Cover for Box for Writing Wax with Hawking Scene
(Medieval Europe )
Scenes of lovers and walled towns decorate both sides of this ivory box, which once contained wax for letter writing. The sliding cover depicts three ladies in the town, looking over its walls at two embracing couples seen to the left. The bottom of the box shows the same town at greater distance, a tent with two more lovers, a hawking expedition, and a hermit reading outside his rustic cell.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Sale, Cologne, December 14, 1893, no. 92; Marcus Antocolsky, Paris [date of acquisition unknown], by purchase; Sale, Hotel Drouot, Paris, June 10, 1901, no. 73; Georgi Robinson Harding, London, 1901, by purchase; Henry Walters, Baltimore, June 15, 1901, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Geographies
France (Place of Origin)
Measurements
3 11/16 x 2 1/8 in. (9.3 x 5.4 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1901
Location in Museum
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
71.283B