A description of the ivories, ancient & mediaeval, in the South Kensington museum
A catalogue of ivory carvings in the South Kensington Museum, compiled by William Maskell and published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1872 for museum visitors and scholars of medieval and ancient art. The plates are photographic and engraved reproductions of carved panels and diptychs, mostly Gothic church-style reliefs with tiered arches, saints and biblical scenes. A designer could draw on their dense, symmetrical architectural frames, pointed gothic arcades and tightly stacked narrative panels for borders, panel layouts and historical ornament.
