ABSTRACT
Chapter 2 explores the iconography of the Ottonian ciborium, a sculpted “gate” over the altar and crypt of Saint Ambrose at Sant’Ambrogio in Milan. Liturgical words spoked by the priest before the altar ritually activated the threshold between human and divine. The scenes on the Ottonian ciborium are examined here as a visual rationalization of what takes place in the spiritual realm during the liturgical performance of the Eucharist by the priest at the porta coeli. The continual role of the contemporary archbishop of Milan as intercessor at the gate of heaven was described through liturgical gestures and Greek Neoplatonic symbols, both of which were introduced in Milan by the Ottonian court via a complex web of international cultural exchange.
