The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 24, 2025

An ivory carved relief of a woman seated in the center holding a child in her lap. Two angels hover above, one in each upper corner of the plaque.

Ivory Plaque with Enthroned Mother of God ("The Stroganoff Ivory")

950–1025

Byzantium, Constantinople, Byzantine period

ivory

Overall: 25.3 x 17.2 x 1.8 cm (9 15/16 x 6 3/4 x 11/16 in.)

Gift of J. H. Wade 1925.1293

Location: 105 Byzantine

Did You Know?

This ivory is also known as the Stroganoff Ivory because it was once in the collection of Sergei Grigoryevich Stroganoff, a Russian statesman and art historian.

Description

The Mother of God is seated on a lavishly carved, high-backed throne. Two angels hover above, drawing attention to the Christ child poised in her lap. Representations of the enthroned Virgin and Child have a long tradition in Byzantine art, stretching back as far as the 6th century. With one hand raised in blessing, the other holding a scroll, Christ is portrayed here as an emotionless and supernatural child, visualizing for the pious beholder the mystery of his incarnation.

Bastard Collection, Paris, France
?-1834
Francis Douce, London (d. 1834)
June 1836
Douce and Meyrick Collection
Collection of Count Stroganoff (1794-1882), Rome, Italy
?-1913
Malcolm Collection, sold at Christie's May 1, 1913, No. 20
?-1925
Tartaglia & Co. Sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
1925-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
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Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1925.1293