Case, writing tablet case

Leather case for a set of writing tablets. Tablets of ivory or wood with wax-filled compartments were used as handy notebooks for jotting down quick notes. The tablets, often as many as six, were laced together with strips of leather or parchment in the form of a book. Those on the outside provided a protective cover and the exterior surfaces were often embellished with figurative or geometric carvings. Biblical scenes, figures of saints or secular images of courtly love and leisure pursuits were popular. The tablets were housed in special travelling cases of leather like the example shown here (without its lid) and the notes were scribed into the wax with a bone or metal stylus. This case is constructed from three layers of leather to form individual slots for the tablets. The two inner layers have an ogival profile at top which presumably facilitated the removal of the tablets. It is probable that there was an additional decorated outer case of 'cuir-bouilli' (boiled leather), which is now missing.