Barberini ivory
Encyclopedia
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
ivory
Ivory carving
Ivory carving is the carving of ivory, that is to say animal tooth or tusk, by using sharp cutting tools, either mechanically or manually. The ancient craft has now virtually ceased, as since CITES it is illegal under most circumstances throughout the world....
leaf from an imperial diptych
Diptych
A diptych di "two" + ptychē "fold") is any object with two flat plates attached at a hinge. Devices of this form were quite popular in the ancient world, wax tablets being coated with wax on inner faces, for recording notes and for measuring time and direction.In Late Antiquity, ivory diptychs with...
dating from Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world. Precise boundaries for the period are a matter of debate, but noted historian of the period Peter Brown proposed...
, now in the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. It is carved in the style known as late Theodosian, representing the emperor as triumphant victor. It is generally dated from the first half of the sixth century and is attributed to an imperial workshop in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, while the emperor is usually identified as Justinian, or possibly Anastasius I
Anastasius I (emperor)
Anastasius I was Byzantine Emperor from 491 to 518. During his reign the Roman eastern frontier underwent extensive re-fortification, including the construction of Dara, a stronghold intended to counter the Persian fortress of Nisibis....
or Zeno
Zeno (emperor)
Zeno , originally named Tarasis, was Byzantine Emperor from 474 to 475 and again from 476 to 491. Domestic revolts and religious dissension plagued his reign, which nevertheless succeeded to some extent in foreign issues...
. It is a notable historical document because it is linked to queen Brunhilda of Austrasia
Brunhilda of Austrasia
Brunhilda was a Visigothic princess, married to king Sigebert I of Austrasia who ruled the eastern kingdoms of Austrasia and Burgundy in the names of her sons and grandsons...
. On the back there is a list of names of Frankish kings, all relatives of Brunhilda, indicating the important position of queens within Frankish
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
royal families. Brunhilda ordered the list to be inscribed and offered it to the church as a votive image.
Although it is not a consular diptych
Consular diptych
In Late Antiquity a consular diptych was a particular type of diptych which could function as a writing tablet but was also intended as a deluxe commemorative object, commissioned by a consul ordinarius and then distributed to reward those who had supported his candidature as...
, it shares many features of their decorative schemes. The emperor is accompanied in the main panel by a conquered barbarian in trousers at left, a crouching allegorical figure, probably representing territory conquered or reconquered, who holds his foot in thanks or submission, and an angel or victory, crowning the emperor with the traditional palm of victory (which is now lost). Although the barbarian is partly hidden by the emperor's huge spear, this does not pierce him, and he seems more astonished and over-awed than combative. Above, Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
, with a fashionable curled hair-style, is flanked by two more angels in the style of pagan victory figures; he reigns above, while the emperor represents him below on earth. In the bottom panel barbarians from West (left, in trousers) and East (right, with ivory tusks, a tiger and a small elephant) bring tribute, which includes wild animals. The figure in the left panel, apparently not a saint but representing a soldier, carries a statuette of Victory; his counterpart on the right is lost.
Design
It was originally made up of five rectangular plaques, although that on the right has been replaced (perhaps in the 16th century) by a board bearing the inscription CONSTANT. N. IMP. CONST. The plaques are fitted together by tongue and grooveTongue and groove
A strong joint, the tongue and groove joint is widely used for re-entrant angles. The effect of wood shrinkage is concealed when the joint is beaded or otherwise moulded...
joints, around a larger central plaque. Overall, the piece is the only such secular object to survive in such good condition. often grouped under the title of imperial diptych
Imperial diptych
In Late Antiquity, an imperial diptych is a theoretical type of ivory diptych, made up of two leaves of five panels each and each with a central panel representing the emperor or empress. They are so-named in contrast to consular diptychs...
s. It measures 34.2 cm (13 in) high by 26.8 cm (11 in) wide overall, with the central panel 19 cm (7 in) high by 12.5 cm (5 in) wide by 2.5 cm (0.984251968503937 in) deep. It is made from elephant ivory, sculpted and mounted with precious stones (7 pearls survive). It carries no traces of polychromy, contrary to what certain historians have supposed.
