Crucifixion

Description This plaque depicts the Crucifixion with the mourning Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist. Apart from the inclusion of a canopy supported by columns, this ivory also differs from its contemporaries in its style; here the artist has carved his figures with much rounder faces and softer folds of drapery. The plaque was originally part of a triptych and holes for fastening its wings can be seen in each corner. It was originally part of a group of ivories called the Nicephoros Group, named for the emperor Nicephoros II.

Conservation

The ivory was gently cleaned with a mild solution in 1982. In 2011 the ivory returned to the laboratory to be prepared for loan. Minor amounts of dirt had accumulated since the last cleaning, so this dirt was carefully removed again with a mild cleaning solution. Since the ivory would be traveling to another institution, a decision was made to reinforce one of the cracks from the back with an easily reversible technique to decrease any risk of splitting during travel.

Date	Description	Narrative
1/11/1962	Treatment	cleaned
12/01/1982	Treatment	cleaned
12/08/1982	Examination	examined for loan
1/10/2011	Treatment	cleaned; other
3/14/2011	Examination	examined for loan

Exhibitions

• Early Christian and Byzantine Art. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. 1947.
• Five Thousand Years of Faces. Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue. 1983.
• Medieval Games of Love and War. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1995-1996.
• Cross References. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington. 2011.

Provenance Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1924, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters, 1924