Fragment of a gaming piece with male slaying beast, possibly Hercules and the Erymanthian boar, zigzag pattern with incised circles in border / Samson Carver, Pricked-Ivories Workshop, Cologne, Germany

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Record Details

Accession Number
1987/1.262
Title
Fragment of a gaming piece with male slaying beast, possibly Hercules and the Erymanthian boar, zigzag pattern with incised circles in border
Artist Nationality
German
Medium and Support
elephant ivory
Object Creation Date
circa 1150
Object Creation Place
Europe (continent)
Germany (nation)
North Rhine-Westphalia (state)
Köln (national district)
Cologne (inhabited place)
Creation Place 1
Europe (continent)
Creation Place 2
Germany (nation)
Creation Place 4
Köln (national district)
Creation Place 5
Cologne (inhabited place)
Credit Line
Anonymous Gift
Style/Group/Movement
Romanesque
Dimensions
6.3 cm x 3.1 cm x 1.2 cm (2 1/2 in. x 1 1/4 in. x 1/2 in.)
Century
12th century
Primary Object Classification
Decorative Arts
Primary Object Type
gaming piece
Secondary Object Classification
Decorative Arts
Secondary Object Type
carving
Physical Description
Fragment of circular gaming piece carved in elephant ivory in high relief. Standing male figure wearing knee-length robe holds sword in right hand and stabs inverted beast in the chest. Forelegs of beast end in hooves; head of beast characterized by large eye and pronounced nostril. Left arm of figure and rear half of the beast missing. Border contains zigzag pattern with bead motif.
Subject Matter
This fragmentary gaming piece comes from a set that originally included thirty pieces used for playing a game similar to backgammon. Fifteen pieces depicted episodes from the life of the Old Testament hero Samson, who was renowned for his feats of strength. The opposing fifteen pieces, including the one under discussion, contained scenes from the life of another hero famed for his physical prowess, Hercules. Although the subject of this particular piece has not been identified with certainty, the scene perhaps portrays Hercules's Fourth Labor in which he captured the savage Erymanthian boar. The themes of physical struggle and triumph represented here and in the other gaming pieces would have alluded evocatively to the contest of wits being played out on the gameboard.
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Technical Details

Image Size
1179 x 839
File Size
132 KB
Record
1987/1.262
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1987-sl-1.262/1987_1.262.jpg

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https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1987-SL-1.262:1987_1.262.JPG

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"Fragment of a gaming piece with male slaying beast, possibly Hercules and the Erymanthian boar, zigzag pattern with incised circles in border; Samson Carver, Pricked-Ivories Workshop, Cologne, Germany." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1987-sl-1.262/1987_1.262.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 28, 2024.
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