Archangel ivory
Encyclopedia
The Archangel ivory is the largest surviving Byzantine
Byzantine art
Byzantine art is the term commonly used to describe the artistic products of the Byzantine Empire from about the 5th century until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453....

 ivory
Ivory
Ivory is a term for dentine, which constitutes the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals, when used as a material for art or manufacturing. Ivory has been important since ancient times for making a range of items, from ivory carvings to false teeth, fans, dominoes, joint tubes, piano keys and...

 panel, now in the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...

. Dated to the early 6th century, it depicts an archangel
Archangel
An archangel is an angel of high rank. Archangels are found in a number of religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Michael and Gabriel are recognized as archangels in Judaism and by most Christians. Michael is the only archangel specifically named in the Protestant Bible...

 holding a sceptre
Sceptre
A sceptre is a symbolic ornamental rod or wand borne in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of royal or imperial insignia.-Antiquity:...

 and imperial orb
Globus cruciger
The globus cruciger is an orb topped with a cross , a Christian symbol of authority used throughout the Middle Ages and even today on coins, iconography and royal regalia...

.

Description

The archangel is usually identified as Michael
Michael (archangel)
Michael , Micha'el or Mîkhā'ēl; , Mikhaḗl; or Míchaël; , Mīkhā'īl) is an archangel in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic teachings. Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans refer to him as Saint Michael the Archangel and also simply as Saint Michael...

, and the panel is assumed to have formed the right part of a diptych
Diptych
A diptych di "two" + ptychē "fold") is any object with two flat plates attached at a hinge. Devices of this form were quite popular in the ancient world, wax tablets being coated with wax on inner faces, for recording notes and for measuring time and direction.In Late Antiquity, ivory diptychs with...

, with the lost left half possibly depicting Emperor Justinian
Justinian I
Justinian I ; , ; 483– 13 or 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the Empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.One of the most important figures of...

 (reigned 527–565), to whom the archangel would be offering the insignia of imperial power
Imperium
Imperium is a Latin word which, in a broad sense, translates roughly as 'power to command'. In ancient Rome, different kinds of power or authority were distinguished by different terms. Imperium, referred to the sovereignty of the state over the individual...

. The panel is the largest single piece of carved Byzantine ivory that survives, at 42.9 × 14.3 cm (16 7/8 × 5 5/8 in). It is, along with the Barberini ivory
Barberini ivory
The Barberini ivory is a Byzantine ivory leaf from an imperial diptych dating from Late Antiquity, now in the Louvre in Paris. It is carved in the style known as late Theodosian, representing the emperor as triumphant victor...

, one of two important surviving 6th-century Byzantine ivories attributed to the imperial workshops of Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

 under Justinian, although the attribution is mostly assumed due to the size and craftsmanship.

The figure is depicted in a highly classical
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...

style, wearing Greek or Roman garb and with a youthful face and proportions conforming to the ideals of classical sculpture. The architectural space, however, is more typically Byzantine in its bending of spatial logic: the archangel's feet are at the top of a staircase that recedes from the base of the columns, but his arms and wings are in front of the columns. The feet are also not firmly planted on the steps.

There is a Greek inscription at the top, translated variously. Translated as "Receive this suppliant, despite his sinfulness", it might be an expression of humility on the part of Justinian. Interpreted as the beginning of an inscription that continues on the lost second panel, it may read, "Receive these gifts, and having learned the cause...".

External links

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