0:00:00.000,0:00:02.583 (upbeat music) 0:00:04.263,0:00:06.120 - [Lady Narrator] We're in the Louve 0:00:06.120,0:00:09.690 looking at a small[br]exquisite Byzantine ivory 0:00:09.690,0:00:12.340 that dates from the mid 10th century. 0:00:12.340,0:00:14.460 - [Man Narrator] This is[br]the middle Byzantine period 0:00:14.460,0:00:16.850 soon after the iconophiles won 0:00:16.850,0:00:18.779 their battle with the iconoclasts. 0:00:18.779,0:00:22.404 - [Lady Narrator] From the[br]700ths through to the mid 800ths 0:00:22.404,0:00:26.710 the Byzantine emperor had[br]instituted a policy of Iconoclasm 0:00:26.710,0:00:28.946 that is disallowing images in churches, 0:00:28.946,0:00:30.839 disallowing religious imagery. 0:00:30.839,0:00:32.630 - [Man Narrator] But[br]when this was overturned 0:00:32.630,0:00:34.380 artwork flourish throughout the Empire. 0:00:34.380,0:00:36.830 - [Lady Narrator] And this is[br]a period that art historians 0:00:36.830,0:00:39.199 referred to as the Macedonian revival. 0:00:39.199,0:00:40.690 - [Man Narrator] We're[br]looking at a triptych, 0:00:40.690,0:00:42.900 which is to say it is[br]a three paneled ivory 0:00:42.900,0:00:45.220 and you can see that it's[br]hinged so that the doors 0:00:45.220,0:00:47.810 could actually close and[br]protect the interior scene. 0:00:47.810,0:00:50.289 It's carved on both[br]the front and the back. 0:00:50.289,0:00:51.700 - [Lady Narrator] At the top center, 0:00:51.700,0:00:54.710 we see a scene that is common[br]during this middle Byzantine 0:00:54.710,0:00:56.230 period called the Deesis. 0:00:56.230,0:00:58.230 - [Man Narrator] John the[br]Baptist and the Virgin Mary, 0:00:58.230,0:01:01.300 the bearer of God, come to Christ 0:01:01.300,0:01:03.760 and ask for his protection[br]for his blessing 0:01:03.760,0:01:05.080 on behalf of humanity. 0:01:05.080,0:01:07.720 - [Lady Narrator] This[br]triptych then formed a private 0:01:07.720,0:01:10.131 devotional object that could be opened 0:01:10.131,0:01:14.650 and looking at this top[br]center panel of the Deesis 0:01:14.650,0:01:18.067 one could engage in prayer[br]and ask John and Mary 0:01:18.067,0:01:21.402 for intercession with[br]Christ on their behalf. 0:01:21.402,0:01:23.240 - [Man Narrator] We see Christ seated on 0:01:23.240,0:01:25.730 an elaborate throne, his[br]right hand, his blessing, 0:01:25.730,0:01:27.720 his left hand holds the Bible 0:01:27.720,0:01:30.483 and we see his feet on[br]a foot rest that appears 0:01:30.483,0:01:32.480 really quite architectural. 0:01:32.480,0:01:34.250 - [Lady Narrator] Above[br]Christ, on either side we see 0:01:34.250,0:01:36.870 roundels with figures of angels. 0:01:36.870,0:01:39.640 What we noticed throughout[br]the triptych is that 0:01:39.640,0:01:42.140 all the figures have[br]inscriptions next to them 0:01:42.140,0:01:43.580 indicating who they are. 0:01:43.580,0:01:45.080 - [Man Narrator] I'm[br]struck by just how fine 0:01:45.080,0:01:47.400 the carving is look, for[br]instance, on the right side 0:01:47.400,0:01:49.980 of Mary's gown, you can[br]see the fringes clearly 0:01:49.980,0:01:53.130 and carefully rendered, as well[br]as the folds of the drapery. 0:01:53.130,0:01:54.130 - [Lady Narrator] And also in the back 0:01:54.130,0:01:55.980 of the throne behind Christ. 0:01:55.980,0:01:57.810 - [Man Narrator][br]Extraordinary craftsmanship. 0:01:57.810,0:02:00.201 - [Lady Narrator] Now, there[br]are five figures below Christ 0:02:00.201,0:02:03.000 and they represent five of the apostles, 0:02:03.000,0:02:04.900 the center one is St. Peter. 