From the tenth to the twelfth century, ivory plaques fashioned in Constantinople made their way into the hands of patrons in the West. From southern Italy and France to Spain and Germany, these ivories were affixed to the covers of deluxe liturgical manuscripts and given sumptuous new settings of gold and precious gems. Despite their importance during the period, these treasure bindings have received little scholarly attention. In these rare discussions, the reuse of Byzantine ivories for the liturgical manuscript covers has been interpreted primarily as a visual statement made by the patron (usually German and associated with, if not part of, the ruling elite) about his status and/or association with the Byzantine court. However, the widespread use of such ivories across Western Europe by royal, ecclesiastical, and monastic patrons indicates that this interpretation only represents a piece of a larger trend.

This paper examines a sample of treasure bindings with Byzantine ivories made for a range of patrons in order to expand upon our understanding of this practice of reuse in the ornamentation of sacred books. By comparing the covers produced for a variety of contexts, it becomes apparent that the patron—whether an abbot in Naples or a queen in Spain—had certain expectations of what subject matter was deemed appropriate and how such treasure bindings were to appear. Working within these constraints and with ‘ready-made’ ivories, artisans managed to create covers that addressed the individual needs of the patron. This comparative study, unlike previous examinations limited to one cover or one region, offers a more comprehensive view of patrons’ expectations regarding the reuse of these ivories and the artists’ resulting creations.