It is not certain that the Barberini ivory belonged to a diptych
Diptych
A diptych di "two" + ptychē "fold") is any object with two flat plates attached at a hinge. Devices of this form were quite popular in the ancient world, wax tablets being coated with wax on inner faces, for recording notes and for measuring time and direction.In Late Antiquity, ivory diptychs with...
, that is that there was a second set of plaques forming a second leaf with another portrait, perhaps of the empress – this first leaf is already too heavy to be comfortably used as a real writing tablet, and there is not trace of a hinge that could indicate it was a book-cover.
Owners
The reverse of the object is flat and smooth, without the depression for wax which would be found on a consular diptychConsular diptych
In Late Antiquity a consular diptych was a particular type of diptych which could function as a writing tablet but was also intended as a deluxe commemorative object, commissioned by a consul ordinarius and then distributed to reward those who had supported his candidature as...
, which would be used as a writing tablet. Nevertheless, it is streaked with lines engraved later over older ink inscriptions – it includes a list of names (prayers for the dead), among whom can be seen the kings of Austrasia
Austrasia
Austrasia formed the northeastern portion of the Kingdom of the Merovingian Franks, comprising parts of the territory of present-day eastern France, western Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Metz served as its capital, although some Austrasian kings ruled from Rheims, Trier, and...
and other names, mostly Latin ones. Onomastics shows that the list comes from Auvergne
Auvergne (province)
Auvergne was a historic province in south central France. It was originally the feudal domain of the Counts of Auvergne. It is now the geographical and cultural area that corresponds to the former province....
and not from Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
as has been thought from the location of the object in the modern era. The inscriptions also date to the 7th century (maybe around 613) and show that the work was brought to Gaul early in its life.
The ivory's history between then and 1625 is unknown – in that year it was offered by Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc
Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc
Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc was a French astronomer, antiquary and savant who maintained a wide correspondence with scientists and was a successful organizer of scientific inquiry...
to legate Francesco Barberini
Francesco Barberini (seniore)
Francesco Barberini was an Italian Catholic Cardinal. The nephew of Pope Urban VIII , he benefited immensely from the nepotism practiced by his uncle...
in Aix-en-Provence
Aix-en-Provence
Aix , or Aix-en-Provence to distinguish it from other cities built over hot springs, is a city-commune in southern France, some north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, in the département of Bouches-du-Rhône, of which it is a subprefecture. The population of Aix is...
, becoming part of the Barberini
Barberini
The Barberini are a family of the Italian nobility that rose to prominence in 17th century Rome. Their influence peaked with the election of Cardinal Maffeo Barberini to the papal throne in 1623, as Pope Urban VIII...
collection in Rome. Peiresc mentions it specifically in a letter to his friend Palamède de Vallavez, dated 29 October 1625:
...[the cardinal] was pleased to see an ancient ivory bas-relief which I recovered a little earlier, where is represented the emperor Heraclius on horseback, with borders bearing a cross and his son Constantine carrying a Victory and many captive provinces beneath his feet, like that of the Grand 'Camayeul'Great Cameo of FranceThe Great Cameo of France is a five-layered sardonyx cameo of circa 23 AD. It is 31 cm by 26.5 cm. It is first attested in the first inventory of the treasure of Sainte Chapelle before 1279...
of TiberiusTiberiusTiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...
. I gave it to him as he left (...) he had several similar pieces in the same manner in ivory, with which [my example] would go well.
We can very probably find confirmation of it being in the Barberini collection through a mention of an ivory representing Constantine in the inventory of sculptures in the possession of Francesco Barberini between 1626 and 1631.
It was acquired by the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
in 1899 and has since then been in the département des objets d'art (inventory number OA 9063).
Iconography
The work combines on the one hand a classic theme of the total power of the victorious emperor, crowned by Victory, whose universal rule is synonymous with peace and prosperity, and on the other hand the theme of Christian victory brought by Christ's patronage and blessing of the emperor. It introduces a new cosmic hierarchy into the representation of the triumphRoman triumph
The Roman triumph was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the military achievement of an army commander who had won great military successes, or originally and traditionally, one who had successfully completed a foreign war. In Republican...
of the Roman Empire and is thus a highly political work designed to serve as imperial propaganda. The quality of the workmanship allows it to be attributed to an imperial workshop in Constantinople.
