(Redirected from Barberini Ivory)
Barberini Ivory on display at the
Louvre.
'Barberini ivory' is a
Byzantine imperial
diptych dating from
Late Antiquity. It is preserved at the
Louvre in
Paris. It is a layer of
ivory made up of four plates carved in the
classical style known as late Theodosian, representing the topic of the emperor triumphant victor. It is generally dated from first half of the sixth century and is allotted to an imperial workshop of
Constantinople, while the illustrated emperor is identified either as
Anastasius I,
Zeno or, much more probably,
Justinian.
This diptych is a notable historical document because it is linked to queen
Brunhilda of Austrasia which makes clear the relationships of Brunhild with the emperor of
Byzantine Empire in order to ransom her grandson Athanagild. In the back there is a
list of names of Frankish kings, all relatives of Brunhild, indicating the preeminent position of queens within Frankish royal families. It is clear that she had an important position because she ordered that list to be inscribed and it was she who offered it to the church as a votive image.