42 IVORY AND THE ELEPHANT 



merit of the Massacre of the Innocents, where some of the 

 soldier executioners are depicted as having seized the chil- 

 dren by their ankles and swung them aloft, prior to dashing 

 out their brains on the pavement before the bloodthirsty- 

 Herod. 



Although the Byzantine ivories of the tenth, eleventh, 

 and twelfth centuries showed an artistic excellence equal to 

 the work of the French ivory carvers of the thirteenth and 

 fourteenth centuries, there is apparent in the designs and 

 execution a certain monotony and conventionality. As a 

 characteristic specimen may be noted the central leaf of a 

 triptych preserved in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, 

 whereon is depicted Christ bestowing a blessing upon the 

 imperial pair, Romanus (1068-1071) and Eudocia, as indi- 

 cated by inscriptions above the heads of these figures, the 

 entire design showing at once the technical ability of the 

 carver and the lack of originality to be remarked in the work 

 of this place and period.* 



The diptych of Rombona in the Vatican Museum is per- 

 haps the most characteristic specimen of early Lombardic 

 medieval work executed under Byzantine influence. On one 

 of the leaves is a representation of Romulus and Remus with 

 the wolf, and above, a medallion with the figure of Christ, 

 who is raising his hand to bless the Greek banner; on the 

 second leaf the Virgin is depicted between two cherubim. 

 An inscription denotes that this diptych came from Agel- 

 truda, wife of Guy, Duke of Camerino and Spoleto, King of 

 Italy and, in 891 A. D., emperor.f 



What may be considered as the finest ivory triptych exe- 

 cuted by a Byzantine carver is that in the Louvre Museum, 

 known as the Harbaville triptych. It is in perfectly com- 



*0. M. Dalton, "Byzantine Art and Archaeology," Oxford, 1911, pp. 227, 228; see Fig. 

 139. 



tA. M. Cust, "The Ivory Workers of the Middle Ages," London, 1906, p. 97. 



