Workshop of Baldassare Ubriachi Italian, Florence or Venice, circa 1390-1410

Noble collection, Europe

Given the age of this exceptional triptych it is in very good condition. There is minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. Given the nature of the technique, it is possible that some of the different bone panels and elements may have been reattached over the long history of the object. There are a number of reattachments where there are glue residues: a number of the solomonic columns; and probably the arcading above the lower two scenes on the main body of the triptych. Some of the bone borders on the outside edges of the body and wings appear to be reattached. All of the scenic panels appear to be original, though a few have comparably less finesse in their execution, such as the far left panel of the Crucifixion scene. There are a few losses, in particular the solomonic column on the right side of the scene with the Baptism of Christ, and part of the right column on the top scene from the right wing. The top right corner of the central Crucifixion panel is lost. There is stable splitting to the bone consistent with the material, particularly on the far left panel on the base, and to some of the arcading panels. There is a split running across the Crucifixion panel from left to right, through Christ's arms. There is a natural grain in the bone, which is more apparent in some panels. There are particular residues of glue/ paint to the base, particularly at the front left corner and at each side. There are a few small chips to some of the scenic panels. There are also a few very small losses, such as the raised hand of the man above St John in the panel to the right of the Crucifixion panel. There are one or two small replacements to some of the panels, including to the right side of the central panel of the right scene below the Crucifixion scene. There appear to be remnants of polychromy on the left panel of the lowest scene on the right wing; there is also a restored split running through the top of this panel. A few of the 'teeth' on the upper architectonic moulding lining the base are lost. The flame-like finials adorning the outer edge of the pitched top of the central body of the triptych appear to have been reattached and a number of bone plugs are lost. Some of the horn panels in the registers below this band are lifting a little, but are stable. There is minor warping to the wood backboard, this is typical and to be expected with age. The painted decoration on the outside of the wings is lost. There are a few filled restorations to the wood on the outside of the triptych. There is minor stable splitting to the wood consistent with the material. There is evidence of non-active worming to the wood, mostly to the outer edge of the pitched top of the triptych at the back. This edge is composed of a different wood to the rest, which may indicate that it is a later addition. The edges of the wings appear also to be a different wood. There are a few small pin and drill holes in the back of the triptych.
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This magnificent triptych carved in bone, horn and certosina wood, is one of the largest, if not the largest, surviving example of its kind. Produced by the fabled workshop of Baldassare Ubriachi around the year 1400, it is a showpiece of these artists' original and highly skilled technique at its greatest splendour.

The North Italian workshops that specialised in the production of secular and religious objects comprised of small reliefs in cow bone, assembled on wood carcases within intarsia wood borders, have traditionally been referred to under the umbrella term ‘Embriachi’. Recent scholarship has, however, elucidated that this name is the result of a spelling mistake, and the use of a single term for a variety of workshops is in the process of being made obsolete. As Glyn Davies explains in his recent introduction to the Victoria and Albert Museum’s collection of 'Embriachi' objects (op. cit., pp. 751-3), the term is in fact a bastardisation by late 19th-century scholars of the family name 'Ubriachi' or 'Ymbriachi'. This name or, more precisely, that of 'domino Baldesario de Ubriaghis', appears on the invoice attached to the most celebrated 'Embriachi' production, the altarpiece of circa 1396-1400 in the Certosa di Pavia. As such, the Florentine nobleman Baldassare Ubriachi is considered the founding father of the most significant of the workshops. Archival sources indicate that instead of being its leading sculptor, Baldassare's chief role was to provide the workshop's financial means. Baldassare's workshop is thought to have been active in Venice, and probably in its earlier years in Florence, from the 1370s until after 1416. Objects that correspond stylistically to the documented Pavia altarpiece are therefore attributable to Baldassare Ubriachi's workshop, whereas those with obvious differences in facture are likely to be the work of more obscure artists that worked in the 'original' workshop's milieu.

