one is at the Bargello in Florence (left), the other at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. They show the empress Ariadne (?-518), wife of the emperor Zeno (430-491) and then of Anastasius I (491-518). This parallel could suggest identifying the emperor on the Barberini ivory with Anastasius. Anastasius's reign was marked by a difficult war against the Sassanid Persians from 502 to 505, ended by a peace in 506, which restored the status quo but which could be presented in Constantinople as a triumph after initial Roman setbacks. The production of the Barberini ivory can thus be envisaged in this context, making the triumph represented the one celebrated over the Persians. Although the figure shares characteristics with certain consuls on diptychs contemporary with Anastasius I, such as that of Anastasius (517) and above all that of Magnus (518), the emperor's portrait on the Barberini ivory bears little resemblance with known portraits of Anastasius such as the medallion on the consular diptych of Anastasius. It is in fact closer to known portraits of Constantine, which has allowed certain historians to identify him with that emperor, including Barberini himself, as a contemporary catalogue entry for it shows (see above). This interpretation also owes something to the modern inscription on the right-hand replacement panel, in which it is easy to recognise the emperor's name, or at least so long as it does not refer to Constans or Constantius II instead. On the other hand, stylistic criteria leave no doubt that the ivory is no earlier than the end of the 5th century, with the resemblance to the imperial portrait to portraits of Constantine explained by the commissioner's explicit will to recall the image of that emperor. From this perspective, this reference back to the iconography of Constantine fits Justinian better than it does Anastasius I. Justinian The lower-relief style of the secondary panels, and notably the purely graphic and unplastic rendering of clothing, accommodates a later dating of the work to around the middle of the 6th century. The work's combination of high-quality reliefs evokes another famous work of ivory sculpture of this era, the Throne of Maximian at Ravenna, datable to 545-556, and another product of a top-quality workshop, perhaps even the same one, in either Constantinople or Alexandria – this would make the triumphant emperor Justinian. The prepossessing position given in the composition to the figure of Christ blessing the emperor