Game Piece with Menelaus and Companions Battling Proteus
Objects related to the games of tables and chess were among Salgo’s favorite items. Such games were predecessors of modern backgammon and widespread in Medieval Europe. Surviving ivory game pieces are rare, and this is the only known piece from a thirty-piece set. These unusual objects often depict sophisticated narrative and allegorical subjects. This carving may show a scene from the Odyssey, when King Menelaus drives a spear into the open jaws of the sea-god Proteus, transformed into a lioness or bearlike creature. Nearly 500 game pieces, along with game boards and boxes from various periods were donated by Ambassador Salgo to the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum in Munich.
Artwork Details
- Title: Game Piece with Menelaus and Companions Battling Proteus
- Date: ca. 1125–50
- Culture: North French
- Medium: Walrus ivory
- Dimensions: Overall: 2 3/8 x 11/16 in. (6 x 1.7 cm)
- Classification: Ivories-Walrus
- Credit Line: Gift of The Salgo Trust for Education, New York, in memory of Nicolas M. Salgo, 2010
- Object Number: 2010.109.1
- Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters
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German
ca. 1170
North French
mid-12th century
British
ca. 1250
French
ca.1050
French
ca. 1350
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