Date: Late 10th/11th Century Place of Production: Germany(?) Description: Found in England, this gold and enamel object is an example of the cloisonné technique, where wired compartments are inlaid with enamel. The figure depicted within is probably a man, with plants to his left and right, and blue hair! Some parts of the enamel…
Date: 10th Century Place of Production: Bulgaria(?) Description: This delicate and beautiful button may have adorned a scarf or other clothing of either a priest or a layman. Although we do not know much about it, the button is similar to others found at Preslav, the capital of the Bulgarian empire in the early…
Date: c. 1050–1100 Place of Production: Southern France Description: This enamelwork depiction of Christ is created using the champlevé technique. On either side of Christ you will see the letters ‘A’ and ‘W”, these refer to God’s proclamation in the Apocalypse (Book of Revelation): “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.” We…
Date: 11th century Place of Production: Cologne, Germany Description: This ivory would originally have been one of four, each representing one of the four evangelists, and together they probably decorated a gospel book. Mark appears here alongside his traditional symbol, the lion. The scroll reads ‘vox clamantis’, an abbreviated version of one of the opening…
Date: 10th Century Place of Production: Northern Italy Description: This reliquary, a box designed to hold the holy remains of a saint, was originally painted with copper foil, and green and vermillion paint – the paint is in fact still visible. The ‘open-work’ design features interlace and animals depicted as part of a deliberately flat…
Date: 11th century Place of Production: Cologne, Germany Description: This ivory probably originally decorated a gospel book, but was added to a fifteenth-century lectionary in the late middle ages. Christ, with a raised right hand and a book in his left, sits at the centre in glory. He is in a ‘mandorla’, (Italian: “almond”), a…
Date: 900–925 Place of Production: Milan, Italy Description: Jesus triumphantly enters the city of Jerusalem, watched by his supporters who adorn his route with palms (held by the man on the left and right), and cloaks (pictured underneath the feet of the horse). This panel was probably one of a number, each showing an important…
Date: c. 950–75 Place of Production: Cordoba, Spain Description: This cylindrical box, known as a pyxis (Arabic ushnan), represents one of the most refined carvings of the tenth century. It is thought to have been carved by an artisan working at the palace of ‘Abd al-Rahmen III, the Ummayyad caliph, who ruled much of Iberia…
Date: Late 10th/Early 11th Century Place of Production: Winchester(?), England Description: Carved in walrus ivory, this relief carving depicts the baptism of Christ. It may have originally been part of a plaque covering a book or reliquary casket. The pair stand in the waves of the river Jordan, and both have haloes above. Held at:…
Date: Mid-10th Century Place of Production: Lotharingia(?) Description: Two scenes from Christ’s life that likely adorned a book or reliquary box (a box to hold the relics of a saint). In the left scene, Christ and his followers consume the last supper, at which Christ instituted the Eucharist. In the right scene, Christ berates the…
