- Period
- Gothic
- Date
- 1340–1350
- Collection
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Object no.
- 1971.103
Diptych with Scenes from the Life of Saint Martin of Tours: The Consecration of Saint Martin as Bishop (left); Saint Martin Shares his Cloak with a Beggar
Unknown maker, 1340–1350
Cleveland Museum of Art · Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund · Public domain
- Maker
- Unknown maker
- Date
- 1340–1350
- Medium
- ivory with polychromy and gilding, original silver hinges
- Dimensions
- Overall: 9.2 cm (3 5/8 in.); Closed: 5.2 cm (2 1/16 in.)
- Period
- Gothic
The record
Why it matters
This beautiful and well-preserved diptych includes its original polychromy, gilding, and silver hinges, though these are no longer connected. With its lapis background, red roof tiles, and gilded details of the figures’ clothing, the appearance is one of luxuriousness. The diptych provides us with a rare and vivid impression of how such devotional ivories were originally decorated in the 1300s.