Round ivory plaque carved with a couple and a hooded, bearded figure. Frontal view.
Mirror case cover: Tristan and Isolde meeting Ogrin the Hermit, Cl. 383 © GrandPalaisRmn / Thierry Ollivier

Mirror case cover

Tristan and Isolde meeting Ogrin the Hermit (?)

Description

Not on display

14th century

Late Middle Ages

Carved ivory objects were very popular in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. Parisian sculptors were particularly renowned for the finesse of their work, in which the taste for courtly love was expressed. The mirror case cover features what is identified as a scene from the story of Tristan and Isolde. The two lovers have gone to seek refuge in a forest, and are surprised by the hermit Ogrin. 

The delicate suppleness that characterises the lovers’ long clothes is noticeable, as well as the elegant posture of Isolde and the stylised trees, contrasting with the marked features of the hermit.

Alexandre Du Sommerard collection.  
 

From one artwork to another

Lead object: boat with an inscription on the sail carrying a Virgin and Child. Front view.
Pilgrimage badge, Notre-Dame, Cl. 4697 © GrandPalaisRmn / Michel Urtado

Pilgrimage badges

13th century - 14th century - 15th century