Central panel
Phrygian cap
The Phrygian cap is a soft conical cap with the top pulled forward, associated in antiquity with the inhabitants of Phrygia, a region of central Anatolia. In the western provinces of the Roman Empire it came to signify freedom and the pursuit of liberty, perhaps through a confusion with the pileus,...
), indicating an eastern origin, a long-sleeved tunic and baggy trousers. Symbolising a Persian or a Scythian, he represents the peoples defeated by the emperor – as a sign of submission he touches the lance with his right hand and raises his left hand.
In the lower right corner, under the horse, a woman lies on the ground. Her robe has slipped, revealing her right breast, and in her left hand she holds a fold of her robe containing fruits, symbols of prosperity. Her right hand is raised to the emperor's right foot in a gesture of submission. She personifies Earth, representing the emperor's universal domination and with the fruits symbolising the prosperity of his reign. This personification was often presented in this role on images of the triumphant emperor or the emperor in majesty, as for example on the missorium of Theodosius
Missorium of Theodosius I
The Missorium of Theodosius I is a large ceremonial silver dish preserved in the Real Academia de la Historia, in Madrid, Spain. It was probably made in Constantinople for the tenth anniversary in 388 of the reign of the Emperor Theodosius I, the last Emperor to rule both the Eastern and Western...
(with Tellus
Tellus
Tellus is a Latin word meaning "earth" and may refer to:* Terra or Terra Mater, the Roman Earth Mother goddess* Tellus , a citizen of ancient Athens who was thought to be the happiest of men...
similarly represented at the bottom of the composition, under the figure of Theodosius I
Theodosius I
Theodosius I , also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and the western halves of the Roman Empire. During his reign, the Goths secured control of Illyricum after the Gothic War, establishing their homeland...
enthroned in majesty) and on the relief of the pietas augustorum on the arch of Galerius (where the Tetrarchs
Tetrarchy
The term Tetrarchy describes any system of government where power is divided among four individuals, but usually refers to the tetrarchy instituted by Roman Emperor Diocletian in 293, marking the end of the Crisis of the Third Century and the recovery of the Roman Empire...
are accompanied by a series of personifications, including Gaia
Gaia (mythology)
Gaia was the primordial Earth-goddess in ancient Greek religion. Gaia was the great mother of all: the heavenly gods and Titans were descended from her union with Uranus , the sea-gods from her union with Pontus , the Giants from her mating with Tartarus and mortal creatures were sprung or born...
) These personifications of Tellus/Gaia are generally recognisable by their principal attribute of a cornucopia
Cornucopia
The cornucopia or horn of plenty is a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, nuts, other edibles, or wealth in some form...
– this is not actually present on the ivory, but the fruit-filled fold in the woman's robe is of the same form and fulfils the same symbolic function.
Victoria (mythology)
In ancient Roman religion, Victoria was the personified goddess of victory. She is the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Nike, and was associated with Bellona. She was adapted from the Sabine agricultural goddess Vacuna and had a temple on the Palatine Hill...
standing over a globe inscribed with the sign of the cross, holding a palm (symbol of victory) in her left hand and in her right hand (now broken) she almost certainly held a crown to be placed on the emperor's head. This type of statuette personification is also one of the links to the iconography of the triumphant emperor, found on several coins (e.g. the reverse of the solidus of Constantine II, right) but also in sculpture (e.g. the scene of sacrifice on the arch of Galerius) and on some consular diptych
Consular diptych
In Late Antiquity a consular diptych was a particular type of diptych which could function as a writing tablet but was also intended as a deluxe commemorative object, commissioned by a consul ordinarius and then distributed to reward those who had supported his candidature as...
s.
