Tabernacle Polyptych with the Virgin and Child and Scenes from the Infancy of Christ

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Tabernacle Polyptych with the Virgin and Child and Scenes from the Infancy of Christ

Place of OriginParis, France

Datec 1280s

DimensionsH: 11 1/2 in. (29.4 cm); W: 10 1/2 in. (26.7 cm)

MediumIvory with traces of polychromy and gilding with metal hinges

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1950.304

Not on View

DescriptionIvory with traces of polychrome and gilding; Traces of polychromy and gilding: gold (hair, beards, decoration along the hems, crown, base with foliated decoration, etc.), green (architectural details, painted trefoils in the spandrels, clothes), red (books, flower, etc.).

Label TextBeginning in the 12th and 13th centuries, the Virgin Mary played an increasingly central role in medieval devotion, and her cult developed rapidly in Western Europe. Worshiped as the Queen of Heaven, Mother and Bride of Christ, and personification of the Church, Mary was an important and powerful intercessor for the devout. Artists increasingly emphasized her humanity and maternal role. By the late 13th century, miniature tabernacles with statuettes of the Virgin and Child were favored products of French ivory carvers. Like the one on display, these portable objects could be folded up and taken with their owners as a travelling altarpiece. The central statuette of this tabernacle presents a standing Virgin and Child flanked by angels holding candles. A third angel crowns Mary from above as the Queen of Heaven. She supports the Christ Child who holds in his left hand an apple, signifying his role as the redeemer of humanity, or new Adam.Published ReferencesDarcel, Alfred, "La ivoires", La Collection Spitzer, Paris, 1890, I, p. 24, no. 84, pl. XXII.

Chevallier, P., Catalogue des objets d'art de haute curiosité:Antiques du moyen-âge et la Renaissance, composante l'importante et précieuse Collection Spitzer, Paris, 1893, no. 119.

Bode, Wilhelm, ed., Die Sammlung Oscar Hainauer, Berlin, 1897, p.82, no. 138 (incorrectly listed as Spitzer no. 58).

Koechlin, Raymond, "Quelques ateliers d'ivoiries français", Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 34, 1905, p. 466, repr. p. 467.

Koechlin, Raymond, Ivoires Gothiques: Collection Emile Baboin, Lyon, 1912, no. 21.

Koechlin, Raymond, Les Ivoires Gothiques Français, Paris, 1924, I, pp. 129, 130, 133, pl. XLI, II. no. 165.

"Medieval Art at Toledo: A Selection," Apollo, vol. 86, no. 70, Dec. 1967, p. 440, repr. (b&w) fig. 8.

Little, Charles T., "Ivoires et art Gothique," Revue de l'Art, no. 46, 1979, p. 61, repr. fig. 10.

Randall, Richard H. Jr., The Golden Age of Ivory: Gothic Carvings in North American Collections, New York, 1993, pp. 50-51, repr., also pl. 6 (col.) p. 22.

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Treasures, Toledo, 1995, p. 58.

Barnet, Peter, ed., Images in Ivory: Precious Objects of the Gothic Age, Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, 1997, pp. 144 146, repr. (col.) p. 144, (closed) p. 145, (col. det.) p.146.

McMaster, Julie A., The Enduring Legacy: A Pictorial History of the Toledo Museum of Art, Superior Printing, Warren, OH, 2001, repr. (col.) p. 33.

Putney, Richard H., Medieval Art, Medieval People: The Cloister Gallery of the Toledo Museum of Art, The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, 2002, (det.) frontispiece and p. 24-26, repr. (col.), p. 25, fig. 16.

Guerin, Sarah M., Gothic Ivories: Calouste Gulbenkian Collection, London, Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers, Ltd., 2015, pp. 98-102, repr. (col.) fig. 7-1,7-2, pp. 98-99.

The Courtauld Institute of Art, Gothic Ivories,2015, Koechlin no. 0165,: Link to resource.

Exhibition HistoryDetroit Institute of Arts; Baltimore, Walters Art Gallery, Images in Ivory: Precious Objects of the Gothic Age, 1997, no. 17.

Toledo Museum of Art, Paris: City of Art, November 6, 2009 - March 14, 2010.

New York, NY, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Siena: The Rise of Painting 1300-1350, Oct. 7, 2024 - Jan 26, 2025.