Stamped brass decorated with scenes of romance and the hunt, Spain, 14th century

Casket with a wooden core covered with stamped brass. Decorated with courtly scenes and the broken inscription AMOR MERCE SUIS PLAV. The lid of the casket shows romance scenes of a lady crowning a knight, a lady placing a helmet upon a knight, and a lady pointing a bow and arrow at a kneeling knight. These scenes are repeated across the lid. The lower part of the casket shows assorted scenes of beasts and the hunt; a man sitting astride a lion, a gentleman hawking, a knight on foot and another on horseback both confronting dragons and a woman with a dragon on a leash. The sheet brass has been roughly cut and is damaged in many places. The casket's lock and handle are 19th century additions. There is also evidence of restoration and repair. One of the hinges has been reinforced. The metal from one side of the lid is missing.

M.71-1873 is a more heavily restored example, which matches exactly the iconography of the scenes upon the lid of this casket.

Hildburgh Bequest

Hildburgh Bequest

Historical significance: This casket portrays scenes of romance and chivalry. Motifs such as the man hawking and a woman crowning her lover are common scenes of romance found on all types of artistic media including ivory mirror cases and caskets. The lady knighting a man and pointing an arrow (of love?) towards a man are less common. Other scenes, such as knights fighting dragons are more closely associated with themes of chivalry.

This casket may have been used to carry valuables such as jewellery, seal matricies or documents. The imagery upon the casket suggests that it was owned by a woman.

This casket features many of the same scenes another casket in the V&A 71-1873. There is also a similar casket in the British Museum (1891,1-16.1.). The British Museum casket was acquired in 1891 from I Gisbert & Co. According to the registration file that the interior is lined with cloth. The inscription upon the British Museum object has been recorded as AMOR MERCE SI US PLA.

This casket is decorated with scenes of romance and the hunt. Motifs such as a lady crowning her lover and a man hawking are common scenes of romance and chivalry in medieval art. Such imagery can be found in many types of artistic media from manuscript illuminations to ivory mirror cases and caskets.

M.228-1925