Bringing the Holy Land Home: The Crusades, Chertsey Abbey, and the Reconstruction of a Medieval Masterpiece

Where was this produced?

Scholars from the Metropolitan Museum of Art have been able to attribute this box to Amalfi, the southern region of Italy. It was the capital of the Byzantine republic known as the Duchy of Amalfi, an important trading power in the Mediterranean between 839 and around 1200. Maritime trade with Byzantium and the Islamic world brought prosperity to Amalfi and fame for its flourishing schools of law, mathematics, and art workshops. 

Ivory was a treasured material of the ancient and medieval civilizations of the Mediterranean, and its popularity continued in Roman art and in the art of Byzantium. From these civilizations, medieval Italians inherited a love for the material and the skills for carving it. Ivory rose in high popularity and demand throughout the Middle Ages for its creamy color and malleable texture. In order to be produced, elephant ivory would be imported from Africa as a deluxe material for clients, whether ecclesiastical or secular. 

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