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Complete set of two mirror case (valve de miroir) (Case 2, back)

Complete set of two mirror case (valve de miroir) (Case 2, back)
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Case 1, back

Case 1, front

Case 2, front

Subject
Secular. Mythological.

Repository Institution
www.britishmuseum.org

To purchase an image
www.bmimages.com


London, The British Museum

1856,0623.112 (Dalton 492)

Ivory

Width: 113mm (diameter)

Case 1
Pyramus and Thisbe; Thisbe discovers the dying Pyramus; fountain; Thisbe kills herself with his sword.
Case 2
Rape of Lucretia; Lucretia supported by an attendant stabs herself in front of Tarquin; knight.
Crosshatched background. Vine border with grapes.

Dalton 1909: German or Dutch, early 16th century.
Museum's opinion 2012: French, early 16th century.


Attribution
Unknown

Reverse
Back turned with a depression for (missing) mirror.
Case 1: ink inscription, 'W.M' (for William Maskell).
Case 2: ink inscription 'Tarquinio & Lucretia'.

Object Condition
Large cracks in central roundels of both pairs.

Comments
Each side of the mirror is made of two ivory pieces.

Provenance
Collection of William Maskell; purchased from him by the British Museum, 1856.

Bibliography
O. M. Dalton, Catalogue of the Ivory Carvings of the Christian Era in the British Museum (London, 1909), no. 492, pl. XCI.
P. Williamson and G. Davies, Medieval Ivory Carvings 1200-1550 (London, 2014), in relation to no. 208.


Image

© The British Museum, London.

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