A & A spacer courtauld institute of art
login
quick search advanced search browse temp folder

Mirror case (valve de miroir) (Front)

Mirror case (valve de miroir) (Front)
enlarge image zoom image

Subject
Secular. Courtly love.


Private collection, London (in 2010)

S/n

Ivory

Height: 101mm (diameter)
Depth: 5mm

Four compartments formed by the branches of a tree dividing in the centre.
Courting couples (meeting of lovers); couple kissing; couple making a chaplet; youth chucking his lover under the chin; lady crowning a youth with a chaplet; youth chucking his lover under the chin; youth with a hawk; lady holding a chaplet.

Williamson 2005: probably c. 1320-1340, French (Paris).


Attribution
Unknown

Reverse
Back turned with a depression for (missing) mirror.

Object Condition
Missing: corner terminals (irregular edges seem to indicated that these have been trimmed).
Central hole in the upper part of the roundel (in the tree).

Provenance
South German private collection. Collection of Florian Eitle Böhler. Private collection, London: bought from Blumka Gallery, New York, 17 January 2003.

Bibliography
Collecting Treasures of the Past: Recent Acquisitions, Blumka Gallery, New York, 2001, no. 32.
P. Williamson, Medieval and Later Treasures from a Private Collection, exhibition catalogue, London, Victoria and Albert Museum, 2005, no. 28.


Image

© Private Collection, London.

All images on this website are made available exclusively for scholarly and educational purposes and may not be used commercially.

spacer
spacer spacer spacer spacer
Please remember to acknowledge any use of the site in publications and lectures as: 'Gothic Ivories Project at The Courtauld Institute of Art, London, www.gothicivories.courtauld.ac.uk', followed by the date you accessed the site.