Vatican Museums

In 1867 it was decided to commission a bookcase to be positioned in centre of the Room of the Immaculate Conception, to hold the translations of the Papal Bull proclaiming the dogma Ineffabilis Deus.
The work is a work of refined craftsmanship from the Parisian Maison Christofle, which produced it between 1874 and 1878, upon request by the Abbot Marie-Dominique Sire. Thanks to his commitment to the project the monumental structure was financed largely through donations.
It was produced according to design by the architect-decorator Emile Reiber (1826-1893), director of the Maison Christofle design workshop, by a team of artists and craftsmen – ivory workers, sculptors, masters of metal chasing, painters, mosaic artists, ceramic workers and goldsmiths – each of whom was engaged in the production of a specific type of item.
The 110 volumes containing the manuscript text, accompanied by miniatures, are now conserved in the Vatican Apostolic Library and have been substituted in the bookcase by facsimiles.