Mirror Case: A Couple Playing Chess
Mirror Case: A Couple Playing Chess, France, Paris, 14th century c. 1325-1350
1940.1200
Not on display
A slot on the reverse was for the insertion of a mirror, an article of personal luxury. Tristan and Isolde are the principal figures of a medieval love-romance. Here, the lovers are shown playing chess aboard a ship bound for Cornwall. If a pillar behind the lovers is the mainmast of a ship, Tristan's grasping is self-explanatory.
Images Copyright © the artist, their estate, and/or the Cleveland Museum of Art.
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