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A bishop between donors

Unknown

1250

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Medieval Religious

Dominant colour

About this work

A bishop in red robes sits between two donors in a carved ivory triptych from 1250. The central panel is shallow with two hinged wings that fold in. It’s small—about as wide as a paperback book open. This work shows Gothic ivory carving at its finest. The bishop’s face has soft, almost lifelike folds. The donors kneel stiffly, their clothes carved in delicate patterns. Look closely at the craft. The artist cut tiny lines to suggest folds in the fabric. See one like it at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The story of this work

Overview

Carved from ivory, the central panel of a Gothic triptych depicts a bishop in full liturgical vestments raising his right hand in benediction beneath a pointed trefoil arch supported by slender columns, with elaborate architectural detailing above. Flanking the bishop, two donors—a bare-headed man on the left and a woman wearing a barbette and filet on the right—kneel in prayer with clasped hands. The shallow relief and portable design suggest its use as a small, hinged altarpiece intended for private devotion. The object entered the collection of John Webb in London by 1862 before being…

Read the full account in the museum source.