French - Casket with Scenes of Romances - Walters 71264 - Left

French - Casket with Scenes of Romances - Walters 71264 - Top

French - Casket with Scenes of Romances - Walters 71264

The object called by the museum Casket with Scenes of Romances (catalogued as Walters 71264) is a French Gothic

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals i ...

casket made in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

between 1330 and 1350, and now in the

Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum, located in Mount Vernon-Belvedere, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a public art museum founded and opened in 1934. It holds collections established during the mid-19th century. The museum's collection was amassed ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. The casket is 4 5/8 inches high, 9 15/16 inches wide and 5 1/16 inches deep (11.8 × 25.2 × 12.9 cm).Walters The casket is one of the relatively few surviving

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

ivory caskets decorated with a variety of themes from courtly literature, called composite caskets for that reason. There are at least eight known surviving examples (and numerous fragments), of which two more are also discussed in this article: firstly a casket in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

with an almost identical set of scenes, and one in the Cluny Museum in Paris, which shares many scenes, but diverges in others.Carns p.69. Both Carns and the Victoria and Albert Museum cite "eight", others "at least eight". By this period, Paris was the main European centre of ivory carving, producing large numbers of religious and secular objects, including small

diptych A diptych (; from the Greek δίπτυχον, ''di'' "two" + '' ptychē'' "fold") is any object with two flat plates which form a pair, often attached by hinge. For example, the standard notebook and school exercise book of the ancient world w ...

s with religious scenes that used the same

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

technique; these and smaller secular objects such as mirror-cases are more common than these caskets, or larger religious statues like the ''

Virgin and Child from the Sainte-Chapelle The ''Virgin and Child from the Sainte-Chapelle'' is an ivory sculpture probably created in the 1260s, currently in the possession of the Louvre Museum in Paris. The museum itself describes it as "unquestionably the most beautiful piece of ronde ...

'' of the 1260s. The composite caskets differ slightly from each other, but are sufficiently similar to suggest they all originated from one Paris workshop, or group of workshops, around 1330 to 1350. This casket may well have been a gift of courtship or upon marriage, and was probably intended for an aristocratic female owner, to keep her jewels and other valuables in. The carved scenes were possibly originally painted; as the paint on Gothic ivories tended to peel in places, it was very often removed by later dealers and collectors. The unusually large size of the piece allows a wide range of the repertoire of popular scenes from different literary sources in French Gothic art to be shown, which display a variety of medieval attitudes to love and the role of women: "Themes such as lust and chastity, folly and wisdom are juxtaposed in a series of non-connected scenes".Robinson, 216 Susan L. Smith has proposed that composite caskets express the power of love.Smith pp. 168-186. Smith focuses on one of examples in the Victoria and Albert Museum but indicates her ideas apply to the whole group. The Walters casket is first recorded in England in 1757, and was bought by

Henry Walters Henry Walters (September 26, 1848 – November 30, 1931) was noted as an art collector and philanthropist, a founder of the Walters Art Gallery (now the Walters Art Museum) in Baltimore, Maryland, which he donated to the city in his 1931 will f ...

in 1923. The iron mounts are modern, probably 19th century.

Iconography

The lid shows scenes of the Castle of love and knights jousting and the sides show other scenes from French medieval romances. The themes of the lid are related to the 13th-century ''

Romance of the Rose ''Le Roman de la Rose'' (''The Romance of the Rose'') is a medieval poem written in Old French and presented as an allegorical dream vision. As poetry, ''The Romance of the Rose'' is a notable instance of courtly literature, purporting to provi ...

'' by

Guillaume de Lorris Guillaume de Lorris (c. 1200c. 1240) was a French scholar and poet from Lorris. He was the author of the first section of the ''Roman de la Rose''. Little is known about him, other than that he wrote the earlier section of the poem around 1230, ...

and Jean de Meung. The ''Siege of the Castle of Love'' (or "Assault on" etc.), at the left on the lid, is a fanciful scene of courtly romance, where knights attack a castle defended by ladies and a cupid, with both sides throwing roses as missiles. This subject does not, as is sometimes claimed, appear in the ''Roman de la Rose'', and first appears in art not long before the date of the casket, as one of few secular scenes in the illuminated manuscript known as the

Peterborough Psalter The Peterborough Psalter is a name given to two different illuminated manuscripts psalters produced in the scriptorium of Peterborough Abbey. One, from the early 13th century, is now in the Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the ar ...

of 1299–1328. But such a scene was staged and acted out by "many gentlemen and twelve of the fairest and gayest ladies of

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

" as part of a festival at Treviso in 1214, a century earlier. In the center knights joust in front of ladies. The scene at right has differing interpretations: either the victor, whose shield carried three roses, receives a bouquet of roses from a lady as prize, or, more likely, the tournament continues, now between the ladies, fighting with flowers, and the knights using "oak branches". This is the only scene on the lid that differs in the British Museum and Paris caskets, where the siege of the castle continues in the section at furthest right. A variation of this set of scenes has examples in the

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, located in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on the city's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian ...

