A mirror case is a precious case made up of two halves. It would have contained a small mirror. Most of the mirrors have been lost (in the Middle Ages they would simply have been a reflective metal surface).
The most common material used for the cases came from elephant or walrus tusks. It indicates trading with far off lands - India and northern Norway - as well as the interest the elites had in all things exotic!
The cases themselves were sculpted in Parisian workshops renowned for making delicate objects in the late 13th century and in the 14the century. During this period, ivory was considered a precious material, on a par with gold, and stocks would be passed down from generation to generation within the same workshop.
Themes inspiring the decoration of the cases were almost always courtly scenes, taken from chivalric literature, which was very fashionable among the medieval aristocracy.
Among the three examples on display, the Taking of the Castle of Love is inspired by the theme of the Assault on the Castle of Love developed in the manual of courtly love, the Roman de la Rose (The Romance of the Rose) (1220 – 1280). This was the first time that courtly literature drew a parallel between the conquest of a beloved woman and the assault of a castle, and there is no other literary or illuminated version on this theme.
Another case relates an episode from the novel Tristan and Iseult, a famous couple of adulterous lovers who unknowingly drank a love potion. They are depicted surrounded by nature.
The third mirror case has two registers. In the upper one, an allegory of the God of Love, seated in majesty, shoots his arrows at two kneeling figures on either side of his “X” shaped seat. In the lower one, the two figures have become a couple and are courting each other in a garden shown by small stylized trees.
1/ Mirror case
Courtly scenes
Ivory
First half of the 14th century
Musée de Cluny, Musée national du Moyen Âge, Paris
Inv No. 10-515751 / CL.403
2/ Mirror case
Taking of the Castle of Love
Ivory
Mid-14th century
Musée de Cluny, Musée national du Moyen Âge, Paris
Inv No. 10-539609 / CL.384
3/ Mirror case
Tristan and Iseult
Ivory
14th century
Musée de Cluny, Musée national du Moyen Âge, Paris
Inv No. 21-535608 / CL.13298
4/ Replica of an ivory comb (facsimile)
Christophe Picod (tablet-maker)
Bovine bone
France (Jura) 21st century (2021)
Royal Fortress of Chinon
CH.2025.002.0001
Replica based on an original from the late 12th century (Islamic art / Sicily), kept at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore.
5/ Ointment box
Elephant ivory
Byzantium, 6th century
Loaned by Saumur, Château - Museum
Inv No. 919-13-8-075
Box whose lid decorated with a Christ in Majesty opens onto seven compartments for powders and ointments. Two holes suggest a strap could have been added so the item could be carried around.
6/ Round box
Carved and painted elephant ivory, chiselled iron (hinges)
12th / 13th century
Loaned by Saumur, Château - Museum
Inv No. 919-13-2-187
Box of oriental origin, decorated with birds and fabulous animals. The iron hinges end in a fleuron. An inscription in Arabic can be seen on the lid.
FOR KIDS
This ivory box is decorated with fantastic animals.
How many can you identify?
There is an inscription on the lid. Can you identify which language it is and what this might say about its origin?
The Arabic calligraphy and the ivory indicate that this box belongs to the ‘Islamic arts’ movement, an artistic movement that developed over a vast territory stretching from Spain to India!