Scarlet Macaw The Scarlet Macaw is a large tropical parrot found in the forests of Central and South America. 

The husband’s coat of arms   The Dukes of Pomerania-Stettin were members of the noble House of Griffins. There are multiple images of griffins on thier coats of arms. A griffin is a mythical creature with the body and tail of a lion, and the head and wings of an eagle. 

The wife’s coat of arms   The coat of arms of the Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg include a lion, a griffin, a swan, and a person on horseback at the bottom.

The central lady’s attendant is seen here carrying a bag over his shoulder. In fourteenth-century Iran and Iraq depictions of noblewomen are rare, but they are sometimes shown with an attendant who wears or carries a bag, as in this court scene. We can only speculate what these bags contained, but other items carried by…

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Perhaps to advertise the superior skill and technique of its craftsmen, this bag specialises in intricate designs featuring geometric patterns, intersecting circles, diaper designs with tiny birds or leaves, knots and small inscriptions in gold.

At the heart of the large roundels on the front and back of the bag are horsemen. On the front of the bag a horseman is spearing a lion. On the back of the bag, another horseman has a falcon perched on his left wrist. The prominence of these two horsemen reflects the high status…

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One of the most striking aspects of the Courtauld bag is the background fret: an ornamental design consisting of a repeated, interlocking and symmetrical figure pattern in the form of a double-ended T.

The double hinge of the bag allowed the lid to be opened and the contents accessed even when worn closely against the body. The interior would have been lined with fine fabric, adding to the sumptuous effect of the gold and silver inlays on the exterior.

A gold inscription in Arabic frames the court scene on the lid of the bag. It starts in the lower right-hand corner and contains a series of good wishes arranged in rhyming pairs. Such inscriptions are standard on metal objects of this period but this particular selection of words and their arrangement and rhyme are…

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The court scene on the lid shows a noblewoman seated alongside her husband surrounded by their retinue. The enthroned woman’s face is missing – the inlay has fallen out – but its reflection can be seen in the mirror which her servant is holding up.