The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 18, 2024

Triptych: The Life of the Virgin

Triptych: The Life of the Virgin

c. 1325–1350
ivory, traces of gilding
Overall: 25.9 x 21.3 cm (10 3/16 x 8 3/8 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1951.450
Location: 106C Medieval Treasury

Did You Know?

The pinnacle, roof moldings, and base are modern additions attached before the object entered our collection.

Description

The Virgin and Child, standing beneath a three-part arch, occupy the central plaque of this triptych. On the wings are carved four scenes from the life of the Virgin: the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Adoration of the Magi, and Christ's Presentation in the Temple. By the end of the 12th century, devotional objects like this became widespread in many parts of Western Europe as a result of the growing cult of the Virgin.
  • Collection of Count Scipio, Krakow (late 19th century) (Engraving no. 57, pl. III in sale catalogue or collection catalogue tbd)
    Boehm collection, Vienna.
    Prince of Liechtenstein, Vaduz
    ?-1951
    Rosenberg and Stiebel, Inc. New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art.
    1951-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • HEFNER-ALTENECK, Jacob Heinrich von. Trachten, Kunstwerke Und Geräthschaften Vom Frühen Mittelalter Bis Ende Des Achtzehnten Jahrhunderts. ... Zweite Vermehrte ... Auflage. 1879. III (1882), pl. 169
    Brunn [Brno] exhbition catalogue, 1884. pl. 71
    H. Semper, "Über eine besondere Gruppe elfenbeinerner Klappaltärchen des XIV Jahrhunderts", Zeitschrift für Christliche Kunst 11 (1898). pp. 117-118
    Koechlin, Raymond. Les ivoires gothiques français. Paris: A. Picard, 1924. Vol. I, pp. 123, 203; II, no. 127
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 137 archive.org
    "Gothic Art 1360-1440." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 50, no. 7 (1963). p. 174 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 65 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 65 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 72 archive.org
    Amato, Pietro. Tesori d'arte dei musei diocesani. Torino: U. Allemandi, 1986. pp. 224-225
    Randall, Richard H. The Golden Age of Ivory: Gothic Carvings in North American Collections. New York: Hudson Hills Press, 1993. Cat. no. 40, p. 55
    Barnet, Peter. Images in Ivory: Precious Objects of the Gothic Age. Detroit, Mich: Detroit Institute of Arts, 1997. Cat. No. 48, pp. 211-212
    Gertsman, Elina. Worlds Within: Opening the Medieval Shrine Madonna. University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2015. Mentioned & Reproduced: pp. 22-23
    'Gothic Ivories Project at The Courtauld Institute of Art, London, www.gothicivories.courtauld.ac.uk' 2020 www.gothicivories.courtauld.ac.uk
  • When Angels Bent Near the Earth to Touch Their Harps of Gold: The Christmas Story. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 1, 1981-January 17, 1982).
    Gothic Art 1360-1440. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 6-September 15, 1963).
  • {{cite web|title=Triptych: The Life of the Virgin|url=false|author=|year=c. 1325–1350|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1951.450