Plaque with the Holy Women at the Sepulchre


The Plaque with the Holy Women at the Sepulchre is a plaque carved in ivory that was most likely served as part of a cover to a liturgical manuscript. It depicts the scene of three holy women coming to the tomb of Jesus after his crucifixion to anoint his body only to be greeted by an angel that tells them he is no longer there. He has risen from the dead. The piece, measuring 7 1/2 by 4 1/4  by 5/16 inches, is from northern Italy during the early 10th century. It is currently in collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. 

When we consider this plaque as the cover of a liturgical manuscript, something that would have been handled it seems fitting that the material used be ivory. Ivory was often used because it invited touch. It was also used to represent flesh, often for crucifixes, because of it’s flesh-like qualities. As this materiality pertains to the story depicted in the Plaque with the Holy Women at the Sepulchre it serves to further symbolize the body, the death and resurrection, of Christ. 


Resources

metmuseum.org. Accessed September 2020. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/466254. 


Comments

  1. Erin27 September 2020 at 23:55

    It's almost hard to believe that this plaque is made of ivory, looking at it hundreds of years later. We think of ivory as pure white, but the piece in front of us is closer to a skin-tone due to aging, which makes it even more akin to the flesh it symbolizes.

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