A triptych is a work of art that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term
Triptych of the Raising of the Cross, Rubens, 1610–11, Antwerp Cathedral
The Aino Myth, the Kalevala based triptych by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, 1891, Ateneum, Helsinki
The Stefaneschi Triptych, Giotto, c. 1315–20
Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights, 1490–1510. Museo del Prado, Madrid
A polyptych is a work of art which is divided into sections, or panels. Some definitions restrict "polyptych" to works with more than three sections: a diptych is a two-part work of art; a triptych is
Triptych
…is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works. The middle panel is typically the largest and flanked by two smaller related works, although there are triptychs…
Polyptych with Coronation of the Virgin and Saints by Cenni di Francesco, 1390s
Duccio di Buoninsegna, Polyptych no. 47 , 1315–1319, tempera and gold on wood, from the now lost church of the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala in Siena, Siena, Pinacoteca Nazionale
Ghent Altarpiece Google Art Project