0:02:04.900,0:02:06.710 - [Man Narrator] Who we[br]can see grasping a scroll 0:02:06.710,0:02:08.740 with his left hand and[br]pointing up to Christ 0:02:08.740,0:02:09.573 with his right. 0:02:09.573,0:02:12.810 - [Lady Narrator] All the figures[br]stand on little platforms. 0:02:12.810,0:02:14.380 - [Man Narrator] The only exception are in 0:02:14.380,0:02:15.780 the upper registers of the wings, 0:02:15.780,0:02:18.840 where we see warrior saints[br]who stand on the ground plane 0:02:18.840,0:02:22.110 below them are rondels and[br]then again, standing figures. 0:02:22.110,0:02:23.481 Here we see saints and martyrs. 0:02:23.481,0:02:25.560 - [Lady Narrator] The[br]warrior saints seem to have 0:02:25.560,0:02:27.887 a classical pose to[br]them, they seem to stand 0:02:27.887,0:02:31.780 in a kind of contrapposto,[br]although the proportions 0:02:31.780,0:02:33.930 of their bodies are a little[br]bit off, but they do have 0:02:33.930,0:02:36.325 that sense of leaning to one[br]side of having their weight 0:02:36.325,0:02:38.635 born on one side of having one knee bent 0:02:38.635,0:02:41.240 of their hips a little bit out a sense 0:02:41.240,0:02:42.877 of asymmetry to their bodies. 0:02:42.877,0:02:44.410 - [Man Narrator] The ease to their stance, 0:02:44.410,0:02:45.860 they seem quite relaxed. 0:02:45.860,0:02:48.420 In fact, despite the[br]formality of the Deesis 0:02:48.420,0:02:50.875 and of all of the figures,[br]there's a sense of individuality 0:02:50.875,0:02:53.210 to each figure that's being rendered, 0:02:53.210,0:02:54.810 which has been achieved only because of 0:02:54.810,0:02:56.600 the very fine nature of the carving. 0:02:56.600,0:02:58.160 Let's go take a look at the back. 0:02:58.160,0:03:00.000 The back is more shallowly carved. 0:03:00.000,0:03:01.887 Here we see saints and church fathers. 0:03:01.887,0:03:04.200 - [Lady Narrator] We have[br]a symbolic representation 0:03:04.200,0:03:05.850 of the garden of paradise. 0:03:05.850,0:03:07.420 - [Man Narrator] It's a[br]marvelous rendering with lots 0:03:07.420,0:03:09.626 of detail and a real sense of the vertical 0:03:09.626,0:03:12.370 as if the plants themselves[br]on the ground plane 0:03:12.370,0:03:13.680 are reaching up to heaven. 0:03:13.680,0:03:15.080 - [Lady Narrator] Up toward the cross. 0:03:15.080,0:03:16.550 - [Man Narrator] Which is long and elegant 0:03:16.550,0:03:18.490 and has rosettes not only at the center 0:03:18.490,0:03:20.040 but at its four points. 0:03:20.040,0:03:21.520 - [Lady Narrator] We have cypress trees, 0:03:21.520,0:03:23.699 with vines and circling them and grapes. 0:03:23.699,0:03:26.190 - [Man Narrator] Leaning[br]in as if the cross itself 0:03:26.190,0:03:27.670 was almost magnetic. 0:03:27.670,0:03:29.807 - [Lady Narrator] A real sense[br]of the beauty and abundance 0:03:29.807,0:03:32.440 of paradise of the promise 0:03:32.440,0:03:34.888 of salvation of the[br]promise of eternal life 0:03:34.888,0:03:38.330 and a sense that from[br]the very cross itself 0:03:38.330,0:03:41.386 from Christ's sacrifice, life blooms. 0:03:41.386,0:03:43.290 - [Man Narrator] And[br]look at the orderliness 0:03:43.290,0:03:45.000 of the stars in the heavens. 0:03:45.000,0:03:46.419 This is a sense of solemnity, 0:03:46.419,0:03:48.948 a sense of beauty and a[br]sense of the spiritual 0:03:48.948,0:03:51.955 in the natural world,[br]which we tend to think of 0:03:51.955,0:03:56.108 in more modern terms but here[br]it is in the 10th century. 0:03:56.108,0:03:58.691 (upbeat music)