Year end of fifth century | Type diptych | |
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Dimensions 24 cm × 18 cm × 2 cm (9.4 in × 7.1 in × 0.79 in) Similar Diptych of the Lampadii, Dittico Queriniano, Brescia Casket, Symmachi–Nicomachi diptych, Barberini ivory | ||
The Diptych of Boethius is an ivory consular diptych (24x18x2 cm), which dates from the end of the fifth century AD and is conserved in the Museo di Santa Giulia in Brescia.
Contents
Acquired by Cardinal Angelo Maria Querini during the eighteenth century, the worked passed to the Museo dell'Era Cristiana in his will.
History
The piece was made by Roman artisans to celebrate Manlius Boethius' second appointment as praefectus urbi of Rome in 487. The purpose of the work was purely commemorative - diptychs of this type were commissioned in order to be donated to friends and intimates on the occasion of important events, such as the appointment to important public offices.
Initially displayed in the Museo dell'Era Cristiana, which was opened in some rooms of the suppressed Monastery of Santa Giulia, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, it remained there for some time. With the opening of the Museo di Santa Giulia in 1998, the diptych became part of the "Collectables and applied arts" collection and is found in the vitrines dedicated to the Querini collection.
Description and style
The diptych shows the consul on both panels, seated on a throne and wearing an expensive tunic. The two figures are located in an architectural context, with two Corinthian pilasters on each side of them, supporting a frieze with the dedicatory inscription and surmounted by two triangular pediments.
The dedicatory inscription on the second tablet records the event being celebrated, which therefore allows the work to be dated: EX P(raefecto) P(raetorio) P(raefectus) U(rbi) SEC(undo) CONS(ul) ORD(inarius) ET PATRIC(ius) "From the Praetorian Prefect, Praefectus Urbi for the second time, ordinary Consul and patrician." The inscription on the first tablet identifies the person being commemorated as Manlius Boethius.
The work shows signs of final decoration with a burin which was able to produce the different depths of relief (the sceptres, the figure of Boethius, the architecture in the background) and to create the light but plentiful embroidery of the tunics.