Convivium

Ivo of Chartres (1040–1115) offers a case study about how objects – ivories in particular – knitted together social relations and established kinship networks across medieval France. An active reformer amidst the Investiture Controversy, Ivo is best known today for his lively and compelling correspondence. This article, however, argues that Ivo should also be remembered for the carved ivories in his possession. At least three ivories from the late eleventh century (although two are now lost) can be associated with Ivo: a comb, a set of tablets (probably a diptych), and his crosier, which is now in Florence’s Bargello Museum. Interweaving Ivo’s written reflections on the role of ivory objects in his life as reformer, bishop, politician, and friend, the essay further traces the history of Ivo’s crosier as it was passed to following generations of reform-minded canons.

An icon known as Panagia Amirou is still used and venerated at the monastery of Panagia Amirou, near the Cypriot village of Apsiou. The icon consists of two panels inserted one into the other and thus belongs to the rare category of so-called “composite icons.” This essay analyses this unusual form giving special attention to the inset icon, which, the study concludes, should be dated to the second half of the fourteenth century and, hence, is much older than the embedding panel, which dates to the sixteenth century. By pointing to details that reveal the previous use of the inner panel and by referring to different notions of movability, the icon emerges as an active object that was meant to be touched, moved, opened, and otherwise interacted with.

Equestrian images of Theodoric, King of the Ostrogoths, can be studied through written sources. This article focuses on the articulation between monumental sculptures that stood in public spaces and mosaic images recorded in the palaces of Ravenna and Pavia. This allows to reflect on the relationship between statuary and two-dimensional images in the depiction of the sovereign in Late Antiquity. Analysis of the main theoderician images known shows a renewed emphasis in representative media on two-dimensional images that served to place Theodoric in the tradition of the empire he led, presenting him at the same time as a leader with new ambitions for his realm.

An essential element among medieval church furnishings was the tabernacle or sacrament house, where the consecrated Host was placed for storage toward the end of the Mass. While the most numerous and best studied of such tabernacles to survive are in and around Germany, this article offers a first comprehensive account of medieval tabernacles preserved in the Basque Country (País Vasco/Euskadi) of northern Spain; scholars have hitherto overlooked these tabernacles. The focus here is on tabernacles created between the councils of Lateran IV (1215) and Trent (1545–1563), when a lack of clear prescriptions resulted in considerable variety. All examples studied were produced in the late Gothic and early Renaissance styles, and these tabernacles’ forms fall into two types: wall niches and freestanding towers. Many tabernacles consist only of architectural frames, but some feature elaborate iconographic programs; while some are true works of art, many others are rather modest or based on fine models but executed in a provincial manner. A fascinating aspect is the Atlantic geographic connections that become manifest in the Basque tabernacles, particularly to northern France and the Low Countries, with which the Basques were closely linked through maritime commerce.

The iconography of Maria Regina in eighth-century Rome illustrates a deep connection between sacred painted images and architectural spaces in the basilicas of San Clemente, San Lorenzo fuori le Mura, and Santa Susanna. This essay focuses on the concept of zones of transition, i.e., liminal spaces, within sacred buildings. Distinct iconographic similarities among these sites suggest a common prototype drawn upon by artisans working at the same time. Altars situated in these transitional areas served both funerary and catechumenal purposes, emphasizing Mary’s role as intercessor and guide. This consistent depiction underscores her significance in rites of passage, providing spiritual support during transitions such as physical death and the figurative death of baptism, thereby highlighting her importance in these ritual contexts.

Fresh analysis of the great seal of Queen Jadwiga of Poland leads to new interpretation. From study of the seal’s figurative components and comparison with other important royal and princely seals from the second half of the fourteenth century, we can deduce that the artist who designed this seal intended to evoke an imaginative yet realistic elevation of a sacred architecture as seen from inside. This architecture is structured into five perspectival sections, with the lateral wings unfolding almost like in a foldable polyptych. Thus, the viewer’s perception is that of being in front of a precious box that, when opened, reveals its treasures within.