France du Nord, XIVe siecle

Abbé Robert Charles, Sarthe, acquis en 1873

Exposition rétrospective du Mans, 1880.

Abbé Robert Charles, "Un diptyque d'ivoire du XIV siècle", Revue d'histoire et d'architecture du Maine, tome VIII, 1880.
R. Koechlin, Les Ivoires gothiques français,  Paris, 1968, tome II, p. 211, no. 546, plate XCVII.
Exposition rétrospective du Mans, exp. cat. 1880, no. 331.

Deeply carved with fine attention to detail. The ivory has discoloured with age due to surface dirt in the grain and possibly due to damp conditions. Repair to bottom hinge mount with section replaced. Fine vertical fissures evident on the back and front of the diptych, in partical on crucifixion panel where an early insert is evident on the back. Small loss to the centre of the arch above Crucifixion.
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Chacune des deux scènes se déroule sous un grand arc en accolade polylobé, retombant sur des consoles, surmonté d'un tympan orné au centre d'un trèfle et bordé de crochets feuillus, avec aux écoinçons d'un côté, deux anges jouant d'un instrument de musique, de l'autre, deux anges portant le soleil et la lune. A gauche, sous l'arc se dresse la Vierge tenant l'Enfant, entourée de saint Jean Baptiste et de saint Christophe; elle est couronnée par un ange émergeant de l'arc, flanqué de deux autres anges tenant des encensoirs. Sur le volet droit, au centre, le Christ en croix avec la Vierge et saint Jean que surplombent deux anges en buste voilant leur visage des deux mains.

Ce diptyque fut documenté pour la première fois quand il était en possession de l'abbé Robert Charles, à La Ferté Bernard, près du Mans (Sarthe). Selon Koechlin, cet ivoire montre des particularités stylistiques comme l'arc en accolade. L'arc en accolade était encore rare en France à la fin du XIVème siècle mais plus fréquent en Allemagne et en Angleterre. La présence inhabituelle de saint Jean Baptiste et de saint Christophe pourraient indiquer le culte régional de ces saints ou une préférence de la part du commanditaire; il est donc possible que l'ivoire fût réalisé dans la région du Mans où il a été découvert et exposé. Des exemples d'ivoire où la Vierge glorieuse est entourée de saints sont connus: un diptyque conservé au Victoria and Albert Museum (inv. no. A55-1910) et deux triptyques au National Museum de Copenhague, représentant la Vierge à l'enfant entourée de sainte Claire et saint François (Liebgott, 1985).

REFERENCES BIBLIOGRAPHIQUES
M. Longhurst, Catalogue of Ivory Carvings in the Victoria and Albert Museum, Londres, 1927-29,  pl. XXIII, inv. no. A55-1910.
N. K. Liebgott, Elfenben fra Danmarks Middelalder, Copenhagen, 1985, figs. 49-50.

NORTHERN FRENCH, 14TH CENTURY
AN IVORY DIPTYCH WITH THE CRUCIFIXION AND THE VIRGIN AND CHILD

Each scene takes place under a large polylobate arch, surmounted by an ornate tympanum. The left-hand leaf is carved with the Virgin crowned by an angel and flanked by two censing angels whilst above two angels are playing musical instruments in the spandrels; on either side of the Virgin are the standing figures of St. John the Baptist and St. Christopher. The right-hand leaf shows the Crucifixion flanked by the Virgin and St. John whilst above the Cross two angels shield their eyes; with two further angels holding the sun and the moon in the spandrels above.

The first recorded provenance of this unusual diptych was the Abbé Robert Charles in La Ferté Bernard, Sarthe.  Koechlin noted that a number of stylistic features discounted Paris as the source for this diptych: each leaf is carved with a polylobate arch, a feature which is extremely rare in France in the second half of the 14^th century and more often found in English and German ivories of the period. The presence of St. John the Baptist and St. Christopher may denote regional preferences for particular saints or alternatively the particular wish of the original owner. It is possible that the diptych originated not far from its first recorded provenance. For other diptych leaves with the Virgin flanked by saints note the example in the Victoria and Albert Museum (inv. A55-1910 ) illustrated by Longhurst  and two triptychs in the Copenhagen Nationalmuseum with the Virgin and Child flanked by St. Clare and St. Francis illustrated by Liebgott.