The emperor has a bowl or archivolt
Archivolt
An archivolt is an ornamental molding or band following the curve on the underside of an arch. It is composed of bands of ornamental moldings surrounding an arched opening, corresponding to the architrave in the case of a rectangular opening...
haircut, of the sort where the fringe describes an arched circle around his face, similar to that worn by Constantine, and wears a crown studded with pearls, of which four survive. His facial features are oval in form and quite heavy, notably the eyelids and the nose, but give a cheerful character to the imperial portrait. The emperor wears the military uniform of commander in chief, the role in which he is portrayed – under his cuirass
Cuirass
A cuirass is a piece of armour, formed of a single or multiple pieces of metal or other rigid material, which covers the front of the torso...
he wears a short tunic and over the cuirass a cloak (paludamentum
Paludamentum
In Republican and Imperial Rome, the paludamentum was a cloak or cape fastened at one shoulder, worn by military commanders and by their troops. As supreme commander of the whole Roman army, Roman emperors were often portrayed wearing it in their statues and on their coinage...
), of which a fold flies behind him and which is held onto his shoulder by a round fibula. The fibula was originally made of precious stone, like the cuirass. He wears cross-laced boots (cothurni), ornamented with a lion's head. The horse's harness is decorated with a series of medallions dripping in inlays, now lost apart from the one in the centre of its head.
The relief of this central motif was particularly accentuated – the Victory, the lance, and to a lesser extent the heads of the emperor and of his horse are all sculpted very nearly in the round. The care taken in modelling the drapery and in the rendering of certain anatomical details, such as the muscles of the emperor's arm, may qualify it as classicising. These characteristics, added to the disproportionate scale of the figures, underline the majesty of the imperial person, recalling Theodosian art.
Side panels
The side panels are in less-elevated relief (the maximum depth of the carving on the central panel is 28 mm, whereas it is only 9 mm on the side panels), and are stylistically slightly less virtuosic than the central panel. They bear borders inscribed in a simplified zig-zag pattern, leaving room in the border around the central panel for a garland of stylised leaves with a small round hole on the middle of each side for four now-lost inlays.The left hand panel represents a superior officer, recognisably by his military clothing and equipment, comparable to those of the emperor. Bearded, he wears a cuirass and the paludamentum, fixed to his right shoulder by a simpler fibula than that worn by the emperor. We can distinguish the scabbard of his sword fixed to his belt, worn on the left side. He advances towards the emperor and presents him with a statuette of Victory on a pedestal - she hold a crown and a palm, like the Victory on the central panel. At his feet is a bag. The man stands in an architectural scheme formed of two columns supporting Corinthian
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
capitals and of a tessellated
Tessellation
A tessellation or tiling of the plane is a pattern of plane figures that fills the plane with no overlaps and no gaps. One may also speak of tessellations of parts of the plane or of other surfaces. Generalizations to higher dimensions are also possible. Tessellations frequently appeared in the art...
pattern (possibly opus sectile
Opus sectile
Opus sectile refers to an art technique popularized in the ancient and medieval Roman world where materials were cut and inlaid into walls and floors to make a picture or pattern. Common materials were marble, mother of pearl, and glass. The materials were cut in thin pieces, polished, then trimmed...
) evoking a room in an imperial palace.
This figure is sometimes interpreted as a consul
Roman consul
A consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic.Each year, two consuls were elected together, to serve for a one-year term. Each consul was given veto power over his colleague and the officials would alternate each month...
, and the statuette of Victory and the bag (interpreted as in all probability containing gold) as consular attributes. However, the figure may also represent sparsio, the consular largesses represented on other diptychs, such as those of Clement (513) and Justin (540), with the bag of gold more broadly symbolic of war booty, proof of imperial triumph. Equally, where Caesar Gallus holds a comparable statuette of victory in his image on the Calendar of 354, he wears civil and not military clothing. The officer on the Barberini ivory is thus more likely to represent a general who took part in the victorious campaign represented by the ivory. It is natural to suppose that in the symmetrical panel on the right (now missing) showed another general in similar fashion.
Bottom panel
The bottom panel forms a sort of frieze decorated by a double procession of barbarians and animals converging on a central figure of Victory. She is turned to look upwards towards the figure of the emperor on the central panel and holds in her right hand a military trophyTrophy
A trophy is a reward for a specific achievement, and serves as recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are most often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics...
