Plaque with Christ and the Symbols of the Four Evangelists in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, July 2010

Title: Plaque with Christ and the Symbols of the Four Evangelists

Date: ca. 1050

Geography: Made in possibly Fulda, Germany

Culture: Ottonian

Medium: Ivory

Dimensions: Overall: 6 15/16 x 3 7/8 x 5/16 in. (17.7 x 9.8 x 0.8 cm)

Classification: Ivories

Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917

Accession Number: 17.190.51

Description:

Christ’s arms are outstretched to display his wounds. The seven cloud-like forms on the periphery of the central medallion may refer to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. The style and composition of the subject suggest a close link to manuscript illuminations produced in the scriptorium of the Benedictine monastery at Fulda, a leading center of learning during the Ottonian period.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/mediev...