The Crucified Christ (The Cloisters)

The Crucified Christ (MA 2005.274) is a sculpture in walrus ivory, likely from Paris around 1300, now housed in The Cloisters, New York. The sculpture retains traces of paint and gilding.^[1] Despite its small scale, it is crafted in a monumental style.^[2] It depicts the dead and crucified body of Christ, a representation that, by the 12th century, was widely seen as a symbol of human suffering. The work is noted for its high-quality craftsmanship and the subtle, sensitive rendering of the torso.^[3] The stunted legs are a notable and somewhat inexplicable feature.^[4]

• 
  Side view
• 
  Head of Christ

Crucified Christ, 19.2 x 5.3 x 3.5 cm

The sculpture is damaged, with both arms, which would have been made separately, now missing. It is one of the few surviving northern European ivory statuettes of its kind (around 50 are known), which were popular in Paris around 1300, and it is arguably the finest of its kind.^[1] The sculpture was likely intended to be hung above an altar as a visible symbol of the sacrifice of the Son of God and a testament to his triumph over death.^{[5][failed verification]}

It was in a private collection in Argentina from 1964 until its acquisition by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2005.^[2]

Bibliography

Further reading

• "Front Matter: [Advertisement for Paris Biennale]". The Burlington Magazine. 146 (1218): IV. 2005. JSTOR 20073685.
• Little, Charles T. (2011). "Kölner Elfenbeinschnitzereien der Gotik: viele offene Fragen". In Täube, Dagmar; Fleck, Miriam Verena (eds.). Glanz und Größe des Mittelalters: Kölner Meisterwerke aus den großen Sammlungen der Welt (in German). München: Hirmer Verlag. p. 88. ISBN 978-3-7774-4531-1.