, represented in the traditional form of a branch with military arms, armour and booty fixed to it. The defeated barbarians carry to the emperor various gifts as tribute and are differentiated by their clothes and by the wild animals who accompany them. To the left, two bearded figures are of the same type as the barbarian in the central panel, wearing short tunics, Phrygian caps and closed boots. One of them wears a crown, the other a cylindrical container with unknown contents, perhaps gold, and ahead of them walks a lion. They may be Persians or Scythians
To the right, the two barbarians are dressed very differently - nude from the waist up, they wear a fabric headdress heightened by feathers, a simple piece of fabric tied at the waist and sandals. They are accompanied by a tiger and a small elephant. The first bears an elephant's tusk on his shoulder and the second a baton of unknown function. These represent India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
ns.
This motif of barbarians rendering homage to the emperor is common in Roman and Byzantine bas-reliefs – here, its is the aurum coronarium, the presenting of tribute. They show the emperor's clementia
Clementia
In Roman mythology, Clementia was the goddess of forgiveness and mercy. She was deified as a celebrated virtue of Julius Caesar, who was famed for his forbearance, especially following Caesar's civil war with Pompey from 49 BC. In 44 BC, a temple was consecrated to her by the Roman Senate, possibly...
and underline the symbolism of imperial victory. One of two ivory fragments attributed to an imperial diptych now in Milan also represent this motif, in a slightly earlier work. It can also be found in Constantinople, for example on the base of the column of Arcadius
Column of Arcadius
The column of Arcadius was a Roman triumphal column begun in 401 in the forum of Arcadius in Constantinople to commemorate Arcadius's triumph over the Goths under Gainas in 400...
(in a composition comparable to that on the Barberini ivory) or on the obelisk of Theodosius
Obelisk of Theodosius
The Obelisk of Theodosius is the Ancient Egyptian obelisk of Pharaoh Tutmoses III re-erected in the Hippodrome of Constantinople by the Roman emperor Theodosius I in the 4th century AD.-History:The obelisk was first set up by Tutmoses III to the south of the seventh pylon...
in the hippodrome
Hippodrome of Constantinople
The Hippodrome of Constantinople was a circus that was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. Today it is a square named Sultanahmet Meydanı in the Turkish city of Istanbul, with only a few fragments of the original structure surviving...
(shown left). On the obelisk of Theodosius ten barbarians, again divided into two groups, converge on the central figure of the emperor, in this example enthroned in majesty in an imperial box surrounded by other augusti. On the left are Persians, and on the right are indeterminate western barbarians, perhaps Germans or Goths
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
. Victory is absent on this relief, but she is well-represented on the lost base of the column of Arcadius and on the lost base traditionally attributed to the column of Constantine
Column of Constantine
The Column of Constantine is a Roman monumental column constructed on the orders of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great in 330 AD. It commemorates the declaration of Byzantium as the new capital city of the Roman Empire...
– in both cases Victory is in a central position, as a sort of intermediary between the defeated barbarians and the figure of the emperor, situated below.
Upper panel
The upper panel of the ivory is occupied by two angels bearing an imago clipeataImago clipeata
Imago clipeata literally translated from Latin means framed portrait. It is usually used in reference to the images of heroes on Roman shields. These shield portraits were often employed in Roman military memorial statuary...
, a large medallion bearing a bust of a young and beardless Christ, holding a cruciform sceptre in his left hand and making a traditional sign of benediction with his right (the ring-finger held over the thumb). The bust is framed by symbols of the sun to the left and of the moon and a star to the right. The pair of angels bearing an image of Christ here replaces the earlier image of two Victories bearing a personification of Constantinople to be found on the second panel of the previously-mentioned imperial diptych at Milan – the substitution is far from insignificant and implies a paradigm shift vital to the dating and understanding of the Barberini ivory.
Identification of the emperor
The question of the identity of the emperor represented on the central panel is the central problem to have occupied commentators on the Barberini ivory – its first modern owner, Peiresc, recognised him without hesitation as HeracliusHeraclius
Heraclius was Byzantine Emperor from 610 to 641.He was responsible for introducing Greek as the empire's official language. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, successfully led a revolt against the unpopular usurper Phocas.Heraclius'...
and identified the officer offering the statuette of Victory as his son Constantine III. Later identifications of the central figure have also included Constantine I
Constantine I
Constantine the Great , also known as Constantine I or Saint Constantine, was Roman Emperor from 306 to 337. Well known for being the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, Constantine and co-Emperor Licinius issued the Edict of Milan in 313, which proclaimed religious tolerance of all...
