Ars emblematica – a late medieval wooden dish found in Elbląg/Elbing

Abstract

The painted wooden late medieval dish unearthed in the Hanseatic town Elbląg (woj. warmińsko-mazurskie), proves to be one of the most unique finds of its kind in Europe. The scene engraved and filled with black paint on its surface depicts a quarrel between tric-trac players. Similar scenes, showing evil characters were popular in western medieval art. Usually they belong to the iconographic cycles of the Last Judgement, the Ten Commandments or the Seven Deadly Sins. In eastern Central Europe, similar moralising depictions appear mainly on stove tiles. One of the most popular motifs in this case is a »hair tearing« fight between two adversaries. The analysed dish was dated to the mid-14th century on stylistic grounds. Its decoration almost certainly indicates its original production in the Netherlands.