Detroit Institute of Arts The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, has one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it covers with a major renovation and expansion project comple ...

, Château de Boulogne-sur-Mer,

Walker Art Gallery The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. History of the Gallery The Walker Art Gallery's collection ...

and the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

: in the latter (17.190.173) there is an elopement scene at left, then the two central sections are the tournament, with the attack on the Castle of Love behind the elopement at left, and in the last section on the right. The front of the casket has, from the left:

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...

teaching

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

, Phyllis riding Aristotle, watched by Alexander from a window, and at the right, old people arriving at the

Fountain of Youth The Fountain of Youth is a mythical spring which allegedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks or bathes in its waters. Tales of such a fountain have been recounted around the world for thousands of years, appearing in the writings of Herod ...

, and young naked people in it. ''Phyllis riding Aristotle'' is the "quintessential image from the

Power of Women The "Power of Women" (german: Weibermacht) is a medieval and Renaissance artistic and literary topos, showing "heroic or wise men dominated by women", presenting "an admonitory and often humorous inversion of the male-dominated sexual hierarc ...

topos", which was beginning its long career in art at this time. The Fountain of Youth is a regularly occurring scene, of Eastern origin, that shows old people being carried to a miraculous spring which immediately turns them into beautiful young people, one of the relatively few scenes in medieval art where figures are not just "naked" but "nude". All three scenes are the same in the British Museum casket, and the Walters also has a side from a French casket of similar date but less high-quality carving, showing the first two of these scenes, but changing the last (Walters 71196, shown below). The Walters also has mirror-cases with other examples of the ''Siege of the Castle of Love'' and the ''Fountain of Youth''. French - Casket with Scenes of Romances - Walters 71264 - Back

French - Casket with Scenes of Romances - Walters 71264 - Back

The rear side of the casket contains scenes from

Arthurian romance The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Western ...

described in the

Courtauld Institute The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...

database of Gothic ivories as: "

Gawain Gawain (), also known in many other forms and spellings, is a character in Arthurian legend, in which he is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table. The prototype of Gawain is mentioned under the name Gwalchmei in the earliest ...

in armour fighting the lion; Lancelot crossing the sword bridge, with spears falling from the sky;

on the perilous bed; bed on wheels and with bells; lion; shield with a lion's paw; spears falling from the sky; the three maidens at the Château Merveil". The sword bridge features in ''

Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart , original_title_lang = fro , translator = , written = between 1177 and 1181 , country = , language = Old French , subject = Arthurian legend , genre = Chivalric romance , fo ...

'' by Chrétien de Troyes, and the perilous bed in his ''

Perceval, the Story of the Grail ''Perceval, the Story of the Grail'' (french: Perceval ou le Conte du Graal) is the unfinished fifth verse romance by Chrétien de Troyes, written by him in Old French in the late 12th century. Later authors added 54,000 more lines in what are kn ...

''. Both the Walters and British Museum caskets have the same scenes and compositions here, which both depart from the literary sources by having the rain of swords falling not only on Gawain on the bed, but also on Lancelot on the bridge, suggesting that the ivory-carver's or designer's contact with the literature was indirect. The two ends show other Arthurian scenes: the adulterous lovers

Tristan and Iseult Tristan and Iseult, also known as Tristan and Isolde and other names, is a medieval chivalric romance told in numerous variations since the 12th century. Based on a Celtic legend and possibly other sources, the tale is a tragedy about the illic ...

are spied upon by Iseult's husband King

Mark of Cornwall Mark of Cornwall ( la, Marcus, kw, Margh, cy, March, br, Marc'h) was a sixth-century King of Kernow (Cornwall), possibly identical with King Conomor. He is best known for his appearance in Arthurian legend as the uncle of Tristan and the husb ...

, hiding in a tree; his face can be seen reflected in the pool below, which they see, enabling them to switch to innocent conversation. This end also has a scene with a wounded

unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years o ...

, a maiden and a man with holding a spear which has been run through the unicorn, in a version of the subject of ''

The Hunt of the Unicorn ''The Hunt of the Unicorn'' or the ''Unicorn Tapestries'' (french: La Chasse à la licorne) is a series of seven tapestries made in the South Netherlands around 1495–1505, and now in The Cloisters in New York. They were possibly designed in ...

'' where the maiden has been used to lure the unicorn to his death. The other end has a scene with

Galahad Sir Galahad (), sometimes referred to as Galeas () or Galath (), among other versions of his name, is a knight of King Arthur's Round Table and one of the three achievers of the Holy Grail in Arthurian legend. He is the illegitimate son of Si ...

