Description
Left leaf of an ivory diptych carved in bas-relief representing the Nativity with the shepherds under a series of three arcatures with gables, hooks and fleurons, with tympanums and spandrels furnished with trefoil motifs. Mary is lying down, resting her head on her right hand, her other hand grasping one of the arms of the Child lying next to her; in the foreground, the donkey and the ox are lying at the foot of the cradle; on the right, Joseph is standing at the Virgin's bedside, leaning on a stick; in the background, a shepherd accompanied by three sheep, his head hooded, is playing the bagpipes; in the upper right-hand corner, an angel with a banner is announcing the good news. The composition is dense and of good quality. Paris, circa 1330-1350 Height: 8.5 cm - Width: 5.8 cm - Thickness: 0.7 cm - Weight: 50 g Number 5173 inscribed in ink on the back (restorations on the hinges, filling in of an old suspension hole, two notches on the lower part, small crack) Provenance: - Fürst Hohenzollern, Sigmaringen, inv. No. 5173 - Robert von Hirsch Collection, Basel - Sotheby's London, The Robert von Hirsch Collection, 22 June 1978, lot 283, reproduced in reverse. - Former Vorfelt Collection, Holland Bibliography: F. A. Lehner, Fürstlich Hohenzollern'sches Museum zu Sigmaringen, Verzeichnis der Schnitzwerke, 1871, p 86, no. 329. H. Sprinz, Die Bildwerke der fürstlich Honezollernschen Sammlung Sigmaringen, 1925, no. 13, fig.7. With a Crucifixion or Adoration of the Magi opposite, as in some diptychs, this sheet shows a composition marked by picturesque research that appeared in Parisian workshops at the beginning of the 14th century. Although the subject is religious, the one in the former von Hirsch collection can be compared to several tablets with a secular theme and a dense composition, featuring numerous characters playing games. These are two sheets of writing tablets in the Louvre Museum (OA 2762, fig. a) and two others in a box in the National Museum in Ravenna (fig. b). We find the same precision in the details, a great fineness of the faces and similar arcatures. Works consulted: R. Koechlin, Les Ivoires gothiques français, ¨Paris, 1968, p 185-186; D. Gaborit-Chopin, Ivoires médiévaux Ve - XVe siècle, Musée du Louvre, Paris, 2003, cat.177, p 422 to 424
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Left leaf of an ivory diptych carved in bas-relief representing the Nativity with the shepherds under a series of three arcatures with gables, hooks and fleurons, with tympanums and spandrels furnished with trefoil motifs. Mary is lying down, resting her head on her right hand, her other hand grasping one of the arms of the Child lying next to her; in the foreground, the donkey and the ox are lying at the foot of the cradle; on the right, Joseph is standing at the Virgin's bedside, leaning on a stick; in the background, a shepherd accompanied by three sheep, his head hooded, is playing the bagpipes; in the upper right-hand corner, an angel with a banner is announcing the good news. The composition is dense and of good quality. Paris, circa 1330-1350 Height: 8.5 cm - Width: 5.8 cm - Thickness: 0.7 cm - Weight: 50 g Number 5173 inscribed in ink on the back (restorations on the hinges, filling in of an old suspension hole, two notches on the lower part, small crack) Provenance: - Fürst Hohenzollern, Sigmaringen, inv. No. 5173 - Robert von Hirsch Collection, Basel - Sotheby's London, The Robert von Hirsch Collection, 22 June 1978, lot 283, reproduced in reverse. - Former Vorfelt Collection, Holland Bibliography: F. A. Lehner, Fürstlich Hohenzollern'sches Museum zu Sigmaringen, Verzeichnis der Schnitzwerke, 1871, p 86, no. 329. H. Sprinz, Die Bildwerke der fürstlich Honezollernschen Sammlung Sigmaringen, 1925, no. 13, fig.7. With a Crucifixion or Adoration of the Magi opposite, as in some diptychs, this sheet shows a composition marked by picturesque research that appeared in Parisian workshops at the beginning of the 14th century. Although the subject is religious, the one in the former von Hirsch collection can be compared to several tablets with a secular theme and a dense composition, featuring numerous characters playing games. These are two sheets of writing tablets in the Louvre Museum (OA 2762, fig. a) and two others in a box in the National Museum in Ravenna (fig. b). We find the same precision in the details, a great fineness of the faces and similar arcatures. Works consulted: R. Koechlin, Les Ivoires gothiques français, ¨Paris, 1968, p 185-186; D. Gaborit-Chopin, Ivoires médiévaux Ve - XVe siècle, Musée du Louvre, Paris, 2003, cat.177, p 422 to 424
