page_title: Ivory carving
section_title: Antiquity and the Early Medieval period
hierarchical_section_title: Ivory carving / Europe / Antiquity and the Early Medieval period
caption_attribution_description: Español: catedra
context_page_description: Ivory carving is the carving of ivory, that is to say animal tooth or tusk, generally by using sharp cutting tools, either mechanically or manually.
  Humans have ornamentally carved ivory since prehistoric times, though until the 19th-century opening-up of the interior of Africa, it was usually a rare and expensive material used for luxury products. Very fine detail can be achieved, and as the material, unlike precious metals, has no bullion value and usually cannot easily be recycled, the survival rate for ivory pieces is much higher than for those in other materials. Ivory carving has a special importance to the medieval art of Europe and Byzantium because of this, and in particular as so little monumental sculpture was produced or has survived.
context_section_description: Chryselephantine sculptures are figures made of a mixture of ivory, usually for the flesh parts, and other materials, usually gilded, for the clothed parts, and were used for many of the most important cult statues in Ancient Greece and other cultures.  These included the huge Athena Parthenos, the statue of the Greek goddess Athena made by Phidias and the focus of the interior of the Parthenon in Athens.  Ivory will survive very well if dry and not hot, but in most climates does not often long survive in the ground, so that our knowledge of Ancient Greek ivory is restricted, whereas a reasonable number of Late Roman pieces, mostly plaques from diptychs, have survived above ground, typically ending up in church treasuries.
  Ivory was used in the Palace of Darius in Susa in the Achaemenid Empire, according to an inscription by Darius I. The raw material was brought from Africa (Nubia) and South Asia (Sind and Arachosia).
  No doubt versions of figurines and other types of object that survive in ancient Roman pottery and other media were also made in ivory, but survivals are very rare.  A few Roman caskets with ivory plaques with relief carvings have survived, and such objects were copied in the Early Middle Ages - the Franks Casket in bone is an Anglo-Saxon version from the 8th century, and the Veroli Casket a Byzantine one from about 1000. Both include mythological scenes, respectively Germanic and classical, that are found in few other works from these periods.
  The most important Late Antique work of art made of ivory is the Throne of Maximianus. The cathedra of Maximianus, bishop of Ravenna (546-556), was covered entirely with ivory panels. It was probably carved in Constantinople and shipped to Ravenna. It consists of decorative floral panels framing various figured panels, including one with the complex monogram of the bishop.
  Late Roman Consular diptychs were given as presents by the consuls, civil officers who played an important administrative role until 541, and consisted of two panels carved on the outsides joined by hinges with the image of the consul.  The form was later adopted for Christian use, with images of Christ, the Theotokos and saints. They were used by an individual for prayer.
  Such ivory panels were used as book-covers from the 6th century, usually as the centrepiece to a surround of metalwork and gems. sometimes assembled from up to five smaller panels because of the limited width of the tusk. This assembly suggested a compositional arrangement with Christ or Mary in the centre and angels, apostles and saints in the flanking panels. Carved ivory covers were used for treasure bindings on the most precious illuminated manuscripts.  Very few of the jewelled metalwork surrounds for treasure bindings have survived intact, but reasonably high numbers of ivory plaques once used in bindings survive.
caption: The throne of Maximianus, c. 550, made in Constantinople
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