Diptych of the Deposition and Resurrection

The "Diptych of the Deposition and Resurrection" is a French Gothic ivory carving, created from elephant ivory around 1320. Ivory diptychs of this type were luxury devotional objects popular among the wealthy nobility and clergy in medieval Europe, and French workshops of this period were renowned for their ivory craftsmanship.

The hinged two-panel format pairs two key narratives from Christian theology: Christ's Deposition (his removal from the cross after the Crucifixion) on one panel and his Resurrection from the tomb on the other. These paired scenes were designed to encourage private meditation on the central events of the Christian Passion narrative.

Gothic ivory diptychs from early 14th-century France were designed for private devotional use, allowing their owners to engage in personal prayer and meditation at home or while traveling. The hinged panels could be folded shut, making them portable and protectable, similar in concept to later illuminated Books of Hours.

French ivory workshops, particularly those in Paris, were the leading producers of high-quality Gothic religious carvings during the early 14th century. Paris was a major center of medieval luxury arts production, and its ivory carvings were exported to wealthy patrons across Europe.