TheMagdeburg Ivories are a set of 16 surviving ivory panels illustrating episodes of Christ's life. They were commissioned byEmperor Otto I, probably to mark the dedication ofMagdeburg Cathedral, and the raising of theMagdeburg see to an archbishopric in 968.[1] The panels were initially part of an unknown object in the cathedral that has been variously conjectured to be anantependium or altar front, a throne, door, pulpit, or anambon; traditionally this conjectural object, and therefore the ivories as a group, has been called theMagdeburg Antependium. This object is believed to have been dismantled or destroyed in the 1000s, perhaps after a fire in 1049.[2]
They are often assumed to have been made in Milan, then an important political and artistic center of theHoly Roman Empire;[3] art historianPeter Lasko, however, has argued on stylistic grounds for artists trained in theLorraine area, possibly inMetz.[4] The group of plaques is widely considered a key example ofOttonian art,[5] exemplifying in sculpture the Ottonian style that survives more often in manuscript illustrations.
The plaques all measure nearly 13 cm high and 12 cm wide. They are in the unusual form of framed scenes combiningrelief figures with anopenwork background. The backgrounds have, depending on the scene depicted, foliage, checkerboard or cross patterns, or, as in theVisitation, an architectural setting behind the figures. In some scenes the number of figures leave no space for decoration of the background. The gaps in the openwork probably revealed a gold orgilded backing behind.[6]
Two further panels are known from 16th-century drawings, and the original number was probably significantly larger, as many common subjects from theLife of Christ are absent, while some surviving subjects are rather rare. Lasko suggests that fewer than half the original group survive, and mentions the Carolingian cycle of 62 wall paintings atSaint John Abbey, Müstair, which includes seven of the fifteen narrative scenes in the ivories. The strong emphasis among the surviving plaques on episodes from the gospel accounts of Christ's period of ministry might suggest that they decorated a pulpit rather than an altar.[6] On the function of the original object, Williamson favours a door, Lasko leans towards a pulpit, and Beckwith an antependium, but none are very emphatic in their preference.[7] The style of the figures is described by Peter Lasko as "very heavy, stiff, and massive ... with extremely linear and flat treatment of drapery ... in simple but powerful compositions".[8]
Though scholars are agreed the plaques come from the same workshop, the hands of different artists can be detected; for example the groups of plaques in Liverpool and Paris are by different hands.[15] A further plaque, not from the Magdeburg set but thought to be from the same workshop, is now in theCleveland Museum of Art. This was probably always meant for a book'streasure binding, and shows a standing Christ, with the heads of the Apostles emerging from the background to either side of him.[16]
^A very unusual depiction of "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 18: 1–6; Luke 9: 47–48).
Goldschmidt, Adolph.Die Elfenbeinskulpturen aus der Zeit der karolingischen und sächisischen Kaiser, VIII.-XI. Jahrhundert, Vol. 2, #s 4–16, Berlin: Bruno Cassirer, 1918.
Little, Charles T. "From Milan to Magdeburg: The Place of the Magdeburg Ivories in Ottonian Art" inMilano e i Milanesi prima del Mille: Atti del 10º Congresso internazionale di studi sull'alto Medioevo, Milano, 26–30 settembre 1983 (1986). pp. 441–451.
Little, CT., The Magdeburg Ivory Group. A Tenth Century New Testament Narrative Cycle, Ph.D diss., New York University, 1977
Puhle, Matthias, ed.Otto der Grosse: Magdeburg und Europa; Volume 2, Catalogue. Magdeburg:Kulturhistorisches Museum Magdeburg, 2001. no. V.35a, pp. 363–73.
Little, Charles T. “The Art of Ivory and Gold in Northern Europe around 1000 A.D.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–.online (May 2016)
