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During the Middle Ages, paper and parchment were expensive, and many people took advantage of less permanent forms of written communication. One side of an ivory tablet was coated with wax; then a message was incised in the wax with a stylus (which looks like a large pin) and protected by an ivory lid. The little box would be sent to the recipient, who smoothed the wax and responded.The sliding cover depicts three ladies in the town, looking over its walls at two embracing couples seen to the left. The bottom of the box shows the same town at greater distance, a tent with two more lovers, a hawking expedition, and a hermit reading outside his rustic cell. Several writing boxes are known from the same, otherwise unidentified workshop.
Page data
- Page
- 3
- Source index
- 0
- Type
- photo
- Media ID
- a3931a9971c12ca2
- Size
- unknown
Document data
- ID
- 9704
- Core
- obj
- Type
- object
DTO data
{
"id": "9704",
"sourceUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/71.283",
"contentType": "object",
"stage": "normalized",
"title": "Writing Tablet and Lid",
"description": "During the Middle Ages, paper and parchment were expensive, and many people took advantage of less permanent forms of written communication. One side of an ivory tablet was coated with wax; then a message was incised in the wax with a stylus (which looks like a large pin) and protected by an ivory lid. The little box would be sent to the recipient, who smoothed the wax and responded.The sliding cover depicts three ladies in the town, looking over its walls at two embracing couples seen to the left. The bottom of the box shows the same town at greater distance, a tent with two more lovers, a hawking expedition, and a hermit reading outside his rustic cell. Several writing boxes are known from the same, otherwise unidentified workshop.",
"provenance": "Sale, Cologne, December 14, 1893, no. 92; Marcus Antocolsky, Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Marcus Antocolsky Sale, Hotel Drouot, Paris, June 10, 1901, no. 73; George Robinson Harding, London [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, June 15, 1901, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.",
"date": "1340-1360 (Medieval)",
"citationUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/71.283",
"rightsUri": "CC0",
"language": "en",
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"dimensionsRaw": "H: 3 11/16 x W: 2 1/8 x D of tablet and lid together: 7/16 in. (9.3 x 5.4 x 1.1 cm)"
}
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Document identity
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"label": "Writing Tablet and Lid",
"core": "obj",
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"citationUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/71.283"
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Document source metadata
{
"id": "9704",
"sourceUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/71.283",
"contentType": "object",
"stage": "normalized",
"title": "Writing Tablet and Lid",
"description": "During the Middle Ages, paper and parchment were expensive, and many people took advantage of less permanent forms of written communication. One side of an ivory tablet was coated with wax; then a message was incised in the wax with a stylus (which looks like a large pin) and protected by an ivory lid. The little box would be sent to the recipient, who smoothed the wax and responded.The sliding cover depicts three ladies in the town, looking over its walls at two embracing couples seen to the left. The bottom of the box shows the same town at greater distance, a tent with two more lovers, a hawking expedition, and a hermit reading outside his rustic cell. Several writing boxes are known from the same, otherwise unidentified workshop.",
"provenance": "Sale, Cologne, December 14, 1893, no. 92; Marcus Antocolsky, Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Marcus Antocolsky Sale, Hotel Drouot, Paris, June 10, 1901, no. 73; George Robinson Harding, London [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, June 15, 1901, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.",
"date": "1340-1360 (Medieval)",
"citationUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/71.283",
"rightsUri": "CC0",
"language": "en",
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}
Document source extras
{
"cul": "French",
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"med": "ivory",
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],
"collection_ids": [
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],
"exhibition_ids": [
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"2049",
"2064",
"2932"
]
}
Page context
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"url": "https://art.thewalters.org/images/raw/PS1_71.283_SideC_DD_AT18-036364-tms.jpg",
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