Carved ivory Crucifix, North Europe, 1827

An elephant ivory (Elephas maximus Linnaeus, 1758 or Loxodonta africana Blumenbach, 1797) “Corpus Christi” finely carved in the full round and composed of three pieces corresponding to the arms and body, placed on an ebonized wood cross.
Christ is depicted with his head slightly tilted towards the left shoulder, beard following the jaw and parallel feet. The perizonium, held by a rope to form a knot, is draped vertically and falls down the right side. Separately, there is a cartouche with the Titulus crucis I.N.R.I. (Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudeorum, which literally translates to 'Jesus Nazarene, King of the Jews') and a Vanitas represented by the symbol of a skull and crossed shinbones. The cartouche has a rectangular shape positioned horizontally with two sides folded to allude to a piece of parchment or a paper, where there are the letters I.N.R.I. and the figure of the skull, from which a snake emerges, and the two bones, are refined and anatomically studied. The skull has been the symbol of death since the 1500s.
Signed and dated on the thong: F.R. Godmacher 1827.

Item condition grading: **** good, wear and defects commensurate with the age.