Peter and Paul and (on the right) Mary with the Christ Child between two
angels. Although they have been trimmed at the bottom, enough of the
decoration there remains to show the monogram of Bishop Maximianus of
Ravenna (r.546–556/557), who was appointed by Justinian.^1 The style is
Byzantine, and it is likely that Maximianus commissioned the diptych from
artists trained either at Constantinople or Alexandria.
Carved before images of holy people were themselves considered holy
(a notion that probably took hold only around 680), the ivory diptych here
is more about power in this world than in the next. Both Christ and the
Virgin sit on backless stools held up by lion legs—this was a depiction of
an “imperial” throne. Christ appears as the Ancient of Days, a powerful
judge known from the dream recorded in Daniel 7:9 and 7:22. There the
Ancient of Days wore a “garment white as snow, and the hair of his head
[was] like clean wool.” After horrible beasts prevailed over the saints, “the
Ancient of Days came and gave judgment to the saints of the most High,
and the time came, and the saints obtained the kingdom.” In the diptych,
Christ holds an ornately decorated Gospel book in his left hand while, with
his right, he gives a gesture of blessing.
On the other diptych panel, Mary sits with a very adult-looking Christ
Child on her lap. He is holding a scroll, rolled and tied, with his left hand
and, like the Ancient of Days, gives a gesture of blessing with his right
hand. Angels dressed like soldiers flank both mother and child. One is
holding an orb signifying the earth (proof that medieval people did not
believe the earth was flat!).
Both figures sit in front of arches that would have reminded
contemporary viewers of palace architecture. Above them, in the corners
of each diptych, are tiny busts symbolizing the sun and the moon.
Why would Maximianus want to depict Christ and the Virgin in these
ways?
The answer is probably to be found in the role and significance of
consular diptychs. After emperors named a man to consular rank, the
lucky nominee often demonstrated his joy, largess, wealth, and prestige by
distributing double images of himself to friends, relatives, and associates.
Closed, the diptychs advertised their donors; open, they served as useful
wax writing tablets.
A leaf from the consular diptych of Magnus, dated 518 and
