Pomander
ca. 1350 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This pomander opens up into four small segments which would originally have held spices or perfumes. The pomander itself would hang from a long belt or girdle which encircled the waist or hips. Romantic inscriptions and imagery on girdles show that they were sometimes used as courtship or marriage gifts. Medieval Jewish marriage ceremonies included a formal exchange of girdles between spouses and Czech bridegrooms around 1500 are recorded as giving girdles to their new wives. This pomander may also have been a gift of love: the inscriptions on the internal segments record the story of the Judgment of Paris in which Paris was required to choose which of the three goddesses, Juno, Venus and Minerva was the most beautiful. The result of his choice set the Trojan War in motion.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 3 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Partially gilded silver, niello |
| Brief description | Pomander of partially gilded silver and niello, made in Italy, 1300-1400 |
| Physical description | Pomander shaped as an apple, of silver, silver gilt, and niello. The sections of the body of the pomander are held in place by a pin with a screw section at the top, the whole attached to an octagonal gadrooned head to which is hinged a quatrefoil handle. Inscriptions run around the edge of each section relating to the Judgement of Paris, the interior and exterior decoration of scrolling foliage and geometric patterns. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label | POMANDER with the Judgement of Paris
About 1380-1420
This may have been a love token, which a woman would wear hanging from a chain at her waist. The segments refer to the Judgement of Paris, when he had to decide which of the goddesses Juno, Venus and Minerva was the most beautiful. Paris chose Venus, here given the words: "Venus is the loveliest, her claim is clearly just".
Italy
Partially gilded silver, decorated with niello (black composition)
Francis Reubell Bryan Bequest |
| Credit line | Bequeathed by Francis Reubell Bryan |
| Object history | Londesborough and Wyndham Cook Collections, Francis Reubell Bryan Bequest funds used to purchase the pomander from Durlacher Bros. New Bond Street. Shown in Leeds Exhibition, 1868. Sold at the Humphrey W. Cook sale at Christies', July 10 1925, lot 434. Sold at the Londesborough Sale at Christies', 8 May 1884, lot 137 (wrongly described as from the Bernal collection). |
| Summary | This pomander opens up into four small segments which would originally have held spices or perfumes. The pomander itself would hang from a long belt or girdle which encircled the waist or hips. Romantic inscriptions and imagery on girdles show that they were sometimes used as courtship or marriage gifts. Medieval Jewish marriage ceremonies included a formal exchange of girdles between spouses and Czech bridegrooms around 1500 are recorded as giving girdles to their new wives. This pomander may also have been a gift of love: the inscriptions on the internal segments record the story of the Judgment of Paris in which Paris was required to choose which of the three goddesses, Juno, Venus and Minerva was the most beautiful. The result of his choice set the Trojan War in motion. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.205:1 to 3-1925 |
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| Record created | December 15, 1999 |
| Record URL |
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