Triptych with scenes from the Life of Christ
Ever since it was first published as part of the grandiose collection of Frédéric Spitzer in 1893, the present triptych has been counted amongst the most outstanding Gothic ivory reliefs surviving from the early fourteenth century. Its breathtaking variety, carved in painstaking detail and in remarkably low relief, makes it and one of the finest masterpieces of Parisian ivory carving to come to the market in recent years. It must have been commissioned for a patron of royal or near-royal status and while it would have been used for personal devotion, its ambitious conception evokes in the viewer the grandeur of the Gothic Cathedral architecture. The triptych shows scenes from the Passion of Christ and should be read from left to right, starting in the lower left corner. In style, size, and format the present triptych closely resembles two triptychs in the Louvre in Paris, both of which show Marian cycles with the Death of the Virgin at its centre. All three pieces were assigned by Koechlin tot the atelier of the “Master of the Death of the Virgin”.
Gallery (1 images) Workshop of the Master of the Death of the VirginFrench, Paris, circa 1330
Triptych with scenes from the Life of Christ
Ivory, with traces of gilding and polychromy
24 by 20 cm. (open) Sold to a private collection, The Netherlands