Images: Getty Images (front; back); Ruicon (front; back)
Clavis number: ECMA 124
Other descriptors: Five-Part Diptych, Milan Diptych, or Milan Bookcover
Location: Museo e Tesoro del Duomo di Monza, Milan, Italy
Accession number: 5Bg.005b–c
Category: Ivory Book Covers
Related literature: Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, Protevangelium of James
Featured characters and locations: Herod (the Great), Jesus Christ, John (son of Zebedee), Joseph (of Nazareth), Luke (evangelist), Mark (evangelist), Matthew (apostle), Mary (Virgin).
1. DESCRIPTION
Material: ivory, silver, garnet.
Size: 14 3/4 × 11 7/8 inches (37.5 × 28.1 cm.)
Images: Both panels are divided into five plates with gospel scenes from the life of Jesus on four sides. Center plates feature Lamb of God (front) and jeweled cross (back). Details (reproduced from (“Bookcover,” Artstor):
Front: center, Lamb of God standing within fruited wreath which is wound with ribbons, placed before linteled doorway; above, nativity; swaddled Christ Child lying in manger surrounded by ox, ass, veiled Virgin Mary seated at Child’s head, Joseph seated at Child’s feet, holding saw in left hand; symbols of evangelists (winged man=Matthew, winged bull=Luke) within wreaths at each corner; left, top to bottom, annunciation to Virgin Mary who kneels, holding vessel into which stream of water flows, looking back over right shoulder at angel; three Magi pointing up to sky; baptism, John the Baptist holding crooked staff, placing right hand on head of nude young Christ who stands in waters of Jordan below descending dove (Holy Spirit); right, top to bottom, Virgin Mary before seven steps leading up to temple with veiled entrance toward which angel points; Christ seated on stepped and elevated seat, among doctors in temple; entry into Jerusalem, man spreading cloak on ground before Christ who rides on ass past man holding palm leaf; below, enthroned Herod flanked by two armed guards, ordering massacre of innocents; armed soldiers killing infants, parents mourning with outstretched arms; busts of bearded Matthew, Luke within wreaths at each corner.
Back: center, jeweled cross standing on mountain of Paradise from which four rivers flow, placed before linteled doorway, curtains drawn back; above, adoration of Magi; enthroned Virgin Mary holding nimbed Christ Child on lap, Child making gesture with right hand, receiving gifts from three Magi; symbols of evangelists (winged lion=Mark, nimbed eagle=John) within wreaths at each corner; left, top to bottom, miracles; Christ healing two blind men; Christ healing paralytic; Christ pointing staff, resurrecting shrouded Lazarus who stands at top of steps before tomb, his sister kneeling at Christ’s feet; disciple observes each miracle; right, top to bottom, nimbed Christ enthroned on starry sphere, placing wreath in draped hands of martyr at either side; Last Supper, Christ with three disciples sitting at table which holds platter of fish, five loaves; Christ enthroned on starry sphere making gesture toward veiled widow who contributes her mite observed by two men; below, miracle at Cana, Christ surrounded by disciples, making gesture with right hand toward three vessels; servant observing; busts of bearded Mark, John within wreaths at each corner.
Date: second half of 5th cent.
Provenance: north Italy (perhaps Ravenna); in Milan since at least the first half of 12th cent. (Spier, Picturing the Bible, 256–58).
2. RELATION TO APOCRYPHAL LITERATURE
The depiction of the ox and ass are related to the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew:
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]).
The annunciation of the Virgin is related to the Protevangelium of James, particularly the setting at a fountain:
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). And behold, an angel stood before her saying, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor before the Master of all. You will conceive from his Word.” But when she heard this, Mary doubted herself and said, “If I conceive by the Lord, the living God, will I give birth like all other women give birth?” (11:1–6; trans. Lily Vuong, The Protevangelium of James [Early Christian Apocrypha 7; Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2019]).
The dedication of the Virgin to the temple derives from the Protevangelium of James:
When the child turned three, Joachim said, “Let us call the undefiled daughters of the Hebrews and let them each take a torch and kindle it so that (the child) will not turn back and have her heart captivated away from the temple of the Lord.” And they did this until they ascended to the temple of the Lord. And the priest accepted her, and kissed her, and blessed her and said, “The Lord God exalted your name among all the generations. In you the Lord will reveal his redemption to the children of Israel at the end of days.” And he set her down on the third step of the altar and the Lord God cast grace upon her. And she danced on her feet, and the whole house of Israel loved her. (7:4–10; trans. Vuong)
3. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Frantova, Zuzaná. “The Milan Five-Part Diptych as a Manifestation of Orthodoxy.” Arte Medievale (2015): 9–26.
__________. Heresy and Loyalty. The Ivory Diptych of Five Parts from the Cathedral Treasury in Milan; Hereze a Loajalita. Slonovinový Diptych z pěti částí z pokladu katedrály v Miláně. Brno: Muni Press, 2014.
Gaborit-Chopin, Danielle. Ivories du Moyen Age. Fribourg: Office du libre, 1978 (pp. 26–27 and nos. 24–25).
Kemp, Wolfgang. Christliche Kunst: ihre Anfänge, ihre Strukturen. Munich: Schirmer/Mosel, 1994 (pp. 43–46).
Kessler, Herbert L. “Narrative Representations.” Pages 449–56 in Age of Spirituality: Late Antique and Early Christian Art, Third to Seventh Century. Edited by Kurt Weitzman. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1979 (pp. 452–53).
Lowden, John. “The Word Made Visible: The Exterior of the Early Christian Book as Visual Argument.” Pages 13–47 in The Early Christian Book. Edited by William E. Klingshirn and Linda Safran. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America, 2007 (pp. 36–37).
Miller, Sarah A. “The Milan Diptych: A Sixth-Century Gospel Book Cover in the Political Landscape of Ravenna.” MA thesis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Ann Arbor, 2008.
Natanson, Joseph. Early Christian Ivories. London: Alec Tirani, 1953 (p. 27).
Spier, Jeffrey. Review of Heresy and Loyalty. The Ivory Diptych of Five Parts from the Cathedral Treasury in Milan; Hereze a Loajalita. Slonovinový Diptych z pěti částí z pokladu katedrály v Miláně, by Zuzana Frantová. Convivium 2.2 (2015): 178–81.
__________. Picturing the Bible: The Earliest Christian Art. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007 (pp. 256–58).
Volbach, Wolfgang Fritz. Elfenbeinarbeiten der Spätantike und des frühen Mittelalters. 1952. 3rd ed. Mainz am Rhein: Philipp von Zabern, 1976 (no. 119).
4. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
“Book cover (ivory; silver; jewels; ht. 14 3/4″, w. 11 1/8″ front panel).” Artstor (requires registration).
“Book cover (ivory; silver; jewels; ht. 14 3/4″, w. 11 1/8″ back panel).” Artstor (requires registration).
“The Earliest Treasure Bookcovers: Made of Ivory or Precious Metals.” Jeremy Norman’s History of Information.
“Diptych with Lamb and Cross.” Martin Luther Universität Halle-Wittenberg.
“Milano: Tesoro del Duomo. Dittico delle cinque parti: diritto.” Europeana.
Entry created by Sohaib Khalid Sial, under the supervision of Tony Burke, York University, 27 March 2021.