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These intricately carved ivory panels once decorated the sides of a portable altar. Three of the plaques, those depicting Christ in Majesty and his apostles, were the first major acquisition of William M. Milliken, the museum's first curator of decorative arts and later director (1930–58). They were purchased from Emile Rey, the New York partner of Arnold Seligmann, Rey and Company, who had been closely associated with J. P. Morgan, Henry Walters, and other important American collectors. The fourth plaque, depicting the Crucifixion, was donated by Arnold Seligmann, Rey and Company later the same year. As Milliken later recalled, the pieces Rey showed him "were immensely intriguing, monumental in scale, even if tiny in size, the Christ in the Mandorla could have been enlarged and would have graced the tympanum of a great cathedral. . . . These morse [that is, walrus] ivories overwhelmed me . . . Somehow they must come to Cleveland. How was the question. Yet they would and must."

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Page
1
Source index
0
Type
photo
Media ID
ac479e799a3bb2b3
Size
unknown

Document data

ID
104198
Core
obj
Type
object
DTO data
{
    "id": "104198",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Plaque from a Portable Altar Showing the Crucifixion",
    "description": "These intricately carved ivory panels once decorated the sides of a portable altar. Three of the plaques, those depicting Christ in Majesty and his apostles, were the first major acquisition of William M. Milliken, the museum's first curator of decorative arts and later director (1930–58). They were purchased from Emile Rey, the New York partner of Arnold Seligmann, Rey and Company, who had been closely associated with J. P. Morgan, Henry Walters, and other important American collectors. The fourth plaque, depicting the Crucifixion, was donated by Arnold Seligmann, Rey and Company later the same year. As Milliken later recalled, the pieces Rey showed him \"were immensely intriguing, monumental in scale, even if tiny in size, the Christ in the Mandorla could have been enlarged and would have graced the tympanum of a great cathedral. . . . These morse [that is, walrus] ivories overwhelmed me . . . Somehow they must come to Cleveland. How was the question. Yet they would and must.\"",
    "date": "1050–1100",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1922.359",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q60751791"
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Ivory"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1922.359/1922.359_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1922.359/1922.359_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1922.359/1922.359_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 5.1 x 9.6 cm (2 x 3 3/4 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Germany, Lower Rhine Valley, Romanesque period, 11th century"
    ],
    "accession": "1922.359"
}

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Document identity
{
    "localId": "104198",
    "label": "Plaque from a Portable Altar Showing the Crucifixion",
    "core": "obj",
    "dtoType": "object"
}
Document source metadata
{
    "id": "104198",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Plaque from a Portable Altar Showing the Crucifixion",
    "description": "These intricately carved ivory panels once decorated the sides of a portable altar. Three of the plaques, those depicting Christ in Majesty and his apostles, were the first major acquisition of William M. Milliken, the museum's first curator of decorative arts and later director (1930–58). They were purchased from Emile Rey, the New York partner of Arnold Seligmann, Rey and Company, who had been closely associated with J. P. Morgan, Henry Walters, and other important American collectors. The fourth plaque, depicting the Crucifixion, was donated by Arnold Seligmann, Rey and Company later the same year. As Milliken later recalled, the pieces Rey showed him \"were immensely intriguing, monumental in scale, even if tiny in size, the Christ in the Mandorla could have been enlarged and would have graced the tympanum of a great cathedral. . . . These morse [that is, walrus] ivories overwhelmed me . . . Somehow they must come to Cleveland. How was the question. Yet they would and must.\"",
    "date": "1050–1100",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1922.359",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q60751791"
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Ivory"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1922.359/1922.359_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1922.359/1922.359_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1922.359/1922.359_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 5.1 x 9.6 cm (2 x 3 3/4 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Germany, Lower Rhine Valley, Romanesque period, 11th century"
    ],
    "accession": "1922.359"
}
Document source extras
{
    "tec": "walrus ivory",
    "tombstone": "Plaque from a Portable Altar Showing the Crucifixion, 1050–1100. Germany, Lower Rhine Valley, Romanesque period, 11th century. Walrus ivory; overall: 5.1 x 9.6 cm (2 x 3 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Arnold Seligmann, Rey and Company, Inc., 1922.359",
    "collection": "MED - Romanesque",
    "citations": [
        {
            "citation": "Milliken, William. \"Plaques from a Portable Altar.\" <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art </em>21, no. m1 (January 1934): 3-6.",
            "page_number": "Reproduced: front cover; Mentioned: p. 3-6",
            "url": "https://www.jstor.org/stable/25137591"
        },
        {
            "citation": "Gertsman, Elina and Barbara H. Rosenwein. <em>The Middle Ages in 50 Objects</em>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.",
            "page_number": "Mentioned: p. 64-67; Reproduced: p. 65"
        }
    ],
    "url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1922.359",
    "creditline": "Gift of Arnold Seligmann, Rey and Company, Inc.",
    "updatedAt": "2026-05-29 05:37:29.097000",
    "imageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1922.359/1922.359_print.jpg",
    "sourceId": 104198,
    "dept": "Medieval Art",
    "coll": "MED - Romanesque",
    "med": "walrus ivory",
    "thumbnail_url": null,
    "image_url": null
}
Page context
{
    "seq": 1,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1922.359/1922.359_web.jpg",
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}