Consular diptych

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Consular diptych of Manlius Boethius , 487 AD

A consular diptych is a diptych carved out of ivory which, according to an imperial decree from 384, was only allowed to be commissioned by Roman consuls . Shortly after taking office on January 1st, the dignitaries gave the valuable writing boards away to friends.

history

Foldable, wax-coated writing boards made of wood or metal were widespread in ancient times. If they were made of ivory, they were also known as libri elephantini . From the late 4th century onwards, richly decorated, double-winged ceremonial plaques came into fashion, with which high imperial officials wanted to show their appreciation to friends and to keep lavish circus games financed by them in memory. Emperor Theodosius I then issued an edict in 384 ( Codex Theodosianus 15.9.1), according to which ivory tablets were only allowed to consuls (private individuals were also forbidden to give away silk fabrics). From now on, less high-ranking officials either had to apply for a special permit or use less representative material. The effectiveness of this edict is questioned, however, since ivory diptychs were still made for officials below consular rank afterwards.

meaning

In late antiquity , two consuls officiated annually, one in western Rome with its seat in Rome , one in eastern Rome with its seat in Constantinople . In order to show themselves generously immediately after taking office on January 1st, to demonstrate their (also financial) power and to keep politically important personalities weighed, the consuls commissioned the consular diptychs as representative writing implements. On the outside, the ivory panels, which were connected to one another with straps, cords or rod hinges, were elaborately decorated, sometimes painted in polychrome and often with the name and all titles of the founder. The insides were coated with wax , a soft material that could be scratched with pens to take notes. The boards are up to 40 cm high. A total of 44 such precious handicrafts have survived, which could be dated to the years 406 to 541. 34 of these tables have been assigned to consuls by name, the necessary information is missing for the others. The consular diptychs from the 5th century come almost without exception from Rome, those of the 6th century from Constantinople, which can be explained with the fall of Western Rome during the migration of the peoples , although the consulate in Rome was officially abolished in 534. In the Middle Ages , consular diptychs were partially reworked into Christian devotional images, for example a bearded consul became a bearded Peter , and ancient arch architecture became a church . The Carolingian ivory art is strongly based on consular diptychs.

Dating

Consular diptych of Justin (540 AD). On the left the name of the consul, on the right his dignities: V (ir) INL (ustris) C (omes) DOM (esticorum) ET CONS (ul) ORD (inarius)

The oldest preserved consular piptych is the diptych of Probus (consul in 406) kept in the cathedral treasury of Aosta . The most recent copy was commissioned by Anicius Faustus Albinus Basilius for his consulate in 541. From 542 the consulate in Constantinople was no longer occupied and thus effectively abolished. After that, the emperors only occasionally adorned themselves with the title of consul for a few days for ceremonial reasons after taking office.

Appearance

The consuls were represented in festive clothing (with the richly decorated toga picta , common in late antiquity ) with the scepter in their left hand and seated on a throne. Occasionally they hold the mappa circensis in their right hand , a folded cloth used to signal the opening of circus games, an official act that was typical of consuls in late antiquity. Scenes from the circus can sometimes also be found below the throne, above that genii, putti who pour out money or portrait medallions ( clipeus ), for example of the ruling imperial couple. Emperor Justinian I even had himself depicted “like Christ” in order to underline the sacred dignity of the empire. The respective images on the consular diptychs are interpreted as "state pronouncements", as they provide information about the donors' understanding of the state and self.

literature

  • Richard Delbrück : The Consular Diptychs and related monuments. Studies of late antique art history , 2 volumes, Leipzig 1929.
  • Heinrich Fuhrmann : Studies on the consular diptychs and related monuments , in: Römische Mitteilungen , Bd. 54, 1934.
  • Gerhart Egger: On the dating problem in late antique art , in: Yearbook of the Art History Collections in Vienna , Vol. 64, 1968.
  • Wolfgang Fritz Volbach : Ivory works of late antiquity and the early Middle Ages , Mainz 1976.
  • Hanns Gabelmann : The Tribunal Type of Consular Diptychs and its Prehistory , in: Classica et Provincialia , Festschrift for E. Diez, Graz 1978.
  • Kathleen J. Shelton: The Diptych of the Young Office Holder , in: Jahrbuch für Antike und Christianentum , Vol. 25, 1982.
  • Alan Cameron: Consular Diptychs in their Social Context. New Eastern Evidence , in: Journal of Roman Archeology , Vol. 11, 1998, pp. 384-403.
  • Cecilia Olovsdotter: The Consular Image. An Iconological Study of the Consular Diptychs (= British Archaeological Reports Int. Ser. 1376), Oxford 2005.
  • Alan Cameron: The Origin, Context and Function of Consular Diptychs , in: Journal of Roman Studies , Vol. 103, 2013, pp. 174–207.

Web links

Commons : Consular Diptychs  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Art dictionary by PW Hartmann [1]
  2. ↑ Ivory in late antique jewelry production [2]
  3. ↑ Alexander Puk: The Roman Games in Spätantike , De Gruyter, Berlin 2014, p. 189.
  4. ↑ Alan Cameron and Diane Schauer: The Last Consul: Basilius and his Diptych , in: Journal of Roman Studies , Vol. 72, 1982, pp. 126-145.
  5. ↑ Ludwig von Sybel: Christian Antiquity: Introduction to Early Christian Art , Vol. 1, Marburg 1906, p. 236.
  6. ↑ Jessica Müller: Orientation towards the late antique ivory art in Carolingian times. An artistic means of the educational reform of Charlemagne , advanced seminar housework, Grin-Verlag, Munich 2015, p. 6 f.
  7. ↑ If the diptych in Monza, which has been claimed for Stilicho since Richard Delbrueck but is not secured by an inscription, actually refers to his consulate in the year 400, it would be the earliest consular diptych. But the iconography (without toga, scepter, mappa) is very different from the rest of the consular diptychs, and Greco-Roman parallels can be identified for numerous pictorial elements, so that one does not necessarily have to relate them to the Vandal army master. Rainer Warland therefore sees it as a diptych (not: consular diptych ) of a high-ranking military man ( magister militum or comes domesticorum ) with a wife and son. - Rainer Warland : A portrait of Stilichos? The Monza Diptych. In: Claus Hattler (ed.), Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe (ed.): The kingdom of the vandals. Heirs to the empire in North Africa. Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 2009, ISBN 978-3-8053-4083-0 , p. 98.
  8. ↑ Mischa Meier: Justinian: Herrschaft, Reich und Religion , CH Beck, Munich 2004, p. 109.
  9. ↑ Hans Belting: Image and Cult: A History of the Image before the Age of Art , CH Beck, Munich 2004, p. 125.