, Constantius II
Constantius II
Constantius II , was Roman Emperor from 337 to 361. The second son of Constantine I and Fausta, he ascended to the throne with his brothers Constantine II and Constans upon their father's death....
, Zeno
Zeno (emperor)
Zeno , originally named Tarasis, was Byzantine Emperor from 474 to 475 and again from 476 to 491. Domestic revolts and religious dissension plagued his reign, which nevertheless succeeded to some extent in foreign issues...
and above all Anastasius I
Anastasius I (emperor)
Anastasius I was Byzantine Emperor from 491 to 518. During his reign the Roman eastern frontier underwent extensive re-fortification, including the construction of Dara, a stronghold intended to counter the Persian fortress of Nisibis....
or Justinian. The identification is complicated by the fact that the emperor shown is not necessarily the reigning emperor at the date when the ivory was produced. Thus the dating of the ivory is undeniably a useful indication in identifying the emperor but it is not conclusive in that regard.
Anastasius
Bargello
The Bargello, also known as the Bargello Palace or Palazzo del Popolo is a former barracks and prison, now an art museum, in Florence, Italy.-Terminology:...
in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
(left), the other at the Kunsthistorisches Museum
Kunsthistorisches Museum
The Kunsthistorisches Museum is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on Ringstraße, it is crowned with an octagonal dome...
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. They show the empress Ariadne
Ariadne (empress)
Aelia Ariadne was the Empress consort of Zeno and Anastasius I of the Byzantine Empire.-Family:Ariadne was a daughter of Leo I and Verina. Her mother was a sister of Basiliscus....
(?-518), wife of the emperor Zeno
Zeno (emperor)
Zeno , originally named Tarasis, was Byzantine Emperor from 474 to 475 and again from 476 to 491. Domestic revolts and religious dissension plagued his reign, which nevertheless succeeded to some extent in foreign issues...
(430-491) and then of Anastasius I
Anastasius I (emperor)
Anastasius I was Byzantine Emperor from 491 to 518. During his reign the Roman eastern frontier underwent extensive re-fortification, including the construction of Dara, a stronghold intended to counter the Persian fortress of Nisibis....
(491-518). This parallel could suggest identifying the emperor on the Barberini ivory with Anastasius.
Anastasius's reign was marked by a difficult war against the Sassanid Persians
Roman-Persian Wars
The Roman–Persian Wars were a series of conflicts between states of the Greco-Roman world and two successive Iranic empires: the Parthian and the Sassanid. Contact between the Parthian Empire and the Roman Republic began in 92 BC; wars began under the late Republic, and continued...
from 502 to 505, ended by a peace in 506, which restored the status quo but which could be presented in Constantinople as a triumph after initial Roman setbacks. The production of the Barberini ivory can thus be envisaged in this context, making the triumph represented the one celebrated over the Persians.
Although the figure shares characteristics with certain consuls on diptychs contemporary with Anastasius I, such as that of Anastasius (517) and above all that of Magnus (518), the emperor's portrait on the Barberini ivory bears little resemblance with known portraits of Anastasius such as the medallion on the consular diptych of Anastasius. It is in fact closer to known portraits of Constantine, which has allowed certain historians to identify him with that emperor, including Barberini himself, as a contemporary catalogue entry for it shows (see above). This interpretation also owes something to the modern inscription on the right-hand replacement panel, in which it is easy to recognise the emperor's name, or at least so long as it does not refer to Constans
Constans
Constans , was Roman Emperor from 337 to 350. He defeated his brother Constantine II in 340, but anger in the army over his personal life and preference for his barbarian bodyguards saw the general Magnentius rebel, resulting in Constans’ assassination in 350.-Career:Constans was the third and...
or Constantius II instead.
On the other hand, stylistic criteria leave no doubt that the ivory is no earlier than the end of the 5th century, with the resemblance to the imperial portrait to portraits of Constantine explained by the commissioner's explicit will to recall the image of that emperor. From this perspective, this reference back to the iconography of Constantine fits Justinian better than it does Anastasius I.
