The only known surviving element from a Romanesque mirror case, this valve was originally slotted and joined by a clasp to a matching one. Mirrors of polished silver were fitted into the inner facings. The surface of the cast and chased case has been extensively worked to resemble champlevé enameling. The dragon motifs can be compared to those on the bowl of a drinking cup (acc. no. 47.101.31) and the knop of the Bertinus chalice ( acc. no. 47.101.30), both of which are also listed in this database. The foliate lugs and attached rings are modern additions.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Valve of a Mirror Case
Date:1180–1200
Culture:British
Medium:Bronze gilt
Dimensions:4 3/8 × 3/8 in. (11.1 × 0.9 cm)
Classification:Metalwork-Bronze
Credit Line:The Cloisters Collection, 1947
Accession Number:47.101.47
[ Frédéric Spitzer Austrian, Paris (sold 1893)] ; his posthumous sale, Chevallier and Mannheim, Paris (April 17–June 16, 1893, no. 294) ; H. Fulgence, Paris (from 1893) ; [ Pollok (sold 1937)] ; [ Brummer Gallery, Paris and New York (1937–sold 1947)]
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. "Arts of the Middle Ages: A Loan Exhibition," February 17–March 24, 1940.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Year 1200: A Centennial Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art," February 12–May 10, 1970.
Hayward Gallery. "English Romanesque Art 1066—1200," April 5–July 8, 1984.
La Collection Spitzer: Antiquité, Moyen-Age, Renaissance. Vol. I. Mâcon: Imprimerie Protat Frères, 1890–1891. Orfèvrerie religieuse 87, p. 121.
Spitzer, Frédéric, ed. La Collection Spitzer: Antiquité -- Moyen-Age -- Renaissance. Vol. 1. Paris: Maison Quantin, 1890–1893. Orfèvrerie religieuse 87, pp. 124–5, pl. XIV.
Catalogue des objets d'art et de haute curiosité: antiques, du moyen-âge & de la renaissance: composant l'importante et précieuse Collection Spitzer. Vol. 1. Paris: Chevallier and Mannheim, April 17–June 16, 1893. no. 294, p. 53, pl. IX.
Arts of the Middle Ages: A Loan Exhibition. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1940. no. 272, p. 78.
Rorimer, James J. "A Treasury at the Cloisters." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 6, no. 9 (May 1948). p. 239.
Swarzenski, Hanns. Monuments of Romanesque Art: the Art of Church Treasures in North-Western Europe. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1954. p. 77, fig. 460, pl. 199.
Swarzenski, Hanns. Monuments of Romanesque Art: the Art of Church Treasures in North-Western Europe. 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1967. p. 77, fig. 460, pl. 199.
Hoffmann, Konrad, ed. The Year 1200: A Centennial Exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 1. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1970. no. 86, p. 79.
Zarnecki, George, Janet Holt, and Tristram Holland, ed. English Romanesque Art, 1066-1200. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1984. no. 255, p. 252.
Schiedlausky, Günther. Kühlkugel und Wärmapfel. Munich and Berlin: Deutscher Kunstverlag, 1984. p. 50.
Schrader, J. L. "A Medieval Bestiary." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 44, no. 1 (Summer 1986). p. 51.
Wixom, William D., and Margaret Lawson. "Picturing the Apocalypse: Illustrated Leaves from a Medieval Spanish Manuscript." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 59, no. 3 (Winter 2002). p. 37, fig. 37.
Brennan, Christine E. "The Brummer Gallery and the Business of Art." Journal of the History of Collections 27, no. 3 (November 2015). p. 461.
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