Detail of one of the Ivory Panels of a Consular Diptych in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, August 2007

Diptych of the Consul Justinian, 521
Byzantine; Made in Constantinople
Ivory; Overall: 13 7/8 x 5 3/8 x 3/8 in. (35.2 x 13.7 x 1 cm)
Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917 (17.190.53)

Justinian, who would be the greatest emperor of the early Byzantine period, presented these handsome ivory panels to a member of the Roman senate announcing his election as consul. The title, now largely honorific, was once that of the supreme magistrate of the Roman Republic. Once hinged together with the names of the other consuls inscribed in wax on the interior, they were probably presented as an invitation to the great public games that the new consuls hosted in Constantinople's hippodrome (stadium). The elegantly carved classical motifs focus attention on the inscriptions written in Latin, still the official language of the Empire. Justinian was appointed consul for the East in 521, six years before he became emperor. To celebrate his appointment, he had diptychs, including this one, made for presentation to members of the Senate. Such ivory diptychs were popular in the early Byzantine Empire. This refined, simply carved example announces Justinian's appointment in Latin at the top of each wing, with a running inscription addressed to the senators in an elaborately bordered medallion in the center of each wing. At the four corners of each wing, lions' heads emerge from the centers of lush acanthus leaves. The soft, tactile quality of the acanthus stands in marked contrast to the abstract decorative medallions. In comparison with other consular diptychs, this example is relatively plain, since it was given to members of the Senate: higher government officials would have received more elaborately carved examples. The fact that three such diptychs presented by Justinian survive is certainly due to the subsequent political importance of the man whose consulship they proclaim.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/viewOne.asp?dep=17&vie... and www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/viewOne.asp?dep=17&vie...