Diptych

Diptych (Greek diptucltos, double), properly a picture with two leaves or panels. In the early Church the name was applied to a, register of benefactors, the living being on one panel, the dead on the other. Both were specially commemorated in the prayers of the Church. The diptychs were often adorned with painting or carving, and were sometimes of ivory. They are of considerable importance in the history of art.