Gothic Ivories Project | Knife handle (Side)

Top
Lion devouring a dragon.
Side 1
Samson fighting the lion; unidentified figures including a couple holding hands; bird; trees.
Side 2
Saint George and the dragon; man (possibly the King of Silene); woman (possibly his daughter, Princess Aja); lion devouring a man (?).
Narrow sides
Crowned eagle or hawk; male figure.
Scrolls with winged dragons (rinceaux).

Viollet-le-Duc 1871-1875 : no location, 14th century.
Berlin 2002: no location, c. 1300.
Museum's opinion 2012: Italy (?), 14th century.

Attribution
Unknown

Reverse
Carved in the round.

Object Condition
Bore holes in the place of the pupils (suggests former inlay). Multiple cracks in material.

Provenance
Collection of Alfred Emilien O'Hara, Comte de Nieuwerkerke, Paris; Collection of the Earl of Londesborough, London; Collection of Albert Figdor, Vienna; bought by the Museum on 15 August 1935.

Bibliography
E. Viollet-le-Duc, Dictionnaire raisonné du mobilier français de l'époque carolingienne à la Renaissance (Paris, 1871-1875), II, p. 77.
Die öffentliche Tafel. Tafelzeremoniell in Europa 1300-1900, exhibition catalogue, Berlin, Deusches Historisches Museum, 2002, p. 211, no. 120 (M. Voelkel).

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