Sometimes ivory statuettes were placed under canopies and with shutters or wings to fold round them, so as to either make shrines for an oratory, or to be carried by the owners on their journeys. More often, examples of this kind are not finished in the back and are still left attached to the ground of the block of ivory which is carved however in very high relief. There are also very rare examples of figures carved in such deep relief as almost to be statuettes occasionally but very rarely occur in diptychs. It was a common practice in the middle ages to colour statuettes and, indeed, also other things, such as triptychs, diptychs, and the covers of writing-tablets. Traces of this colouring which are visible on many originals are not able to be accessed through these casts, but a brief overview may assist attempts to recolour the casts. The robes and vestments were painted red or blue, with borders of a different colour and often diapered with patterns in gold.

Some of these carvings had colour added to give a more real appearance, although later writers on art felt any addition of colour interfered with the purely sculptural elements of the work. However colour has proved helpful when it comes to the handing down information and details, such as the exact details of dresses and jewellery and armour, which would have been lost for want of it.

While the tusk of the elephant is correctly considered to present the purest characteristics of ivory the tusks of other animals, such as the walrus, the hippopotamus, and the narwhal are included in the list of animals who provided the raw material for ivory carving. The history of ivory carving can be dated back long before the earliest Egyptian dynasties to a time when prehistoric humans roamed the earth with the mammoth. Surviving ivory carvings have been dated back to Egyptian and Assyrian ivory and the Greeks from 600 BC fashioned statues of their gods in ivory. In the first centuries after the death of Christ the numbers of workers in ivory appeared to expand but even so surviving examples from Roman imperial times before Constantine are extremely scarce.

From around 750 AD theological quarrels arose about the lawfulness of using images of people or animals in churches as well as for private devotion. The word iconoclasm or 'icon-breaking' is thought to have originated at this time and as a result works of art were brought by fugitives from Constantinople to France, Germany, and other countries. This furnished models from which copies could be multiplied and serve as an aid to the workmen and artists who were driven into exile, came west to found new schools of art.

As Christianity spread gradually over Western Europe from the age of Charlemagne, ivory was used more and more for the decoration of ecclesiastical furniture, especially of books and reliquaries. Included amongst these new uses were; Pyxes for Eucharist wafers; retables (shelves or ledges) or ornamented screens for altars; Buckets for holy water; handles for flabella fans; Episcopal combs; crosiers and pastoral staffs. Often referred to as the Carolingian school, there are several examples of from this period in this collection.

The casts in this collection were taken from originals made of ivory, bone and marble made in Europe over many centuries. The originals were sought out by J O Westwood over 1875 and 1876 with a view to making casts to provide museums and universities with examples of rare European artworks. The first of Westwood's casts went on sale around 1855 and they remain a significant educational resource as they provide access to the otherwise inaccessible artistic and antiquarian information.

Geoff Barker, Assistant Curator, September 2010

References
Maskell, W., Ivories Ancient and Medieval, printed by Chapman and Hall, Piccadilly, London, 1875
Westwood, J. O., A Descriptive Catalogue of the Fictile Ivories in the South Kensington Museum, printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode, printers to the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, Piccadilly, London, 1876

Many of the casts were taken from the original artworks by J. O. Westwood and A. Nesbitt. At first they used gutta-percha alone, but it was found that after being softened in hot water it hardened again too rapidly to allow a large ivory to be properly pressed. Hence they mixed wax with the gutta-percha, which caused it to retain its softness for a longer period. The prepared gutta-percha was then to be placed in hot water (which was not allowed to boil), and when it became as soft as putty it was moulded by hand into a flattened plate rather larger than the artwork to be moulded. The face of the artwork was wetted with clear cold water, or washed over with soft soap and while wet the gutta-percha was placed upon it and pressed by the thumb carefully so as to force the gutta-percha into all the deeper cut parts of the artwork.

It was then allowed to harden and cool, after which it was lifted with great care from the artwork. Once removed the mould was ready to receive the fluid plaster of Paris of the finest quality. Westwood notes that when a number of copies were required an electrotype made of the mould was preferred to ensure every cast was as fresh as the first. In this manner a considerable number, both of moulds and electrotype moulds, were accumulated by Alexander Nesbitt, A. W. Franks, and J. O. Westwood. These were later transferred to the Arundel Society, who sold copies of the casts from 1855.

The beauty of the casts made from these moulds was universally acknowledged at the time as they were made with the finest plaster of Paris by Messrs. Franchi, whose business was transferred to Messrs. Elkington, who continued to sell nearly all of the specimens taken by Nesbitt and Westwood. When properly made, and carefully coloured by hand from the originals, (the surface allowing the application of common water colours), it was next to impossible to distinguish one of these casts from the original.

Walrus ivory ceased to be used in Europe long before the nineteenth century and most examples date back to medieval and Carlovingian periods. In addition the scarcity of Elephants in the medieval period limited its use, although it is important to note that frozen fossil tusks from mammoths had been used, particularly in Russia. Among ivories there is a wide difference in the condition and colour. This is not caused by the origin of the material, or even necessarily the age, as some newer pieces are among the most discoloured and brittle in appearance. It seems the innumerable possible accidents to which carved ivories are exposed from age to age accounts for this great difference.

References
Westwood, J. O., A Descriptive Catalogue of the Fictile Ivories in the South Kensington Museum, printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode, printers to the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, Piccadilly, London, 1876

Between 1884 and 1887 the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences acquired over 650 plaster cast reproductions of European Medieval carved artworks into its collection. These were purchased from: F. Kusthardt in 1884; J. Kreittmayr in 1885; and Messrs Elkington & Co between 1885 and 1887.

Replica semi-statuette, figure of Christ, France 1200-1300 CE, fictile ivory plaster cast, made by Elkington and Co, London, England, 1855-1887

Plaster cast of an ivory original from the Meyrick Collection, South Kensington Museum, now the Victoria and Albert Museum (Museum number?). Another cast from the same process is also held by the Victoria and Albert Museum (repro.1858-194).

The semi-statuette forms a devotional tablet or leaf of a diptych and shows Christ standing within a very deeply-sunk panel terminating above in a trefoiled Gothic arch with foliated crockets, and with a row of small rosettes along the whole of its inner margin. He is represented with long flowing hair and a beard, destitute of nimbus, feet naked, the left hand holding an open book inscribed in Gothic letters "EGO SU DMS DS TUUS IC XPC QI CREAVI, REDEMI ET SALVABO TE." The right hand raised in the act of benediction, with the first and second fingers alone extended. Object No. 16490 (number 58/195 in the South Kensington Museum Catalogue) is its companion.

Reference: Westwood, J. O., 'Fictile Ivory Casts in the South Kensington Museum', Chapman and Hall, London, 1876 (58/194)

Made: Elkington & Co; ; 1855 - 1887

16489

1855 - 1887