ABSTRACT
The ‘Empress’ ivory (Fig. 7.1a), hereafter referred to as the Vienna ivory, depicts a female in imperial garb, and is of high quality.1 Viewed at an angle, the ivory displays deep undercutting of areas like the eagles either side of the canopy, the canopy itself and its supporting columns, the curtains and the rail that they are suspended from, the sides of the throne, the orb and the right hand of the empress, extended on top of the pillar.2 As Anthony Cutler has pointed out, producing such free-standing ivory relief work required very different expertise and tools from those used for consular diptychs.3 The sharpness of detail in the feathers of the two eagles either side of the canopy, the fine detail of the top of the lyre-backed throne, and the delicacy of the raised decoration between the ribs of the canopy, all suggest that this is an ‘elite’ object, likely to be of imperial provenance.4
