This carved disk was originally part of a set of thirty pieces made for the board game known as "tables," a precursor of backgammon. Classical and biblical themes are seen frequently on surviving tableman, including episodes from the stories of Hercules and Samson, suggesting that these ancient heroes often represented opposing sides in the game. Here, Hercules, at left, is shown killing the three-headed monster Geryon—his tenth Labor. The monster, now slain, is represented again at the bottom of the scene. Like many other examples this tableman retains traces of paint. Color allowed one side to be easily distinguished from the other side, which was often left unpainted.
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Title:Game Piece with Hercules Slaying the Three-Headed Geryon
Date:ca. 1150
Geography:Made in Cologne, Germany
Culture:German
Medium:Ivory
Dimensions:Overall: 2 3/4 in. (7 cm)
Classification:Ivories-Walrus
Credit Line:The Cloisters Collection, 1970
Accession Number:1970.324.4
Emile Gavet, Paris (until 1897) ; his sale, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris (May 9–June 9, 1897, no. 327) ; Paul Casimir Garnier, Paris (1897–1916) ; his sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris (December 18–23, 1916, no. 37) ; [ Brimo de Laroussilhe, Paris] ; [ Brummer Gallery, Paris and New York] ; Ernst and Marthe Kofler-Truniger, Lucerne (sold 1970)
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Molinier, Emile. Collection Émile Gavet: catalogue raisonné précédé d'une étude historique et archéologique sur les œuvres d'art qui composent cette collection. Paris: Jouaust, 1889. no. 293, pl. 30.
Catalogue des Objets d'Art et de Haute Curiosité de la Renaissance; Tableaux, Tapisseries: Composant la Collection de M. Émile Gavet. Paris: Galerie Georges Petit, May 31–June 9, 1897. no. 327, p. 90.
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Philippowich, Eugen von. Elfenbein: ein Handbuch für Sammler und Liebhaber. Braunschweig: Klinkhardt & Biermann, 1961. p. 279, fig. 211.
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Sammlung E. und M. Kofler-Truniger, Luzern: Ausstellung. Zurich: Kunsthaus Zürich, 1964. no. 681, p. 72, pl. 62.
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Beckwith, John. Ivory Carvings in Early Medieval England. London: Harvey Miller Publishers, 1972. no. 125, p. 147, fig. 228, ill. p. 155.
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Mann, Vivian B. "Romanesque Ivory Tablemen." PhD diss., New York University, 1977. no. 106, pp. 272–73.
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Barnet, Peter, and Nancy Y. Wu. The Cloisters: Medieval Art and Architecture. New York and New Haven: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. no. 17, pp. 44, 194.
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. 110, p. 116.
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Brennan, Christine E. "The Brummer Gallery and the Business of Art." Journal of the History of Collections 27, no. 3 (November 2015). p. 461, fig. 6.
Senior Research Associate Christine E. Brennan recalls enjoying the Medieval Festival at The Met Cloisters with her family and invites visitors to join the festivities this Sunday, September 18.
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