. File:Casket with the castle of love BM PE 1856 0623 166.jpg, View of the British Museum casket File:Mnma, casket with assoulkt to the castle of Love and other romance scenes, paris 1300-1310, ivory 02.JPG, Lid of the Paris casket File:French - Casket with Scenes of Romances - Walters 71264 - Right.jpg, Walters, end, ''

receiving the keys to the Castle of the Maidens'' File:A woman defends her castle.jpg, Not all images show women giving up their castle File:French - Casket with Scenes of Romances - Walters 71264 - Top Front.jpg, Walters, front view File:Mnma, casket with assoulkt to the castle of Love and other romance scenes, paris 1300-1310, ivory 01.JPG, Paris: a different scene at left, as a knight rescues a lady from a woodwose, and the same Galahad scene at right File:Mnma, casket with assoulkt to the castle of Love and other romance scenes, paris 1300-1310, ivory 03.JPG, Paris: the same two Aristotle scenes (left), and two different ones to right. File:French - Box Front with Scenes of Alexander and Pyramus - Walters 71196.jpg, Walters 71196, a different French box panel with two of the same scenes File:French - Mirror Cover with the Fountain of Youth - Walters 71170.jpg, Walters 71170, a more common ivory mirror case with a ''Fountain of Youth'' File:Lucas Cranach d. Ä. - The Fountain of Youth - WGA05707.jpg, ''Fountain of Youth'' by

Lucas Cranach the Elder Lucas Cranach the Elder (german: Lucas Cranach der Ältere ; – 16 October 1553) was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving. He was court painter to the Electors of Saxony for most of his career, and is kno ...

, 1546 File:Siege castle love Louvre OA6933.jpg, ''Siege of the Castle of Love'' on a mirror-case in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

, 1350–1370; the ladies are losing. File:Master Of The Housebook - Aristotle and Phyllis - WGA14556.jpg, Master of the Housebook, ''Aristotle and Phyllis'', 15th-century

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...

File:The Hunt of the Unicorn Tapestry 5.jpg, One of the

tapestry Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads ma ...

series ''

'', 1495–1505, Flanders?

Gothic ivories database

Francia, coperchio di specchio con scene galanti, xiv sec

The

maintains a database of over 5,000 Gothic ivories. The database catalogues the surviving composite caskets and the known fragments as follows: * Barber Institute of Fine Arts
Inv. 39.26
*

1856,0623.166 (Dalton 368)
* Château de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Inv. 408
(fragment) *

1978.39a
(three fragments) * Cluny Museum,
Cl. 23840
* Cracow Cathedral Treasury
S/n
*

1997.6
(fragment) *

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the largest ...

Inv. F 2912
*

MRR77
*

17.190.173; 1988.16
(back panel of the dismantled casket referred below) *

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

(one example)
146-1866
(no romance scenes) *

M 8052
(fragment) *

71.264
*

Winnipeg Art Gallery The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) is an art museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Its permanent collection includes over 24,000 works from Canadian, Indigenous Canadian, and international artists. The museum also holds the world's largest collect ...

,G-73-60
(the Gort casket, discovered in a Brighton (UK) junk shop in 1945) In addition there are fragments from a dismantled casket, known from an 18th-century engraving, whose locations are unknown, save the back panel which is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (2003.131.2): * Unknown location
S/n

Notes

References

* "BM database"
Entry
on the

database for their casket * Carns, Paula Mae. “Compilatio in Ivory: The Composite Casket in the Metropolitan Museum”. Gesta 44.2 (2005): 69–88
JStor
* "Courtauld"

of Gothic ivories for the Walters casket (with bibliography etc.). * "Gardner's", Kleiner S. Fred, Mamiya J. Christin. ''Gardner’s Art Through the Ages''. 12th Edition. 10 Davis Drive, Belmont, CA: Joan Keyes, 2005 p. 363-4
google books
* Loomis, Roger Sherman, "The Allegorical Siege in the Art of the Middle Ages", ''American Journal of Archaeology'', Vol. 23, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1919), pp. 255–269
JSTOR (free)
* Robinson, James. ''Masterpieces of Medieval Art'', 2008, British Museum Press, * Russell, H Diane, ''Eva/Ave; Women in Renaissance and Baroque Prints'', National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1990, * Smith, Susan L., ''The Power of Women: A Topos in Medieval Art and Literature.'', University of Pennsylvania Press, 1995, * "Walters"
Walters database

External links

Virtual Model of Walters 71264
an interactive 3D model (on Sketchfab)
The Wild Man: Medieval Myth and Symbolism
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material (no. 11) on casket 17.190.173 in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This was before the original front 1988.16 was discovered and now in place. This original front differs from the formerly supplied replacement front (a fragment from a private collection) in the two right images, which are of the

Pyramus and Thisbe Pyramus and Thisbe are a pair of ill-fated lovers whose story forms part of Ovid's ''Metamorphoses''. The story has since been retold by many authors. Pyramus and Thisbe are two lovers in the city of Babylon who occupy connected houses. Their r ...

legend rather than the

described in the catalogue. {{DEFAULTSORT:Castle of Love and Knights Jousting Ivory works of art Gothic art 14th-century sculptures Collection of the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore Courtly love Iconography Arthurian art