Pastoral Staff
1250-1270 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This is an ivory crozier head containing a plaque. The plaque is made in France in about 1250-1270, while the knop and volute strips are made in about 1200. The silver mounts are German, made in the first half of the fifteenth century. The plaque depicts the Crucifixion on one side and the Virgin and Child on the other.
The name crozier is commonly used for the crook-shaped pastoral staff of a bishop or abbot. It forms part of their insignia. It was carried as a symbol of authority and pastoral care. It was made of various materials , but by the twelfth century ivory was in widespread use for the head of the crozier. The shaft was often made of wood, occasionally embellished with metal knops, although on Italian Gothic examples, ivory and bone cylinders were used in construction. French Gothic ivory crozier heads are predominantly of one design, with the Crucifixion and the Virgin and St John on one side and the Virgin and Child , flanked by candle-bearing angels, on the other. It appears that the principal face was that to be seen when the volute of the crozier was facing to the right, here the Crucifixion.
Ivory was used all over Europe for religious works of art. It was often combined with precious metals and usually took the form of relief panels, for book covers, portable altars and caskets.
The name crozier is commonly used for the crook-shaped pastoral staff of a bishop or abbot. It forms part of their insignia. It was carried as a symbol of authority and pastoral care. It was made of various materials , but by the twelfth century ivory was in widespread use for the head of the crozier. The shaft was often made of wood, occasionally embellished with metal knops, although on Italian Gothic examples, ivory and bone cylinders were used in construction. French Gothic ivory crozier heads are predominantly of one design, with the Crucifixion and the Virgin and St John on one side and the Virgin and Child , flanked by candle-bearing angels, on the other. It appears that the principal face was that to be seen when the volute of the crozier was facing to the right, here the Crucifixion.
Ivory was used all over Europe for religious works of art. It was often combined with precious metals and usually took the form of relief panels, for book covers, portable altars and caskets.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Elephant ivory (the plaque and knop), bone or ivory (volute strips) and silver-gilt mounts |
| Brief description | Pastoral staff with plaque, ivory painted and gilt, the plaque Northern France, ca. 1250-1270; the knop and volute strips probably Sicilian, ca. 1200; the mounts German, first half of the fifteenth century |
| Physical description | Crocketed volute, which terminates in a flower and encloses an ivory plaque carved on one side with the Virgin and Child enthroned, and on the other with Christ on the Cross between the Virgin and St. John. The spherical knop is encircled by two zigzag bands, above and below which are grotesque birds and devices composed of dotted circles. Above each subject on the plaque is a wide trefoil arch surmounted by a tiled arcading with spires, simulating a cathedral façade. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | Formerly Martin Heckscher collection, Vienna; Heckscher sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 4-6 May 1898, lot 189; then George Salting collection, London. Bequeathed to the V&A by Salting, 1910. |
| Production | North Italy or France |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This is an ivory crozier head containing a plaque. The plaque is made in France in about 1250-1270, while the knop and volute strips are made in about 1200. The silver mounts are German, made in the first half of the fifteenth century. The plaque depicts the Crucifixion on one side and the Virgin and Child on the other. The name crozier is commonly used for the crook-shaped pastoral staff of a bishop or abbot. It forms part of their insignia. It was carried as a symbol of authority and pastoral care. It was made of various materials , but by the twelfth century ivory was in widespread use for the head of the crozier. The shaft was often made of wood, occasionally embellished with metal knops, although on Italian Gothic examples, ivory and bone cylinders were used in construction. French Gothic ivory crozier heads are predominantly of one design, with the Crucifixion and the Virgin and St John on one side and the Virgin and Child , flanked by candle-bearing angels, on the other. It appears that the principal face was that to be seen when the volute of the crozier was facing to the right, here the Crucifixion. Ivory was used all over Europe for religious works of art. It was often combined with precious metals and usually took the form of relief panels, for book covers, portable altars and caskets. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.548-1910 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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