Justinian
The lower-relief style of the secondary panels, and notably the purely graphic and unplastic rendering of clothing, accommodates a later dating of the work to around the middle of the 6th century. The work's combination of high-quality reliefs evokes another famous work of ivory sculpture of this era, the Throne of Maximianus at RavennaRavenna
Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...
(545-556), very visibly another product of the imperial workshops in Constantinople – this would make the triumphant emperor Justinian.
Murano
Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. It lies about 1.5 km north of Venice and measures about across with a population of just over 5,000 . It is famous for its glass making, particularly lampworking...
, it also figures on the bas-reliefs of the column of Arcadius
Column of Arcadius
The column of Arcadius was a Roman triumphal column begun in 401 in the forum of Arcadius in Constantinople to commemorate Arcadius's triumph over the Goths under Gainas in 400...
and the decoration of the sarcophagus of Sarigüzel. Replacing the cross within the crown with a bust of Christ on the Barberini ivory marks another step in the Christianisation of the relief form, which would also date it to later than the reign of Anastasius and corresponds well to the ideological orientation observed at the start of Justinian's reign. The Archangel ivory
Archangel ivory
The Archangel ivory is the largest surviving Byzantine ivory panel, now in the British Museum. Dated to the early 6th century, it depicts an archangel holding a sceptre and imperial orb.-Description:...
in London, of which only one panel survives, represents an archangel holding a sceptre and a globe topped by a cross and can be assigned to the same ideological movement. It was dated precisely to the start of Justinian's reign in 527 by D.H. Wright, after making a new translation of its Greek inscription.
The identification of the triumphant emperor with Justinian thus corresponds quite well to the imagery left behind by this emperor, which also includes equestrian statues and statues of Victory (for victories over the Persians that were heavily proclaimed in propaganda but not particularly real). A drawing by Nymphirios (a member of the entourage of Cyriac of Ancona) now in the library of the University of Budapest
University of Budapest
The Eötvös Loránd University or ELTE, founded in 1635, is the largest university in Hungary, located in Budapest.-History:The university was founded in 1635 in Nagyszombat by the archbishop and theologian Péter Pázmány. Leadership was given over to the Jesuits...
shows the statue which surmounted the column raised by Justinian in 543/4 in the Augustaion
Augustaion
The Augustaion or, in Latin, Augustaeum, was an important ceremonial square in ancient and medieval Constantinople , roughly corresponding to the modern Aya Sofya Meydanı...
in Constantinople and described at length by Procopius of Caesarea in his Edifices (I, 2, 5). The emperor, mounted on a horse with one hoof raised, holds an orb surmounted by a cross in his left hand and greets the viewer with his right hand. He is crowned with a large plumed headdress or toupha
Toupha
The toupha is a plumage of the hair or bristles of exotic animals, used to decorate horsemen's helmets and emperors' crowns.One of the most famous touphas is that which surmounted the crown or helmet of the equestrian statue of Justinian I on the column raised by that emperor in the Augustaion...
. According to the epigram which was its dedicatory inscription, conserved in the Anthology
Greek Anthology
The Greek Anthology is a collection of poems, mostly epigrams, that span the classical and Byzantine periods of Greek literature...
of Planudes
Maximus Planudes
Maximus Planudes, less often Maximos Planoudes , Byzantine grammarian and theologian, flourished during the reigns of Michael VIII Palaeologus and Andronicus II Palaeologus. He was born at Nicomedia in Bithynia, but the greater part of his life was spent in Constantinople, where as a monk he...
and confirmed by Procopius's account, the statue was set up so as to face east, towards the Persians, as a sign of the emperor threatening them. The connection of this statue with the triumphant emperor on the Barberini ivory is also justified in that the former was part of a sculptural group in the Augustaion which also included statues of three barbarian kings offering tribute to the emperor, as in the lower panel of the ivory.
Solidus (coin)
The solidus was originally a gold coin issued by the Romans, and a weight measure for gold more generally, corresponding to 4.5 grams.-Roman and Byzantine coinage:...
(164g), discovered in 1751 and now lost after being stolen from the Cabinet des Médailles
Cabinet des Médailles
The Cabinet des Médailles, more formally known as Département des Monnaies, Médailles et Antiques de la Bibliothèque nationale de France, is a department of the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris, France, housed in its former premises in Rue de Richelieu.The Cabinet des Médailles is a museum...
(now part of the BNF
Bibliothèque nationale de France
The is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...
) in 1831, although an electrotype
Electrotyping
Electrotyping is a chemical method for forming metal parts that exactly reproduce a model. The method was invented by Moritz von Jacobi in Russia in 1838, and was immediately adopted for applications in printing and several other fields...
of it survives. On the obverse is a nimbate
Halo (religious iconography)
A halo is a ring of light that surrounds a person in art. They have been used in the iconography of many religions to indicate holy or sacred figures, and have at various periods also been used in images of rulers or heroes...
bust of Justinian as a general, armed with a lance, wearing a cuirass and crowned with the diadem and toupha. The inscription reads Dominus Noster Iustiniianus Perpetuus Augustus (Our Lord Justinian, Perpetual Augustus). The reverse shows Justinian, again with a nimbus, riding a richly-dressed horse whose harness recalls that of the horse on the Barberini ivory. In front of him is a Victory holding a palm and a trophy under her left arm. A star is shown on the field, the exergue inscription gives the mark CONOB (indicating a mint in Constantinople) and the legend reads Salus et Gloria Romanorum (Safety and Glory of the Romans). The portrayal of Justinian in three-quarters profile allows the medal to be dated to before 538, after which he was systematically only represented full-face (right). The particularly sumptuous celebrations at the triumph in 534 marking the reconquest of Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
from the Vandals
Vandals
The Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century. The Vandals under king Genseric entered Africa in 429 and by 439 established a kingdom which included the Roman Africa province, besides the islands of Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and the Balearics....
could have been the occasion marked by the minting of this exceptional medal.
Another equestrian statue, of which only the dedicatory inscription remains (again in the Anthology of Planudes
Greek Anthology
The Greek Anthology is a collection of poems, mostly epigrams, that span the classical and Byzantine periods of Greek literature...
), could be seen in the hippodrome of Constantinople
Hippodrome of Constantinople
The Hippodrome of Constantinople was a circus that was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. Today it is a square named Sultanahmet Meydanı in the Turkish city of Istanbul, with only a few fragments of the original structure surviving...
. This time no drawing of the statue survives, but its location in the hippodrome (the main meeting place in Constantinople and thus the best place for exhibiting imperial propaganda images) leads us to think that it must have been one of the most famous equestrian statues of the emperor, and thus likely to be imitated in ivory and other media. The inscription certainly suggests a monumental composition which cannot fail to evoke the central motif of the Barberini ivory:
Behold, prince [and] exterminator of the Medes, the offerings brought to you by Eusthathios, at the same time father and son of the Rome which you hold: a horse rearing over a Victory, a second Victory who crowns you and you yourself astride this horse, fast as the wind. Thus high has your power risen, O Justinian – and on the earth the champions of the Medes and Scythians will remain forever in chains.
The existence of these equestrian statues of Justinian at Constantinople suggests that the central theme of the Barberini ivory reprises a lost type popularised by these statues, rather than that it created a new type. At least one other example of this type survives, on a bronze weight, now held at the Byzantine and Christian Museum of Athens (right). It bears an exact copy of the central motif of the Barberini ivory, with less detail and on a highly-reduced scale. Rather than the bronze being directly modelled on the ivory, it is more probable that they both derived from a single model, perhaps a lost equestrian statue in the hippodrome. This does not cast doubt on the bronze, like the diptych, being the product of an imperial workshop and an official object. However, the bronze remains a more modest copy of the model, cheaper and thus perhaps meant for a wider circulation than the ivory.
The existence of this smaller copy confirms the popularity of this type of propaganda image under the rule of Justinian and also speaks of the emperor's zeal for making and preading these images on very different media, from the monumental figurative sculptures in full three-dimensions to reliefs, bronze miniatures and ivory panels. Justinian's reign contained many wars that ended in victory, or more often wars that could be presented propagandistically as such, thus justifying the production of this type of object.
The pre-eminent position of a barbarian traditionally identified as a Persian as well as the type's parallels with the statuary group of the Augustaion invites the viewer to consider that the creation of this image type was occasioned by the “perpetual peace” concluded with the Persian Empire in 532, although stylistic criteria suggest a later date.