The Baird Casket

The Baird family since probably the early 17th century and certainly since the 18th century; W.N.Fraser by 1857; By descent from the above; Kept at Tornaveen House in Aberdeenshire, Scotland; Lyon and Turnbull, Edinburgh 20 May 2021; Private Collector; The Wyvern Collection, UK, 2024.

This remarkable survival of a previously unknown French gothic romance casket surfaced at a Scottish auction in 2021. There are only about 8 other extant gothic ivory ‘composite’ caskets, almost all of which are today found in major museums spread across the world. Most have scenes of courtly love based on the Roman de La Rose. This casket is however unique in that instead it shows scenes of combat with wildmen abducting maidens before being captured by knights. These are possisioned alongside those that celebrate the power of the sword, which culminate in its presence at the Round Table, thus allying knightly chivalry with the Arthurian Grail legend.

The lid: the first field shows two wildmen carrying distressed maidens on their shoulders. In the next scene they are carried into the castle of the wildmen and this is followed by four knights storming the castle (three with swords). The final scene shows the rescue of the maidens.

The back: the story concludes with the vanquished wildmen (including their king) being taken into captivity and then three of the knights announcing the capture to their King.

The front and sides compliment the story. On one side two fully armoured mounted knights joust with swords. On the front a mounted knight carries a lady in his arms across a river with the next scene showing a knight galloping towards a castle. In the following scene, before the castle, a kneeling man is holding up his arm with the hand severed off. This scene (as with some of the others) is open to different interpretations which are discussed by Dr. Paul Williamson in his monograph on the casket (see below). The final scene on the front shows the sword that only Galahad- Lancelot’s son- could free from the stone, floating above the Siege Perilous of the Round table of Camelot

Lastly the other side shows an angel genuflecting and holding a Grail-like chalice before an assembly of knights. These twelve knights of the Round Table, their shields hung behind them, join their hands in prayer, while the central figure of Galahad, the Christ like chosen one, holds the sword upright, signifying his presence as the greatest knight. The image of the Round Table as a straight bench-like table references the Last Supper of Christ and the Apostles.

The style of the casket is slightly different to other composite caskets and may imply the possibility of facture in a non-Parisian location. Also, given the subject matter, it seems plausible that the intended recipient of the casket was a knight as opposed to a lady (most other caskets were likely intended for a female clientele). A C14 analysis shows a 95.4% probability dating of 1228-96 and a second sample a 95.4% probability oof 1280-1394 with a 46.9% probability of 1280-1325. This allies with the stylistic analysis and suggests a date for the manufacture of the casket of 1320-30. 

(Text abbriviated from Paul Williamson, Wyvern Collection, Objects in Focus: The Baird Casket (Ad Illisum, London), 2025)

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