Lovers Brooch

A lady and her lover. She holds him by the chains of love and offers him a garland. He kneels in supplication – or perhaps in an act of homage. The original, 1350-1400, was found at ‘s-Hertogenbosch. It lacked the chain, but we supplied it, based on a very similar brooch, dated 1375-1425, found in Dordrecht. The lady crowning the worthy suitor is a sort of medieval meme, and the motif appears in a variety of forms, including an obscene parody (which we are pleased to offer as well).