Gothic ivories between luxury and crisis

Abstract

"Despite the series of social, climate, military, and pandemic crises that marked 13th and 14th century Europe, ivory carvings experienced a boom in this period. This apparent contradiction raises questions about the value and significance of these luxury goods in elite society. Analysis of the secular iconographies wrought in ivory on household items offers insight into the lives, tastes, and literary knowledge of courtly owners, as well as into related social structures. Variously engaging with the concept of crisis, the volume's contributors resituate the reception of such objects within the contexts of politics, warfare, and the machinations of the court. This recontextualization yields compelling new perspectives on Gothic ivories, in some cases challenging long-standing assumptions."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents

1. Introduction / Paul Williamson -- 2. Les ivoires profanes parisiens du XIVe siècle: artisanat du luxe et objets du quotidien / Maud Brochard -- 3. La diffusion des ivoires gothiques profanes dans la première moitié du XIVe siècle: géographie, société, genre, entre œuvres et documents / Michele Tomasi -- 4. Notes from the past: ivory writing tablets and their users / Svea Janzen -- 5. Broder l'ivoire: les coffrets profanes ajourés de la fin du XIV siècle / Benedetta Chiesi -- 6. Des alter ego de plâtre: les moulages d'ivoires gothiques, miroir des crises intellectuelles à Lyon du XIXe siècle à nos jours / Lina Roy -- 7. Notes on a scandal: secular ivories and their social contexts / Sarah M. Guérin -- 8. Play the game: how games on Gothic ivories illustrate Medieval society / Lisa Elena Schmid -- 9. Les valves de miroir sculptées sur ivoire et la clientèle féminine / Manuela Studer-Karlen -- 10. Between suffering through and fortune of courtly love: falconry depictions on late Medieval ivory mirror cases and the resilience of courtly lovers / Vera Henkelmann -- 11. Christian conscience in crisis: visualising morality and immorality on Gothic ivory caskets / Katherine Rush -- 12. Love among the crenellations: amorous couples in images of the Castle of Love in ivory / Alexandra Gajewski -- 13. Sieges in ivory and parchment / Christina Normore -- 14. A royal affair: a rare depiction of Tristan and Isolde on a Medieval luxury object / Paula Mae Carns -- 15. Between nostalgia and reality: chivalric ideals and their depiction during the reign of the last Capetians. The visual narration of the Coffrets Composites group / Elżbieta Musialik -- Index of ivory objects -- Index of comparisons.