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The Washing of the Feet, Gethsemane, and Crucifixion are shown beneath arcades of five undecorated trefoil arches. The carving is summary and gives an impressionistic effect of light and shade.
Two of the three hinges remain. A rough hole in the center of the top arcade and a chip from the lowest arcade occur, and there are several long vertical cracks in the panel. The whole panel is stained brown, probably reflecting an early application of varnish.
The left leaf with the Entry into Jerusalem, Last Supper, and Arrest of Christ is in the collection of the British Railways Pension Fund, on loan to the Walters. The format of the diptych follows the Parisian Passion Diptychs, with several unusual details, for example, the fainting posture of the Virgin, which is seen in some German and Mosan examples in Liege, and the Louvre. The style of the carving suggests either a Mosan artist working in Paris or a Mosan interpretation of a Parisian work.
The carving technique is very different, with simplified cutting that has left high ridges for the lay of light and shade. A rare feature is the use of heads, or in some cases heads and shoulders, to indicate figures in the background. In the Gethsemane scene, for instance, there are three Apostles behind Christ: one indicated by a head with his shoulder fading into the hillock, a second with only a head, and the third with a hand and right arm making a gesture. In the Washing of the Feet, heads are also used to indicate figures in the background. The background figures are, in addition, purposefully less well defined, so that the carver has, in effect, introduced what appears to be atmospheric perspective.
The matching leaf is carved by another hand in a more conventional manner.
H: 8 7/8 x W: 4 in. (22.5 x 10.1 cm)
medium: ivory
style: Gothic
Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Each of the four gospels in this book opens on a page with brilliantly illuminated borders depicting the author of the text as well as birds-principally peacocks, symbols of the immortality of the soul-and fountains, representing the fountain of life and the salvation of the soul. This volume consists of 428 leaves with texts in Greek. Its level of sophistication suggests that it was probably written and decorated in a monastery in Constantinople.
Byzantium, Constantinople
ink, tempera, and gold on vellum; leather binding
Sheet: 28 x 23 cm (11 x 9 1/16 in.)
Did you know...
Gospel Books were carried in procession through Byzantine churches.
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Each of the four gospels in this book opens on a page with brilliantly illuminated borders depicting the author of the text as well as birds-principally peacocks, symbols of the immortality of the soul-and fountains, representing the fountain of life and the salvation of the soul. This volume consists of 428 leaves with texts in Greek. Its level of sophistication suggests that it was probably written and decorated in a monastery in Constantinople.
Byzantium, Constantinople
ink, tempera, and gold on vellum; leather binding
Sheet: 28 x 23 cm (11 x 9 1/16 in.)
Did you know...
Gospel Books were carried in procession through Byzantine churches.
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
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High demand for shawabtys in the Late Period, a time when as many as 400 or more shawabtys were placed in the tomb with the deceased, gave rise to a specialized container for storing them: the shawabty box. This example is inscribed for the lady of the house, Ditamenpaankh, and was probably one of a pair originally made for her. The single-masted boat on the box's lid is perhaps an allusion to the pilgrimage of the deceased to the holy city of Abydos, the cult city of Osiris, king of the dead. The shawabtys inside are crude, mass-produced examples cast in an open mold. Made of terracotta, their blue paint imitates more costly shawabtys made of faience. As for the shawabty spell, it has been removed from its traditional location on the shawabty's front and relocated onto the sides of box, where it needed only to be written once, thus expediting production.
Egypt, Late period (715–332 BCE), Dynasty 25
terracotta
Overall: 3.6 x 1.8 x 1.4 cm (1 7/16 x 11/16 x 9/16 in.)
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust