Gothic Ivories Project | Comb (peigne double) (Side 1)

Comb (peigne double) (Side 1)

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Side 2

Links

Subject
Religious. Lives of saints.

Repository Institution
www.metmuseum.org

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New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art

17.190.262

Ivory

Height: 121mm
Width: 151mm
Depth: 7mm

Side 1
Birth of saint John the Baptist; Zacharias writing John's name. Saint John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness; camel hide; he stands holding a tree trunk resting horizontally between two trees (possibly a reference to Luke 3: 9: 'the axe is laid to the root of the trees and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire'). Baptism of Christ by saint John the Baptist; angel holding Christ's tunic. Four standing men.
Side 2
Salome dances before Herod and Herodias and asks for the head of saint John the Baptist. Decollation of saint John the Baptist (Martyrdom of saint John the Baptist); Salome holding a large bowl to receive the head. Salome bringing the head of saint John the Baptist to Herod. Four standing men.
Crosshatched background. Roped border.

Koechlin Number: 1160

Koechlin 1924: France, beginning of 16th century (?). Doubts the authenticity of the piece.
Museum's opinion 2012: France (North), late 15th or early 16th century.

Attribution
Unknown

Reverse
Carved on both sides.

Object Condition
Missing: a few thin teeth.

Provenance
Collection of Georges Hoentschel (b. 1855, d. 1915), Paris: sold 1911; collection of J. Pierpont Morgan (d. 1913), New York and London; estate of J. Pierpont Morgan (1913-1917); gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917.

Bibliography
A. Pératé, Collections Georges Hoentschel. Ivoires, orfèvrerie religieuse, pierres (Paris, 1911), pl. XXXIX.
R. Koechlin, Les Ivoires gothiques français (Paris, 1924), I, p. 429; II, no. 1160.

Image

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