Inv. 869/371
Meeting of lovers (courting couples); couple making a wreath by a flowery bush; youth plucking flowers from a tree; roses; youth kneeling before a lady.
Koechlin 1924: France, 1st half of 14th century.
Santi 1969: France, early 14th century.
Museum's opinion 2011: France, c. 1300- 1320.
Attribution
Unknown
Reverse
Back turned with a depression.
Object Condition
According to Koechlin, the four corner terminals are missing.
Comments
Gnoli and Koechlin considered this piece to be a mirror case (Gnoli 1919; Koechlin 1924), while Santi thinks it was a medallion intended to be integrated into a more complex mirror case possibly made of a different material (Santi 1969).
Provenance
Acquired before 1886 (mentioned in the 1886-1890 inventory) by the Musei Civici, Perugia; passed into the collection of the Galleria Nazionale before 1919.
Bibliography
U. Gnoli, 'Avori francesi nella Galleria Nazionale di Perugia', in Bolletino d'arte 13 (1919), p. 111.
R. Koechlin, Les Ivoires gothiques français (Paris, 1924), I, p. 378; II, no. 997.
F. Santi, Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria. Dipinti, sculture e oggetti d'arte di età romanica e gotica (Rome, 1969), no. 124, fig. 125.
B. Roy, ‘Archéologie de l’amour courtois; note sur les miroirs d’ivoire’, in Miroirs et jeux de miroirs dans la littérature médiévale, ed. by F. Pomel (Rennes, 2003), pp. 233-251, fig. 8.
P. Williamson and G. Davies, Medieval Ivory Carvings 1200-1550 (London, 2014), in relation to no. 199.
All images on this website are made available exclusively for scholarly and educational purposes and may not be used commercially.
