The Five Senses and the Knowledge of God. The ‘Magdalene and Thomas’ Plaque in the Salerno Ivories

The Salerno ivories, dated between the late eleventh and the twelfth c., offer a good example through which to study the relation between art, liturgy, and intellectual as well as sensorial engagement in the Middle Ages . These plaques represent the largest homogeneous ensemble of ivories from the Middle Ages, mostly preserved in Salerno (Museo Diocesano), but not recorded in any written document before the 15th c. They were probably made to adorn a large liturgical object for the cathedral of Salerno – itself conceived and lavishly decorated between the late eleventh and the late twelfth century to enshrine the relics of saint Matthew the Evangelist as well as the mortal remains of Pope Gregory VII (1073-85). Among the many plaques of the Salerno ivories that show useful features in a study of the engagement of the five senses in the conception, production, and perception of medieval art, I have chosen one that appears very revealing. It depicts the episodes of Noli me tangere and Doubting Thomas, in which the resurrected Christ refuses to be touched by Mary Magdalene in the upper half, while in the lower half He invites Thomas to probe his wound. The combination of these episodes stimulates the viewer to investigate a number of questions and paradoxes, that have to do with epistemology, phenomenology, and aesthetics