Its unusually large scale and the extraordinary quality of its carving identify the present triptych as an unquestionable product of the workshop of Baldassare Ubriachi. Its basic composition mirrors that of most foldable triptychs produced by Baldassare’s artists: a rectangular wood and bone base is surmounted by a central wood panel with a pointed top section forming a wimperg, flanked by two tapering wings that fold into the central panel. On the insides of each section, intarsia wood frames contain bone relief panels representing single figures or combining to depict scenes from the Life of Christ. As with the majority of triptychs with two or more registers, the central panels at the top are dedicated to the Crucifixion. The three registers below present scenes from the Passion; The Denial of Peter, Christ before Pilate, and The Road to Calvary, as well as events from Christ’s earlier life, such as The Nativity, The Adoration and The Baptism of Christ. The panels at the bottom of each wing are carved with the Virgin and Child and Saints, while a small triangular relief at the top of the Crucifixion panels depicts Christ in Majesty. Traces of polychromy on the backs of the wings suggest that they may have been painted with Angels, similar to smaller triptychs in Baltimore (Walters Art Gallery, inv. no. 71.98) and Florence (Museo del Bargello, inv. no. 5A).

Although the Ubriachi workshop and their anonymous counterparts' most prolific output was in secular caskets, foldable triptychs form the largest part of their religious offerings. The majority of surviving examples, however, are of the low-cost single-tier variety, while two-tiered triptychs are significantly rarer. Michele Tomasi (op. cit. 2010, p. 95) lists only three known triptychs with three registers, the most intact being that in the Museo Civico d'Arte Antica in Turin (inv. no. 859). Since Tomasi makes no mention of surviving foldable triptychs with four registers, it may be assumed that the size of the present four-tiered triptych is unparalleled by published examples. The fresh appearance on the market of such a rare and important Ubriachi work is therefore sensational.

It would seem that the present triptych is surpassed in height only by the monumental triptych (though not foldable) altarpieces for which Baldassare Ubriachi's workshop is famed. The three prime examples are that in Pavia, one in New York (Metropolitan Museum of Art, inv. no. 17.190.489), and another in Paris (Musée du Louvre, inv. no. MR379), which stands at a staggering 2.76 metres. These altarpieces are dated to the 1390s, when the workshop appears to have reached the height of its productivity and success.

Many of the particular characteristics of these major works are shared by the triptych. The foliate decorations framing the wimperg compare closely to those of the Louvre Altarpiece, while the patterns of the intarsia find a parallel in the Pavia Altarpiece, notably the angular ribbon band running horizontally across the base. A rare feature of the triptych is the addition of Gothic tracery and twisted columns to each section of bone panels, which is found in only a handful of Ubriachi works, including the Pavia Altarpiece. The particular appearance of the tracery in the present triptych is, however, almost identical to that in the three-tiered triptych in Turin. It may also be observed that the figural style, as well as the precise composition, of the Crucifixion scene in both triptychs is strikingly similar. Not only is the Turin triptych among those that come closest to the present triptych in size, it is also extremely close in style. Tomasi dates the work in Turin from the end of the 14th to the beginning of the 15th century, and it follows that the present triptych, too, is likely to date to the golden age of Baldassare’s workshop around 1400.

As Tomasi has noted (op. cit. 2010, pp. 95f.), it is unlikely that folding triptychs with more than two registers would have been conceived as portable objects. Instead, these larger triptychs appear to have been made to commission for wealthy individuals wishing to furnish a private chapel or prayer room with an impressive altarpiece. The varying arrangements of identical motifs in the relief panels of larger triptychs suggest that patrons were to some extent able to choose the subjects and their order. No cost would have been spared to achieve a high level of detail and emotion in the carvings, as exemplified by those in the present triptych. That large-scale triptychs were the luxurious preserve of the few is corroborated by the scarcity of surviving examples. Its apparently unique size, the high quality of its carving, and the rarity of its type make this triptych an exciting addition to the distinguished oeuvre of Baldassare Ubriachi’s workshop.

RELATED LITERATURE
M. Tomasi, La Bottega degli Embriachi, cat. Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, 2001, pp. 21-25; M. Tomasi, Monumenti d'avorio: I dossali degli Embriachi e i loro committenti, Pisa and Paris, 2010; P. Williamson and G. Davies, Medieval Ivory Carvings. 1200-1550. Part II, cat. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2014, pp. 750-861