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The style and quality of this manuscript's decoration is typical of deluxe Parisian books made for aristocratic or royal patrons. Most of the book's decoration appears to be the work of the Master of the Boqueteaux, an artist active at the court of King Charles V (died 1380). His style was apparently shared by a number of book illuminators working in and around Paris. It is very possible that the <em>Gotha Missal</em> belonged to Charles V, but is not provable because the manuscript has no royal portraits and lacks a colophon. Given the book's magnificent decoration, however, it would seem that it was produced for a Valois prince, if not for the king himself. The manuscript receives its name from the German dukes of Gotha, its later owners.
France, Paris
ink, tempera, and gold on vellum; blind-tooled leather binding
Codex: 27.1 x 19.5 cm (10 11/16 x 7 11/16 in.)
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
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Brush-washers for removing excess ink are essential tools in the traditional art of Chinese calligraphy and painting. These functional objects were often made into beautiful works of art through exquisite design and the use of precious materials, such as porcelain, ivory, jade, and agate. This ceramic brush-washer, made in the form of a leaf, rests on a delicate ivory and wood base.
Chinese
4 7/8 in. (12.4 cm)
medium: glazed stoneware; stand: ivory, wood
culture: Chinese
dynasty: Qing [Ch'ing] Dynasty
Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Long-armed gibbons form a chain to reach down from a tree, hoping to touch what they believe is the moon. In fact, the orb remaining beyond their grasp is the full moon’s reflection in the still surface of a pond or lake. The image is a common metaphor for the deluded mind in Buddhist thought. Gibbons do not live in Japan but were known to Japanese painters of the premodern era through paintings brought from China.
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
Hanging scroll; ink and light color on silk
Painting: 170 x 33.9 cm (66 15/16 x 13 3/8 in.); Overall with knobs: 234 x 40.1 cm (92 1/8 x 15 13/16 in.)
Gift from the Collection of George Gund III
Board games including chess, checkers, and backgammon became increasingly popular in Europe during the later Middle Ages. Chess had been brought back by crusading knights from the Near East. Small boards, such as this on the underside of a box in which the game counters or pieces were kept, may have been made for traveling. The box is decorated with scenes of dancing and hunting on the top and sides.
Medieval European
H: 2 1/2 x W: 6 1/16 x D: 7 5/16 in. (6.3 x 15.4 x 18.5 cm)
medium: bone, wood (beech), and iron fittings
style: Gothic
culture: Medieval European
by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
This portrait depicts the Mughal prince Murad Baksh in his early 30s, at the height of his power and promise. He wears a golden coat of honor with fur collar and the swords and shield of a military officer. As the youngest son of Emperor Shah Jahan, he was intimately involved in the struggles for succession. In 1658, he sided with his brother Aurangzeb (1618–1707) against their eldest brother, the crown prince, whom they defeated in a decisive battle that led to the crown prince’s eventual assassination in 1659. Aurangzeb then turned on his youngest brother, Murad Baksh himself, and had him imprisoned and finally executed in 1661.
Mughal India, court of Shah Jahan (1627–58)
Gum tempera and gold on paper
Overall: 20 x 12 cm (7 7/8 x 4 3/4 in.)
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust