A Group of Italo-Byzantine Ivories

Abstract

The problem of determining the exact center of production of a certain group of ivories2 variously assigned to Italy and Byzantium has never been successfully met. Its solution has been made difficult by the uncertainty of the nature of the Byzantine style during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and by the lack hitherto of any adequate demonstration of the deterioration that style underwent in the hands of Italian imitators. Lacking a knowledge of both these determinants, scholars have been hesitant to apply the term Italo-Byzantine to any ivories whatsoever. One need not state any justification for expecting an activity in ivory carving in North Italy about the year 1200 beyond the mention of the marked stimulation in other arts exerted on that section by Constantinople. Connection between the two lands was close, and we know that Byzantine workmen and artists migrated to Venice,3 particularly after the fall of Constantinople in the year 1204, there to set a direct example for the natives to follow. Surely we may expect an activity in ivory carving in North Italy in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and we may look for a transformation of the style of the Byzantine models into one with marked characteristics of its own.