France, 15th Century. Rape Of Proserpine - Narcissus At The Source

France, 15th century
Rape of Proserpine - Narcissus at the Source
(2) Ivory, cm 3,5 x 4,5
The rare pair of ivory reliefs examined depicts two scenes from the world of mythology. The first focuses on the Rape of Proserpine by Pluto. The god of the underworld, in love at first sight, sees her plucking flowers in a meadow, is caught the moment when, descending from the wagon that drove him from Hades on Earth, with an outstretched arm, tries to grab Proserpina who escapes defenseless.
The second scene represents the myth of Narcissus. After rejecting the love of Echo, following a divine punishment, he fell in love with his own image reflected in a body of water, then dying in the abyss in which he was mirrored. Set in a space well characterized by tree elements, the scene sees the protagonist portrayed leaning against a water source, accompanied by the presence of a couple of dogs and a character in the background. 
The secular and mythological theme is rarer than the religious one in the processing of this precious and particular material. In the present case, a very important elaboration can be noted, distinguished by a valid technical expertise, clearly evident for example in the marked lines that underline the drapery of the clothes or the faces of the characters, as well as in the spatial details that enrich the scenes.
An intense activity linked to the Eburnean art was reached in Italy around the fourteenth century thanks to Baldassarre di Simone d'Aliotto (called degli Embriachi), famous, for example, for the triptych preserved at the Certosa of Pavia. In France, and especially in the localities of Dieppe and Saint Claude, the apogee came in the fifteenth century, distinguishing itself for artistic quality, finesse and clean lines, rarity and preciousness of the support material, which was applied to caskets and small objects, like cameos, plaques and medals.
The work is accompanied by Cites Community Certificate
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