A look at the Gothic Mirror Cases in Europe 1137.

1. Mirror case, courtly scenes.
Paris, first third of the 14th century.
Carved ivory.

3. Gothic Art
 Gothic art originated with the
Gothic architecture which
developed in France from
about 1137 with the rebuilding
of the Abbey Church of St
Denis.
 the Gothic period coincided
with a greatly increased
emphasis on the Virgin
Mary, and it was in this period
that the Virgin and Child
became such a hallmark of
Catholic art. Saints were also
portrayed far more often, and
many of the range of
attributes developed to
identify them visually for a still
largely illiterate public first
appeared.

4.  Secular works, often using
subjects concerned with
courtly love or knightly
heroism, were produced
as illuminated
manuscripts, carved ivory
mirror-cases, tapestries
and elaborate gold table
centrepieces like nefs.
 Ivory, often painted, was
an important material until
the very end of the
period, well illustrating the
shift in luxury art to secular
works.
 Secular mirror-
cases, caskets and
decorated combs become
common among the well-
off.

5. Ivory Carving
 Elephant tusks—
exotic, rare, and
characterized by a
pearly lustrous
surface, were prized in
medieval Europe for
carving into luxurious
object.
 The supply of elephant
tusks dwindled in the
twelfth century, but
when ivory reappeared
in northern Europe in
the mid-thirteenth
century, artists and
patrons quickly renewed
the art of ivory carving.

6.  Instead of a revival of earlier
forms, however, the Gothic
period saw the revival of a
new range of ivory object
types: statuettes and statuette
groups for the church or the
private home; small paneled
objects called diptychs (two
panels), triptychs (three
panels), and polyptychs
(many panels) with scenes in
low relief that unfold for
private meditation; and luxury
objects for personal use, such
as combs, mirror
backs, writing tablets, and
caskets.
 The golden age of Gothic
ivory carving spanned a
century and a half, from about
1230 to 1380, at which point
the supply of ivory to northern
Europe again dwindled.

7. Waning of Gothic Ivory
 The geopolitical stability that
enabled the flourishing of the
textile industry and the ivory
trade in the thirteenth century
declined in the late fourteenth
century.
 For a number of
reasons, including economic
crises, plagues, and new
political entities disrupting
trade routes, the supply of
elephant ivory to Europe
dwindled. The fashion for
ivory, however, did not
diminish and producers and
suppliers alike eagerly sought
replacements and substitutes
for the market.

8. Ivory as a Precious Stone
 The short supply of
elephant tusks in northern
Europe in the late
fourteenth and early
fifteenth centuries led
patrons and artisans to
treat ivory almost as a
precious stone.
 The pierced micro-carving
of small sections of ivory in
addition to bright layers of
polychromy and rich
gilding emulated the
precious ronde bosse
enamels that were the
height of fashion at the
turn of the fifteenth century

9. Ivory Subsitutes
 In the late fourteenth
century, the Embriachi
workshop shrewdly stepped
into a market eager for ivory
and ivorylike products. By
joining pieces of
bone, flattened and carved in
low relief, and surrounding
the images with elaborate
frames of inlaid
wood, horn, and hoof, they
created a product that
satisfied contemporary tastes.
 Although the Embriachi
family primarily produced
caskets decorated with tales
from classical literature and
medieval romances, a few
lavish altarpieces were
commissioned for monastic
foundations by prestigious
donors.

10. Revival
 The carving of ivory flourished again in the late
fifteenth century when Portuguese merchant
sailors extended European trading routes down
the west coast of Africa into the region that is still
known today as the Ivory Coast. This quickly
replenished Europe's supply of tusks.
 The new ivory objects reflected contemporary
tastes and religious developments, although these
object still fulfilled some of the same functions as
Gothic ivories, the new cultural and economic
context led to new and distinct commissions and
uses of ivories.

11.  Christ, portrayed as at
once dead and alive, is
supported by Mary, his
mother, and the apostle
John. The flanking
figures, witnesses to the
Crucifixion, offer a
model to
emulate, during
meditation and reflection
on Christ's suffering.
 The composition of this
relief is based on an
engraving by Martin
Schongauer, one of the
most influential artists of
the fifteenth century.

13. Assault on the Castle
of Love
Attacked by knights and
defended by ladies, was a
popular subject for Gothic
ivory mirror-cases.
Paris, 14th century.

14. As an Allegory of
Love
Gothic mirror cases depicting two
lovers typically show them
conversing or hunting.
Chess, as an intellectually
demanding game of
strategy, symbolizes courtly love
governed by precise rules.
Opposed to chess in this respect is
the game of dice, symbolic of brutish
debauchery. The crown held behind
the woman by a servant, an allusion
to the success that may crown the
hero's hopes, suggests the future
union of the two lovers.

15. Courting Couples
Youth chucking his lover under
the chin; lady holding a dog; lady
holding an object (flower?);
buttoned sleeves; bird in a tree.
Two compartments separated by
a tree. Pointed trefoils in the
spandrels.
Museum's opinion 2011:
France, c. 1350-70.

16. Fountain of Youth
Old and young; cripples; lovers
on the battlements; courting
couples (meeting of lovers); man
kneeling before a lady; lady
holding a dog; bird in a tree;
horse-drawn cart; bathing.
Corner terminals: two crouching
monster; two hybrids.

17. Couples Playing
Chess
Courting couple (meeting of
lovers); youth with a hawk on his
wrist; tent.
France, 1st half of the 14th
century.

18. Castle of Love
Meeting of lovers (courting
couples); winged God of Love
throwing arrows at lovers; lady
crowning a youth with a wreath;
couple embracing; man and
woman on the battlements.
Foliated corner terminals.
France, 2nd half of the 14th
century.

19. Alnwick Castle
Mermaid playing the harp;
animals wrestling (lion and
bear?); youth standing at a city
gate; bird in a tree.
London 1923: French, end of
14th century.

20. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Wikipedia.org
Metmuseum.org
Gothicivories.ssl.co.uk

21. Compiled and Presented By-
Geetika Agarwal
Hemant Kishore Munda