Mirror backs with chess players
Type:
Mirrors
Date:
ca. 1300
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
France
Medium:
Ivory
Dimensions:
Diameters of approximately 11 cm
Description:
These secular ivory mirror backs carved in Paris around 1300 use the game of chess as a metaphor for courtship and sexual conquest. The carvers allude to genital forms by emphasizing the central tent poles and the drapery folds of the women's garments.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
9
Repository and Online Resources:
• Read more about the mirror in the Louvre.
• Read more about the mirror in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons, Victoria and Albert Museum
