Paris, France
Around 1325–50
Carved ivory
85 x 47 x 7 mm
On the left panel, the infant Christ blesses and crowns a haloed figure, who is thought to be the French King Louis IX (sainted in 1297). Kneeling to the other side of Christ is probably Saint Louis’s granddaughter Marie de Bourbon-Clermont, a Dominican nun. King Louis strongly supported the Christian monastic orders.
Both figures wear cloaks which were originally painted to appear black – the colour of the Dominican order.
Diptychs were amongst the most popular format for medieval carved ivories. Held in the hand like a book, they were intimate objects carved with scenes from the lives of Christ or the Virgin Mary. Their owners would have known the biblical stories well and used these works as supports for meditation. The figures’ expressive faces and gestures, their modern clothing and the vividly carved details would have lent a sense of immediacy to the scenes.