Title

Plaque depicting the Holy Women

Cultural context / style

Medieval. Romanesque

Dimensions

5,31 x 5,31 in.

Material

Ivory

Technique

Carved

Iconography / Theme

Camino a Emaús, Tres Marías

Provenance

Province of León (León, Spain)

Current location

The Stage Hermitage (San Petesburgo, Russia)

Inventory Number in Current Collection

Ф-10

Object history

There are stylistic details in this plaque that relate it to other works produced in León, a fundamental centre on the pilgrimage to Santiago, and the site of one of the main ivory production workshops in the 11th century, as shown in the rich repertoire of San Isidoro de León (Franco Mata, 2006; Álvarez da Silva, 2016). This exquisite ivory carving would have formed part of a larger piece in which other scenes relating to the life of Christ would appear. Álvarez Silva studies this plaque together with two others in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Noli me tangere, and in the Massaveu Collection in Oviedo, Descendimiento (Descent from the Cross). From a stylistic point of view they could be dated to between the late 11th and early 12th century. According to the author, this work in the Hermitage Museum together with the one in the Asturian collection, if they were joined together, would have very similar proportions to its companion in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which is larger in size. (Álvarez Silva, 2014, p. 289-290).

Description

The scene alludes to Crhist's resurrection, speciafically to his appearance to the three Marys.

Both the delicacy of the carving and the elongated arrangement of the bodies, as well as the gestures of the figures, allow us to relate this work to others produced in León at the same time.

Locations

Unknown date
province
Province of León, León (Spain)
1885
private collection
Alexander P. Basilewski collection (or Basilewsy) (Russia) *
1885 - present
museum
The Stage Hermitage, San Petesburgo (Russia)

* The relative location of dealers, antique shops, art galleries, and collectors leads us to the places where they were based or had one of their main headquarters. However, this does not always indicate that every artwork that passed through their hands was physically located there. In the case of antique dealers and art merchants, their business often extended across multiple territories; sometimes they would purchase items at their origin and send them directly to clients. Similarly, some collectors owned multiple residences, sometimes in different countries, where they housed their collections. It is often difficult to determine exactly where a specific piece was kept during its time in their possession. Consequently, the main location of the dealer or collector is indicated. These factors should be considered when interpreting the map. Refer to the object's history in each case.

Bibliography

ÁLVAREZ DA SILVA, Noemí (2014): El trabajo del marfil en la España del siglo XI. (Tesis Doctoral), Universidad de León, León, pp. 289-290.
ÁLVAREZ DA SILVA, Noemí (2016): La talla del marfil en la España del siglo XI, Universidad de León, León.
ESTELLA MARCOS, Margarita-Mercedes (1984): "La escultura de marfil en España: Románica y Gótica", Editora Nacional, Madrid, pp. 61-62, il. 12.
FERRANDIS TORRES, José (1928): Marfiles y azabaches españoles, Labor, Barcelona, pp. 134, 189-190., il. LXV, fig. 1.
FRANCO MATA, Ángela (2001): "Las ilustraciones del Beato de San Pedro de Cardeña/The Illustrations in the San Pedro de Cardeña Beatus", en Beato de Liébana. Códice de San Pedro de Cardeña: Commentary, M. Moleiro, Barcelona.
FRANCO MATA, Ángela (2010): "Arte medieval leonés fuera de España", nº 3, e-art documents.
KRYZANOVSKAYA, Marta (1990): "Alexander Petrovich Basilevsky: A Great Collector of Medieval and Renaissance Works of Art", vol. 2, nº 2, en Journal of the History of Collections .

Record manager

María José Martínez Ruiz

Citation:

María José Martínez Ruiz, "Plaque depicting the Holy Women" in Nostra et Mundi. Cultural Heritage from Castile and Leon around the world, Fundación Castilla y León, 2025. https://inventario.nostraetmundi.com/en/work/265

The Holy Women

The State Hermitage Museum, San Petersburgo

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Plaque depicting the Holy Women

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Description

Locations

Unknown date

province

Province of León, León (Spain)

1885

private collection

Alexander P. Basilewski collection (or Basilewsy) (Russia) *

1885 - present

museum

The Stage Hermitage, San Petesburgo (Russia)

Bibliography

Record manager

Citation:

The Holy Women

The State Hermitage Museum, San Petersburgo

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