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Lovers in a Garden

Comb
ca. 1400 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This Comb of carved ivory is made in Venice in about 1400, and depicts Lovers in a Garden, shown as numerous figure groups in relief on each side.

The comb has since the Antiquity been a fundamental tool for personal grooming, used both by men and women. In the Gothic period ivory was often employed for the production of deluxe decorated combs. The Gothic comb is always carved on both faces and consists of two registers of teeth, one fine, the other broader, above and below the narrative strips.
Ivory combs, together with mirror cases and gravoirs for parting the hair, formed an essential part of the trousse de toilette or étui (dressing case) of the typical wealthy lady or gentleman in the Gothic period. Considering the original ubiquity of such combs and in comparison with ivory mirror cases, a surprisingly small number survive from the fourteenth century.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleLovers in a Garden (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Carved elephant ivory
Brief description
Comb, ivory, Lovers in a Garden, North Italy (Venice), ca. 1400
Physical description
Comb of carved ivory, with numerous figure groups in relief on each side.
On the face, in are recessed band, are four couples amongst trees. From left to right, a couple embrace; a lady receives a crown from her lover (or is giving it to him), the latter crossing his arms in front of her chest; a lady, her arms crossed in like manner to the adjacent man, is presented with a ring(?) by her lover; and a couple exchange gifts. On the other face four couples (probably the same pairs as on the other side) link hands to dance in a garden with trees.
Dimensions
  • Height: 12cm
  • At top width: 17.1cm
Object history
From the collection of Jules Soulages, Paris and Toulouse (probalby acquired by him in Italy in 1830-40: see Robinson 1856, p. iii); bought together with the rest of the Soulages collection in 1856 by a subscription committee and then purchased by the Museum in 1859 (£15).
Subjects depicted
Summary
This Comb of carved ivory is made in Venice in about 1400, and depicts Lovers in a Garden, shown as numerous figure groups in relief on each side.

The comb has since the Antiquity been a fundamental tool for personal grooming, used both by men and women. In the Gothic period ivory was often employed for the production of deluxe decorated combs. The Gothic comb is always carved on both faces and consists of two registers of teeth, one fine, the other broader, above and below the narrative strips.
Ivory combs, together with mirror cases and gravoirs for parting the hair, formed an essential part of the trousse de toilette or étui (dressing case) of the typical wealthy lady or gentleman in the Gothic period. Considering the original ubiquity of such combs and in comparison with ivory mirror cases, a surprisingly small number survive from the fourteenth century.
Bibliographic references
  • Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1859. In: Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, Arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol I. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 32
  • Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Carvings in Ivory. Part II. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1929, p. 68
  • Robinson, John Charles. Catalogue of the Soulages Collection. London: Chapman & Hall, 1856
  • Maskell, W., A Description of the Ivories Ancient and Medieval in the South Kensington Museum, London, 1872 p. 23
  • Williamson, Paul and Davies, Glyn, Medieval Ivory Carvings, 1200-1550, (in 2 parts), V&A Publishing, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2014 part II, pp. 614-615
  • Williamson, Paul and Davies, Glyn, Medieval Ivory Carvings, 1200-1550, (in 2 parts), V&A Publishing, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2014, part II, pp. 614-615, cat. no. 211
Collection
Accession number
5607-1859

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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