Roundel with Playing at Quintain

Unknown

ca. 1500 · Colorless glass, vitreous paint and silver stain · The Cloisters

Quintain originally was a tilting exercise in which a dummy or other target was employed by knights in training for the joust. Balance quintain was a popular variation. As seen here, a seated man held up one leg, placing his foot against the foot of a standing man; one person then tried to upend the other. By the fifteenth century, balance quintain was often played as a courting game with men and women.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1500

Medium

Colorless glass, vitreous paint and silver stain

Culture

French

Department

The Cloisters

Credit line

The Cloisters Collection, 1980