Barberini diptych
The Barberini Diptych is one of the most important works of late antique ivory carving . It was created in Ostrom and is now in the Louvre in Paris (inventory number OA 9063).
It is a representation made up of five plates, four of which are still original. The representation follows the type of the triumphator omnium gentium (Eng .: conqueror of all peoples ). The emperor depicted is very likely Justinian (527 to 565), but Anastasius (491 to 518) is not excluded either.
On the back there is a list of Austrasian kings, which was commissioned by Brunichild and which served liturgical purposes. It was probably made around 613 and shows that the diptych reached the Frankish Empire early on, probably as a gift, because in the 6th century there were very close ties between Gaul and the Eastern Roman Empire.
In 1625 the scholar Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc donated the work to Cardinal Francesco Barberini , which brought it to Rome and became part of the important Barberini Collection . In 1899 it was acquired by the Louvre.
description
The diptych measures 34.2 × 26.8 cm, the central plate 19 × 12.5 cm and is approx. 2.5 cm thick.
The diptych was originally decorated with precious stones, most of which have fallen out of their settings over time. Incidentally, elephant ivory is one of the most expensive raw materials of all (quite comparable to gold). Both indicate that the work was commissioned by the emperor himself and then given to an important person.
A rider in magnificent Roman armor and with an imperial crown is depicted on the central plate. He rides without stirrups . The depth of the relief is remarkable, parts are worked completely "à jour". Such fully sculptural breakthrough works are extremely rare in ivory diptychs and a reason why the Barberini diptych is one of the most important works of this genre.
The woman below is clearly allegory . It corresponds to Tellus / Gaia representations, only that instead of a cornucopia in a puff of its robe it offers fruits / gifts. It may also be seen as a symbol of a pacified province. The representation of Victoria is on a small globe with an x-shaped engraving. It is sometimes referred to as the Christ monogram . In the case of the ornamental ribbons, it is noticeable that two different types were used.
In principle, the depiction follows pagan Roman traditions of the triumphator omnium gentium (“victor over all peoples”), the diptych only gets a Christian connotation through the upper panel, in which Christ is depicted as cosmocrator . This composition has direct pagan forerunners (instead of the figure of Christ there was a personification of Constantinople). The hairstyle (hump curls) of Christ and the angel are an important reference point for determining the time of origin.
The later incised beard of the high-ranking officer on the side panel is unusual. Possibly it is an ingredient from a later era. The sack at the bottom right next to him is presumably a gold sack, principally an attribute of a consul, but with regard to the subject of the triumphator omnium gentium, it may be seen here as prey.
On the lower plate are shown (from left to right):
- Persians and Orientals bringing two gifts (including the aurum coronarium )
- a lion
- a Victoria with Tropaion
- an elephant
- two Indians (distinguishing mark: the "horns" on the forehead), the first of which brings an elephant's tusk
- a tiger
The style is late antique abstract, but also shows a certain degree of realism. Due to its high quality, it was probably made in an imperial workshop in Constantinople.
Art historical classification
The Barberini diptych follows the two-part consular diyptychs . With the advent of the codex and the decline in importance of the wax tablet , the type of five-part diptych came into being. In the Middle Ages, special codes were designed as splendid codes, but these were only made from ivory in exceptional cases. Presumably, like most five-part diptychs, the tablets were used as the front cover of a splendid codex. Especially from the Carolingian Renaissance , however, there are antique diptychs, some of which even experts can hardly distinguish from the late antique models. Nonetheless, in the case of the Barberini Diptych, research agrees that it was made before 613.
interpretation
The depicted emperor can probably be identified with Justinian I. Within the period of origin in question (first half of the 6th century), the portrayal of the conqueror of peoples seems most likely to refer to him. However, such glorifications of rulers are to be taken with caution; they often follow convention more than reality.
Both the barbarian in the background of the middle panel and the two on the left of the lower panel wear Persian costumes; the representation is thus perhaps in connection with the so-called "eternal peace" concluded between Justinian and the Persian Empire in 532 . A reference to the Roman victory in the Battle of Dara 530 is also conceivable. A literary equestrian statue of Justinian from the Hippodrome may have been the model for the central plate. The same motif can also be found on a bronze weight in the Byzantine Museum in Athens , although it is possibly a forgery based on the Barberini diptych; the piece is not mentioned in the specialist literature on the diptych.
literature
- Antoine Héron de Villefosse : L'Ivoire de Peiresc. In: Mémoires de la Société nationale des Antiquaires de France. Vol. 75 = Series 8, Vol. 5, 1915/1918, pp. 267-295 .
- Richard Delbrueck : The consular diptychs and related monuments (= studies on late antique art history. 2, ZDB -ID 530605-x ). de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 1929.
- Wolfgang Fritz Volbach : Ivory works of late antiquity and the early Middle Ages (= Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum. Catalogs of prehistoric antiquities. 7, ISSN 0076-275X ). 3rd, completely revised edition. von Zabern, Mainz 1976, pp. 47-48 No. 48.
- Antony Cutler : Barberiniana. Notes on the Making, Content, and Provenance of Louvre OA. 9063. In: Ernst Dassmann , Klaus Thraede (Red.): Tesserae. Festschrift for Josef Engemann (= yearbook for antiquity and Christianity . Supplementary volume 18). Aschendorff, Münster 1991, ISBN 3-402-08536-4 , pp. 329-339.
- Danièle Gaborit-Chopin, in: Byzance. L'art byzantin dans les collections publiques françaises. Musée du Louvre, November 3, 1992 - February 1, 1993. Editions de la Réunion des Musées Nationaux, Paris 1992, ISBN 2-7118-2606-6 , cat. 20, pp. 63–65, (description of the object in the exhibition catalog).
- Jean-Pierre Sodini: Images sculptées et propagande impériale du IVe au VIe siècle. Recherches récentes sur les colonnes honorifiques et les reliefs politiques à Byzance. In: André Guillou, Jannic Durand (Ed.): Byzance et les images. Cycle de conférences organisé au Musée du Louvre par le Service Culturel du 5 ocrobre au 7 December 1992. La Documentation française, Paris 1994, ISBN 2-11-003198-0 , pp. 43-94.
- Marco Cristini: Eburnei nuntii: i dittici consolari e la diplomazia imperiale del VI secolo . In: Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte , 68 (2019), pp. 489-520.
