France, vers 1350

traces de polychromie et de dorure anciennes retouchées

Collection Frédéric Spitzer, Paris
sa vente à Paris, le 17 avril 1893, lot 91
Collection Oscar Hainauer, Berlin
sa vente en 1897, lot 137

Exposition d'objets d'art du Moyen Age et de la Renaissance, Hôtel de Sagan, Paris, 1913.

W. Bode, Die Sammlung Oscar Hainauer, Berlin, 1897, no. 137.
Catalogue de vente de la Collection Spitzer, Paris, 17 avril - 16 juin, 1893, no. 91.
R. Koechlin, Les ivoires gothiques français, Paris, 1924, no. 207.
E. Molinier, La collection Spitzer, tome. I, Paris, 1890, p. 46, no. 56.
Exposition d'objets d'art du Moyen Age et de la Renaissance organisée par la marquise de Ganay chez Jacques Seligmann, 23 rue Constantine, Hôtel de Sagan, cat. exp. Paris, 1913,  no. 123.

Overall condition good with later polychromy with minor traces of original colour evident. Upper cresting of the central panel probably replaced. Cresting to two outer wings appears to be partly missing. Upper left wing has a fine hairline fissure around the hinges evident in catalogue photograph with small repair to right hand lower hinge. Later attachment on the bottom for fixing to a base.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Le triptyque est divisé en deux registres. Sur le registre supérieur, la Crucifixion est représentée au centre, flanquée par Stéphaton tendant l'éponge à droite et Longinus avec sa lance à gauche. Surmontée du soleil et de la lune, la scène est représentée au-dessous d'une arcature tribolée. Le gable est orné d'un quatre-feuilles champlevé au centre et bordé de crochets feuillus sur le pignon. Les deux volets extérieurs représentent la Vierge et Saint Jean. Le registre inférieur montre l'Adoration des Mages, également sous des arcs trilobés à crochets, les écoinçons ornés des mêmes quatre-feuilles champlevés; sur les volets, à gauche, les deux autres Rois Mages et la Présentation au Temple à droite.

Ce triptyque se distingue par son relief extrêmement profond visible notamment sur les deux scènes centrales, se détachant dans un cadre architectural complexe, finement sculpté. Bode, dans le catalogue de la collection Hainauer (1897), considèra cet ivoire comme un travail italien. Cependant Koechlin l'attribue à un atelier français puisqu'il correspond en tout point aux prototypes français de la première moitié du XIV^e siècle. En effet, on retrouve les quatre-feuilles champlevés sur une Crucifixion au Nelson Atkins Museum de Kansas (inv. no. 51.11, Randall, 1993) et la même attitude de Longinus qui se voile la face en portant la main au front. Le triptyque de la collection Dormeuil peut être également rapproché à celui de l'église de Selles-sur-Cher (Koechlin, no.194).

REFERENCES BIBLIOGRAPHIQUES
R. H. Randall, The Golden Age of Ivory, Gothic Carvings in North American Collections, New York, 1993, no. 60.

FRENCH, CIRCA 1350
AN IVORY TRIPTYCH WITH THE CRUCIFIXION AND THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI
polychrome and gilding refreshed

The triptych is divided into two registers with the upper register centred by the Crucifixion flanked by Stephaton, the sponge bearer, on the right, and Longinus with his lance on the left. Above the scene the sun and the moon appear beneath a trefoil arch, which is surmounted by a gable centred by a quatrefoil with a protruding cone. The hinged outer leaves are carved with the Virgin and  St. John. The lower register is centred by the Adoration with a kneeling Magi and surmounted by foliate crockets with two further cone-centred trefoils in the spandrels. The separately hinged outer leaves are carved with two further Magi on the left and the Presentation in the Temple on the right.

The triptych is characterised by the high relief of the central panel and the divided outer hinged panels. In the Hainauer catalogue of 1897 Bode identified the triptych as Italian. However, this attribution was discounted by Koechlin as the piece follows French prototypes of the first half of the fourteenth century. Indeed the quatrefoils with protruding cones can be found in numerous French panels; compare to the Crucifixion relief in the Nelson Atkins Museum, Kansas, illustrated by Randall (1993) which also includes the figure of Longinus shielding his eyes as is found in the present triptych. Note also the two register triptych in the church of Selles-sur-Cher illustrated by Koechlin (no. 194).