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What nonreligious subjects appeared on Gothic ivory objects?
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ivory carving
Kinugumiut Inupiat incised walrus ivory shaman's figure, c. 1890; in the National Museum of the American Indian, George Gustav Heye Center, Smithsonian Institution, New York City.
During the Gothic period, while ivory carving remained heavily focused on religious themes, artisans also produced a variety of utilitarian objects featuring nonreligious subjects. These items, which included caskets, combs, mirror cases, writing tablets, cups, and dagger handles, were often decorated with scenes depicting courtly love or narratives derived from romances. Additionally, ivory was frequently fashioned into chess pieces for secular leisure.1