXTEENTH CENTURIES.

Nature op the Object.
s a. Devotional Tablet
b. Mirror-case (both sides)

"' c. One side of a mirror-
case
'•/ d. Basso-reUevo
^ e. Devotional Tablet
' f. Pax
^ g. Piece from a casket (?)
(Italian)
~s h. Devotional Tablet
V i. Devotional Tablet, origin
ally a companion to
the preceding
^ Te. Tablet (German)
'" I. Panel from a book-cover
(German)

Subject op the Sculpture.
Adoration of the Kings
*-l. Siege and capture of the Castle of Love
"2. Tournament Round the edges of each, four monsters, crouching
A Lady and Gentleman in a garden ; inscribed — <&$.
(probably, as intended for a present)
Virgin and ChUd, with cattle below (part of an Adoration of
the Shepherds) (v. Photograph, p. 17)
The penitence of St. Jerome
Virgin and dead Christ (" Pieta")
Procession of figures, of uncertain meaning, including
apparently Joshua, Sampson, and Judith
Genealogy of Christ (the " Jesse Tree ")
The Virgin in glory, surrounded by objects emblematical
of her perfections, with various legends
FlageUation of Christ
Christ receiving drink from the righteous ; with the in
scription— DEDISTIS MIHI BIBERE (v. Matt, xxv.,
35) ; above and below, allegorical figures

Possession op the Original.
A. Fountaine, Esq.
M. Sauvageot.
W. MaskeU, Esq.
J. G. Nichols, Esq.
Fejervary CoUection.
Louvre. Albert Way, Esq.
Rev. Walter Sneyd.

W. MaskeU, Esq.
Museum of Ornamental
Art, Marlborough
House.

53

SELECT CLASS,
CONTAINING FOURTEEN SPECIMENS FROM THE VARIOUS SCHOOLS AND PERIODS.

"„* The Figures and Letters supply the references to the descriptions already given of the objects in their respective classes.

I. a. Roman Mythological Diptych.
II. a. Roman Historical Diptych.
III. a. Early Christian Diptych.
V. g. Book-cover of the Carlovingian School.
VI. e. Holy-water Vessel of the tenth century.
VII. g. Byzantine Tablet of Romanus IV. and Eudocia.
VII. _p. Russo-Greek Tablet.
IX. d. ItaUan Carving of the fourteenth century.
X.g. French, EngUsh, or German Tablet of the eleventh century.
XI. a. Ditto Ditto (end of the thirteenth century).
XI. r. Ditto Ditto (end of the fourteenth century).
XII. b. Mirror-case of the thirteenth or fourteenth century.
XIV. d. Bas-rehef of the fifteenth century.
XIV. g. Panel of the ItaUan Renaissance.

54

LIST OF PEICES

AT WHICH THE CASTS ARE SOLD BY THE ARUNDEL SOCIETY.

*^* The Classes are sold separately, but each Class must be talcen entire.

ToM<
The Entiee Collection  £21
Class 1  1

;mbe 0
5
10 0
15 5 05
11
11 11 2 5
0 73

rs. 0 
0 

To Strangers.
£26 5 0
1 11 6

Class II  2

0 

3 3 0

Class III  1

0 

15 0

Class IV  1

0 

2 5 0

Class V  2

0 

2 17 6

Class VI  1

0 

15 0

Class VTI  2

0 

2 17 6

Class VIII  1

6 

2 0 0

Class IX  1

6 

2 0 0

Class X  1

6 

2 0 0

Ot.aps XT  9,

0 

2 12 6

Class XII  1

0

1 11 6

Class XIII  !  1

0

15 0

Class XIV  1

6 

1 15 0

Select Class  3

0 

4 4 0

BRADBUHY AMD EVAHS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIABS.

I

"9619 SV6O0 1 Z006