The treatise written for craftsmen by the early-twelfth-century monk Theophilus recommends using the red root of the madder plant to stain ivory. Staining allowed one side to be easily distinguished from the other, which was often left unpainted.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
Artwork Details
Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item
Title:Game Piece with Samson Slaying the Philistines with the Jawbone of an Ass
Date:1140–50
Culture:German
Medium:Elephant ivory, red stain
Dimensions:Overall: 2 1/2 x 1/2 in. (6.3 x 1.3 cm)
Classification:Ivories-Elephant
Credit Line:Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Accession Number:17.190.141
Georges Hoentschel (French); J. Pierpont Morgan (American), London and New York (until 1917)
Cologne, Germany. Museum Schnütgen. "Glanz und Größe des Mittelalters: Kölner Meisterwerke aus den großen Sammlungen der Welt," November 4, 2011–February 26, 2012.
Musée National du Moyen Âge - Thermes et Hôtel de Cluny. "Jeux de la Babylone antique á l'Occident Médiéval," November 28, 2012–March 18, 2013.
Migeon, Gaston. "La Collection de M. Paul Garnier: II. – Objets d'Art du Moyen Age et de la Renaissance." Les Arts 53 (May 1906). p. 14.
Pératé, André. Collections Georges Hoentschel: Ivoires, orfèvrerie religieuse, pierres. Vol. 2. Paris: Librairie Centrale des Beaux-Arts, 1911. no. 13, fig. XII.
Breck, Joseph. "Pre-Gothic Ivories in the Pierpont Morgan Collection." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, o.s., 15, no. 1 (January 1920). p. 16.
Goldschmidt, Adolph. Die Elfenbeinskulpturen aus der romanischen Zeit, XI.-XIII. Jahrhundert. Vol. 3. Berlin: Bruno Cassirer, 1923. no. 177, pp. 7, 9, 43, pl. LIII.
Breck, Joseph, and Meyric R. Rogers. The Pierpont Morgan Wing: A Handbook. 1st ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1925. p. 50.
Breck, Joseph, and Meyric R. Rogers. The Pierpont Morgan Wing: A Handbook. 2nd ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1929. p. 50.
Weitzmann, Kurt. "Samson and Delilah on a Draughtsman." Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 7 (1948). no. 2, p. 6.
Beckwith, John. Ivory Carvings in Early Medieval England. London: Harvey Miller Publishers, 1972. no. 118, p. 146, fig. 222, ill. p. 155.
Mann, Vivian B. "Romanesque Ivory Tablemen." PhD diss., New York University, 1977. no. 99, p. 266.
Gaborit-Chopin, Danielle. Ivoires Médiévaux, Ve-XVe siècle. Paris: Musée du Louvre, 2003. pp. 251–52.
Mann, Vivian B. "The Samson and Hercules Tablemen: A Case for Jewish Patronage in 12th Century Cologne." In Art and Ceremony in Jewish Life. London: Pindar Press, 2005. p. 156.
Williamson, Paul. Medieval Ivory Carvings: Early Christian to Romanesque. London: V & A Publications, 2010. pp. 426, 427, fig. 1, 2.
Täube, Dagmar, and Miriam Verena Fleck, ed. Glanz und Größe des Mittelalters: Kölner Meisterwerke aus den großen Sammlungen der Welt. Munich: Hirmer Verlag, 2011. no. 9, pp. 253–54.
Bardiès-Fronty, Isabelle, and Anne-Elizabeth Dunn-Vaturi, ed. Art du Jeu, Jeu dans l'Art: De Babylone à l’Occident Médiéval. Paris: Musée National du Moyen Âge - Thermes et Hôtel de Cluny, 2012. no. 112, p. 117.
Ciseri, Ilaria, ed. Gli avori del Museo nazionale del Bargello. Milan: Museo Nazionale del Bargello, 2018. p. 158.
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world, encompassing the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome to the beginning of the Renaissance.
