Plaque with the Virgin Mary as a Personification of the Church

Why it matters

One of the largest single ivory panels to survive from Carolingian Europe, this plaque shows the Virgin enthroned, haloed, and holding a cross-topped staff. The spindles in her other hand belong to the Annunciation, while her dress and staff suggest a second reading as the triumphant Church; the Met notes that this combination is unique to this piece. The egg-and-dart border and peacocks in the upper corners draw on classical models, as the court at Aachen deliberately did.