Triptych with Scenes from the Life of Christ

1350–75

Ivory was used to make highly prized devotional objects in the Gothic era. This triptych, featuring scenes from the life of Jesus Christ, might have been kept on a stand or cabinet in a bedroom and used as a focus for prayer along with an illuminated Psalter or Book of Hours. The intimate scale and movable wings made the triptych easy to store or carry.

Public domain · CC0
Free to download and reuse. Image courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago.

Artist

German; Cologne

Date

1350–75

Medium

Ivory with traces of gold

Dimensions

25.7 × 17.5 cm (10 1/8 × 6 15/16 in.)

Origin

Germany

Collection

Art Institute of Chicago

Credit

Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection