Images: Wikimedia; Web Gallery of Art
Clavis number: ECMA 108
Other descriptors: Chair of Maximian, Maximian cathedra
Location: Museo Arcivescovile, Milan
Object number: not provided
Category: furniture
Related literature: Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, Protevangelium of James
Featured characters and locations: Gabriel (angel), Jesus Christ, Joseph (of Nazareth), Mary (Virgin), Salome (midwife).
1. DESCRIPTION
Material: carved ivory panels on a wooden frame.
Size: 22 inches (0.6 m) wide × 59 inches (1.5 m) high
Images: the chair’s ivory carvings are done in relief and depict important biblical figures. The front of the chair portrays the four evangelists around John the Baptist, at center, who is holding a medallion with the Lamb of God and Maximianus’ name above him. On the sides of the chair are ten scenes from the story of Joseph as recorded in Genesis. On the back of the chair are 24 scenes depicting the life of Christ and the life of the Virgin (of these only 16 survive).
The Water Trial of The Virgin: The Virgin, right, stands holding a bowl in her right hand. In her left hand she carries a skein of wool. Her head is tilted down slightly toward Joseph, her husband, who is standing on the left with a staff in his left hand. Pictured above the Virgin is an angel with a staff in his left hand, his right hand is raised in a gesture of greeting.
The Annunciation: The Virgin, left, sits on a wicker chair with the material for spinning the purple veil of the temple. The angel Gabriel stands to the right.
The Nativity: The Virgin, left, lays on a mattress, her head tilted downwards. At right is the doubting-handmaiden, Salome, clutching her right-hand with her left in pain. Pictured above Salome is the baby Jesus lying in a manger wearing swaddling. Standing above Mary is Joseph, his body turned to the right facing the manger, his right hand outstretched toward the Ox and the Ass. The Ox and the Ass stand above the infant Jesus’ manger with the Star of Bethlehem shining above them.
Date: late 6th cent.
Provenance: created for the Archbishop Maximianus of Ravenna (499–556 CE). The precise location is disputed by scholars. Most arguments for attribution are centered on the style and decoration of the chair which is not a conclusive metric. However, most modern scholars endorse the view that the chair originates from Alexandria. Evidence in support of an Alexandrian origin is that all of the New Testament motifs carved on the chair are found in Coptic monuments through the seventh century. For example, the chair’s portrayal of the Nativity utilizes Egyptian iconography: it introduces the doubting-midwife, Salome, into a typical ‘Eastern’ scene, where the Virgin is depicted laying on a mattress instead of sitting in a chair as is typical in Western nativity scenes.
2. RELATION TO APOCRYPHAL LITERATURE
Three scenes from the back of the chair are based on apocryphal stories from the Protevangelium of James and the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew. The first is the water trial:
And the high priest said, “Give back the virgin you received from the temple of the Lord.” And Joseph burst into tears. And the high priest said, “I will have you drink the Lord’s water of conviction,’ and it will reveal your sin before your own eyes.” And the high priest took (the water) and made Joseph drink it and sent him away to the wilderness, but he came back whole. And then he made the child (Mary) drink it and also sent her away into the wilderness, but she too came back whole. And all the people were amazed because their sin was not revealed. And the high priest said, “If the Lord God did not reveal your sin, then neither do I condemn you.” And he let them go. And Joseph took Mary and returned home, rejoicing and praising the God of Israel (Prot. Jas. 16; trans. Lily Vuong, The Protevangelium of James [Early Christian Apocrypha 7; Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2019]; see also Ps.-Mt. 12).
The annunciation of the Virgin is connected with the Protevangelium due to the incorporation in the image of the thread for the temple:
And she took the water pitcher and went out and filled it with water. And behold, there was a voice saying, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you. You are blessed among women.” And Mary looked all around her, to the right and left, to see from where the voice was coming. And she began trembling and went into her house and put the water pitcher down. And taking up the purple (thread) she sat down on her chair and began to spin the purple (thread). (11:1–4; trans. Vuong).
The Nativity features the midwife Salome (from Prot. Jas. and Ps.-Mt.) and the the ox and ass from Ps.-Mt.:
The midwife entered and said, “Mary, ready yourself. For there is no small contention concerning you.” And when Mary heard this, she made herself ready. And Salome inserted her finger into her to test her physical condition. And Salome cried out and said, “Woe for my lawlessness and for my disbelief; for I have tested the living God. And behold, my hand is on fire and falling away from me.” (Prot. Jas. 20; trans. Vuong; cf. Ps.-Mt. 13:3–5).
Now, on the third day after the birth of the Lord, Mary went out of the cave and into a stable, and she placed the boy in a manger, and an ox and an ass bent their knees and worshiped him. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, who said, “The ox knows his owner and the ass the manger of his Lord.” And these animals, staying by his side, were constantly worshiping him. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Habakkuk, who said, “Between the two animals you will make yourself known.” And so Joseph and Mary remained in the same place with the child for three days. (14; trans. Brandon W. Hawk, The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew and the Nativity of Mary [Early Christian Apocrypha 8; Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2019]).
3. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cartlidge, David R. and J. Keith Elliott. Art and the Christian Apocrypha. London and New York: Routledge, 2001 (p. 87).
Dalton, Ormonde Maddock. Byzantine Art and Archaeology. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1911 (p. 203–207).
Lowden, John. Early Christian and Byzantine Art. London: Phaidon, 1997 (p. 117).
Schapiro, Meyer. “The Joseph Scenes on the Maximianus Throne.” Pages 34–47 in Selected Papers, vol. 3: Late Antique, Early Christian and Mediaeval Art. New York: G. Braziller, 1979.
Schiller, Gertrud. Iconography of Christian Art. 2 vols. Trans. Janet Seligman. Greenwich, CT: New York Graphic Society, Ltd., 1971–1972 (vol. 1, fig. 138).
Smith, E. Baldwin. “The Alexandrian Origin of the Chair of Maximianus.” AJA 21.1 (1917): 22–37.
Weitzmann, Kurt, ed. Age of Spirituality: Late Antique and Early Christian Art, Third to Seventh Century. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1979 (pp. 450–54).
4. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
“Chair and Archbishop Maximianus of Ravenna Chair.” Christian Antiquities Museum and Archive. Posted 1 May 2013.
Hendrix, David, ed. “Throne of Maximian.” The Byzantine Legacy.
“Throne of Maximian.” Wikipedia.
Patil, Neha, ed. “Throne of Maximian.” Alchetron: The Free Social Encyclopedia. Posted 21 January 2021. Online: https://alchetron.com/Throne-of-Maximian (includes images).
Entry created by Mark Belch, under the supervision of Tony Burke, York University, 29 March 2021.