Ivory Plaque with Enthroned Mother of God ("The Stroganoff Ivory") (950–1025): Art, History and Details

Ivory Plaque with Enthroned Mother of God ("The Stroganoff Ivory") (950–1025) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The Mother of God is seated on a lavishly carved, high-backed throne. Two angels hover above, drawing attention to the Christ child poised in her lap. Representations of the enthroned Virgin and Child have a long tradition in Byzantine art, stretching back as far as the 6th century. With one hand raised in blessing, the other holding a scroll, Christ is portrayed here as an emotionless and supernatural child, visualizing for the pious beholder the mystery of his incarnation.

Object facts

• Title: Ivory Plaque with Enthroned Mother of God ("The Stroganoff Ivory")
• Date: 950–1025
• Culture: Byzantium, Constantinople, Byzantine period
• Type: Ivory
• Technique: ivory
• Dimensions: Overall: 25.3 x 17.2 x 1.8 cm (9 15/16 x 6 3/4 x 11/16 in.)
• Collection: MED - Byzantine
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1925.1293

A detail from the museum

This ivory is also known as the Stroganoff Ivory because it was once in the collection of Sergei Grigoryevich Stroganoff, a Russian statesman and art historian.

Collection credit

Gift of J. H. Wade

Further reading listed by the museum

• "Catalogue of the Douceau Museum" Gentleman's Magazine (June 1836)
• Trésor de numismatique et de glyptique ou recueil général de médailles, monnaies, pierres gravées, bas-reliefs, etc ... Choix historique des médailles des Papes, depuis les milieu du XVe siècle jusqu' à nos jours. Paris: Rittner et Goupil, 1839.
• Didron, A.N. Annales Archéologiques vol XVII (1857)

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.