Front panel of a deeply carved ivory box depicting... Lot 20

Front panel of a deeply carved ivory box depicting scenes from the life of Saint Eustatius. The plaque is divided into three panels: a large one in the center, framed by two smaller ones. The central panel illustrates the main scene of the legend, that of the Vision of the stag, which is not crucified here, but whose cross has been replaced by the head of Christ; on the left, the saint goes hunting accompanied by his dog, on horseback and blowing a horn; on the right, he converts his wife Theospita; on the surrounds, holes for fixing the missing silver hinges. Paris, circa 1300/1320 H. 7.1 cm - L. 20.4 cm - Thickness 1.1 cm (small missing ends) Provenance : - Noble family, Maine et Loire, since the 19th century, then received by the owner as a wedding gift The cult of Saint Eustace spread throughout France following the transfer of part of his relics first to the abbey of Saint-Denis, then, in 1190, to Paris. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the legend of the saintly hunter found a particular echo among the nobility and the court, who indulged in this aristocratic activity par excellence. Representations of the Conversion with the head of Christ, rather than a crucifix placed in the deer's antlers, can be seen in manuscripts and bas-reliefs from this period, such as an illumination from the Bibliothèque municipale de Lyon (ms.0244, fig.a) or the altarpiece of Saint Eustache from Saint-Denis (inv. CL 11491, fig. b). The theme of the legend of this general of Emperor Trajan also appears in 14th-century ivory production. Sometimes only the Conversion scene is illustrated, as on the box with the Histoire de Perceval le Gallois in the Musée du Louvre (inv. OA 122) or the horn in the Victoria and Albert Museum (inv.A.564-1910), or part of the legend, as shown on a box in this London museum (inv.A.45-1935). However, another case, from the former collection of Major Astor, now in that of American businessman Ronald Lauder, develops the story of Saint Eustace on all its sides, from the Vision of the Stag to its apotheosis (fig.c, c'). The plaque presented here was obviously made by the same ivory-maker. It is in fact identical to the one in this box, providing a striking example of the "mass-produced" character sometimes seen in 14th-century Parisian ivories. Link to Courtauld Institut database: Gothic Ivories Project / Front panel (fragment of casket), 1 register (coffret) (Front) (courtauld.ac.uk) Works consulted : - R. Koechlin, Les Ivoires gothiques français, Paris, 1968, cat. 255, p. 110-111, pl. LXV - D. Gaborit-Chopin, Ivoires médiévaux Ve-XVe siècle, Musée du Louvre, Paris, 2003, cat.132, p. 361-363. - P. Williamson and G. Davies, Medieval Ivory Carvings 1200-1550, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2014, Part I, cat.168, p.484-489, Part II, cat. 250, p. 732-737. - I. Ciseri ed. by, Gli Avori del Museo Nazionale del Bargello, ed. Officina Libraria, 2018, cat.VIII.31, p. 265-267. This object has a CITES certificate issued on March 7, 2023.