Star Wars lunch box! Hilarious! We don't know; the original Gothic ivories could have contained sweets for the wedding, so, kind of a lunch box! The theme fits very well since those type of lunch boxes often contain various scenes that were not necessarily directly connected to each other, nor put in order on the box. So really any fan base would do, but the Star Wars one really resonated with me!
Maybe Monty Python & his friends did research alot of real stuffs of those times. Except perhaps they mostly refered them for entertainment film than educational documentary purposes (which fair enoughs if only on the contexts their positions for holywood)
The Python crew are and were quite well-educated, so I suspect that a lot of what went on in the movie were direct (but funny) references to myth and history. Also, the film, if done as a play in a language known at the time, would probably have been pretty popular with medieval audiences.
I feel like its the medieval version of a Disney box with all of the princesses on it. Meint to just represent all the famous storys and not to tell them.
As someone who isn't familiar with Arthurian legend (beside the media that is swept over from Britain to us) I am very delighted to find out that castle Anthrax and perilous bridge are based on real legend xD
This is fascinating. As a Woodcarver, even when we carvers carve the exact same subject, our individual style can be seen. The two caskets that I've seen you discuss (excellent, BTW) seem to be by the same artist. Is this possible, and are the pieces signed? Thank you!
0:25 “We can’t turn objects round to see all sides”. A slowly rotating stand - like you have in front of you - must be possible, surely? With large Images of each panel close by?
Were the metal fittings added much later? They look quite out of place. Perhaps something more private or precious was stored in it later and it was modified not to open easily.
Why can’t museums create displays that allow for such small objects to be turned? I realize such methods would be more costly than static display on a shelf, but surely there are lower-cost options or even ways to get interested or well-healed museum patrons and visitors to pay for the delight of turning objects (perhaps paying a pound to carry a device that enables displays to become interactive, for example).
🌟😁 you're right!!! In the first box,in the "jousting" scene; it's the far right panel where Naomi identifies the man kneeling with his hand on the lady's belly as a knight. The pregnant lady is holding the key :) I love it!!! All i see in the catapult basket is flowers,though.
Wonderfull explanation. However, my question is how did these large flat panels get carved from ivory tusk. Tusks of that time would have been much larger than we know today, but not so as to create these flat panels of ~21 cm. Even if they are separate panels how were they put together? Those metal straps would be insufficient. So I remain bewildered.
Wouldn't it make sense for all the images on that side of the casket to be of Gawain? If three are, why suddenly introduce an image of Lancelot with a borrowed attribute of Gawain, when it could be Gawain with a borrowed attribute of Lancelot?
We've already shot and edited next week's episode and **spoilers** it's sadly not the Franks Casket. However, will look into doing that one in the future as it is really cool. Thanks for the suggestion.
As much as I love the artistry of these boxes, I’m afraid the conservationist in me can only see dead elephants. I _did_ listen the whole way through bc I obviously realize it was all a long long time ago! But elephants will soon be extinct if they aren’t left alone, not killed for Asian aphrodisiacs, or whatever crazy, unnecessary reason they want ivory. At least we have art as a remembrance for these.
do you think these were carved outside in the sunlight, or inside by fire light? is there an estimate for how many hours of work went into creating these carved boxes?
That time Aristotle was ridden like a horse, and other Gothic Ivory tales | Curator's Corner S7 Ep4 1718pm 23.6.22 nice corner, madam. p.s in keeping with the humour - refer to castle anthrax in the holy grail film - a disaster in relation to this ornate box depicting the parfait within the throes of amor. as for the folk crowding into the fount of eternal youth - they were probably show the door with the words: far queue!
Did they carve these box panels hard or soak them in weak Spirit of Nitre to soften them first temporarily? Do you have any Lunar Caustic black ivory items?
Mmm, some of the explanations seem a bit off when looking at what is depicted I think (though I haven't studied it at all of course :) ). The panel on the right with the knight kneeling, seems to care for her, she seems pregnant. Which would go nicely with all the flowers everywhere. The other side, with the reflection in the water, the reflection looks like it has a beard, while the one in the tree doesn't (possibly an older version of him?). Marvelous object though, wonderful to be able to see a story that old.
I am sad to see these enticing ivory caskets because I worry that the demand for ivory may increase today. Killing an elephant for its tusks is already a huge problem. Let’s not give more demand for ivory.
About the unicorn and the sexual allegory: Why not delve into the details like you've done with the other panels depictions? Curious minds want to know (at least this mind does).
Is it just me or does the "fountain of youth" look a little like a woman's ovaries and perhaps even her uterus? Obviously, with medieval medical knowledge. On the other side, the "conquered" woman in the assault on the castle of love is holding a key and is clearly pregnant. Perhaps the allegory is the same as that of Shakespeare's sonnets in that the only key to eternal life is through childbirth. The only way we can live on is through love and having children. I think the Arthurian legends are perhaps a knight indicating what he would go through for the hand in marriage of the woman he loves. So the box perhaps was an offer of marriage. It seems to be a man going through the stages of winning the hand of a woman and the key to her heart. Or I could just be a romantic old fool.
are you really not going to address. that these mans are lancing one another with bizarre animalistic fists on the ends of their weapons? was this the equivalent of a boxing-glove-tipped- arrow?
Yes, these were lances of peace (the only type used today) as opposed to lances of war (designed to pierce the enemy jouster’s armor and, ideally, kill him). Obviously, the second type were only used in battle or during judicial combats.
At 7:06 the "Fountain", Looks more to me like "a Womb", with the Ovaries at the top, and the Uterus as the large structure at the bottom. What do y'all Think?
As this depiction is on ivory, and quite small at that, there was no verifiable way of measuring the distance a 90kg stone would travel if launched from said apparatus.
@@britishmuseum Surely that does make it a trebuchet, then, said engines being infamously unpredictable in their ranging... (I'd thought it was a mangonel by size/breadth of frame, being attended by one person and not catapult-shaped, but still, I think they're right - you can see the counterweight and everything)
Naomi I think you are hot! 🤓🌹👸 I am not sure, but did Albrecht Durer do any of the drawings used for the intended patterns that, with a master carver, became the finished images? Does the museum you work at have an ivory chess set (or pieces)? Thank you
No she didn't. This was an unfortunate. although admittedly quite funny, relic from the original autogenerated captions. So that one is on us not Naomi. Thanks for flagging, it's now been corrected.
"CASKET" funerary box, coffin, casket, suggests death, like something dead or broken was held within. That's what we know as a casket now. English is a strange language. I hate that each item represents the slaughter of an innocent creature😢 So to me these are, in deed... caskets😓
"Great Britain" or "the greatest thief in history" They must finally give back those looted artefacts, it's ridiculous how they welcome thousands of tourists in their museum daily to proudly present the stolen African and asian artefacts. That's pure criminality!
