'First-generation diptychs' and the reception of Theodosian court art

The contribution examines eight late antique ivory diptychs pertaining to the earliest known examples of this category of materials, dated ca. AD 380-400. Iconographic and stylistic analysis, as well as historical considerations, form the basis for a complete reassessment of these objects from the point of view of their date and place of production, as well as their meaning, occasion, and intended audience. When considered within the stylistic development of late Roman art, these diptychs show how the new Theodosian style, created at the imperial court in the East, was received in the West, particularly Italy and the city of Rome, and how it interacted with the local artistic traditions.