Mirror Case with scenes of paired lovers

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This plaque of ivory served as half the protective cover for a convex mirror of silvered glass that was once cemented to the lathe-turned recess on its interior. When first made, the interior’s grooved rim formed one half of a bayonet mount which allowed it to lock into another side to form a complete protective case for the mirror. The carved exterior of the mirror depicts four scenes of courting couples separated by the branches of a tree. The eight cusps that surround the scenes are inhabited by foliate heads. The rim of the mirror depicts four prowling, equidistant lions, lending the whole object a square silhouette. For its size, the delicacy of the carving, and its excellent preservation, this mirror-back is among the most outstanding survivals of fourteenth-century Parisian ivory carving.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world. Displayed in both The Met Fifth Avenue and in the Museum's branch in northern Manhattan, The Met Cloisters, the collection encompasses the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome in the fourth century to the beginning of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. It also includes pre-medieval European works of art created during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.

Metropolitan Museum of Art