Anonymous Reliquary ca. 1400-1425 ivory, silver Rijksmuseum |
Curators of the ornamental ivory carvings at the Rijksmuseum explain that the St Christopher below was originally not an object of decoration but an object of use, like the reliquary above. The St Christopher, less than four inches tall, was a "talisman" – designed to be carried in a pocket as a charm of safety for a pilgrim, and to fit inside the hand. The ivory reliquary-box was used (more obviously) to protect and preserve a sacred artifact of some sort. Since that object no longer exists, the reliquary clearly failed to fulfill its purpose.
Anonymous St Christopher ca. 1430-50 ivory Rijksmuseum |
Anonymous Infant Sea Nymphs with Hippocamp and Dolphins 1657 ivory relief Rijksmuseum |
Anonymous Justitia ca. 1600-1625 ivory Rijksmuseum |
Pieter Xaveri Eve 1671 ivory Rijksmuseum |
Pieter Xaveri Adam 1671 ivory Rijksmuseum |
Paul Heermann Samson with Philistines ca. 1700 ivory Rijksmuseum |
Johann Ulrich Hurdter Jupiter and Juno ca. 1670 ivory Rijksmuseum |
Francis van Bossuit Mars ca. 1680-92 ivory Rijksmuseum |
Francis van Bossuit Venus and Adonis ca. 1685-92 ivory relief Rijksmuseum |
Francis van Bossuit Woman playing a lute ca. 1685-92 ivory relief Rijksmuseum |
Francis van Bossuit Susanna and the Elders ca. 1690 ivory relief Getty Museum, Los Angeles |
François Dumont Portrait of Marguerite Gérard 1793 pigment on ivory Wallace Collection, London |
Jean Urbain Guérin Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire & Lady Elizabeth Foster 1791 pigment on ivory Wallace Collection, London |