Carved panel with knights on horseback

[KC]

Sfida de Lillo e rocio in Italian means "Challenge de Lillo and Rocio".  In Romanion it translates to "Challenge the Lillo e Rocio".

I can't find a particular knights battle between a Ricco family member either country.

The only famous knights battle that comes up (Italy France) was the Challenge of Barletta.  Even then...nothing matches.

Mart - I do think the carver was taking artistic expression when they made this piece.  The buildings look finished at the top - they did a poor job representing trees.  (I agree they look like 1/2 flowers but in relation to the rest of the piece....from this picture....   ALSO - I am seeing this with one eye!  LOL)

It reminds me of the carved top of a Puppetry booth or an Automaton booth!

[mart]

LOL @@  Wait till you see it with two eyes !!

[Skinny]

I  bet it's hard to render realistic trees in a piece of hardwood. Doesn't seem like it would be very good for carving thin branches and tiny leaves.

I would imagine this is based on some story or historical event that just didn't quite  make it to the modern day and no one ever wrote about. Maybe they were some local folk heros

[cogar]

I  bet it's hard to render realistic trees in a piece of hardwood.

Actually it is easier, ...... when using hardwood, ...... but it has to be a "tight" grained hardwood, ...... and surely not Oak as you suggested, to wit:

It's some kind of heavy wood, maybe Oak?

The grain of Oak, Chestnut, and probably Ash is far too large for intricate carving.

Maple, Cherry, Black Walnut, Teak, Ebony, Beech, Birch are "tight" grained hardwoods and surely excellent woods for "carving". (think of walnut gunstocks)

Softwoods such as the conifers, balsa, Linden (Basswood) are great for carving ..... but not so great for intricate work or longivity due to them being subject to abrasion.

[mart]

The pistil is the center part of a flower,, think daisy,, and the petals are attached and revolve around the pistil !!  All three of these carved pieces have a pistil and the top two are missing the rest of the petals !!  They only have the bottom petals !!

[Pelady]

Not sure what others are seeing, but I see green fronds with with leaf veins and thick brown tree trunks. Carving looks like a a field of battle or jousting field between two castles. I could always be wrong.

[mart]

Just looking at the flowers !!  Top part where the rounded petals are !!

[Pelady]

Just disagreeing with you Mart, feel they are  stylized tree tops.

[mart]

Look at the center of each !!  There is  a dot where the pistil is on all three !! 

[Pelady]

I have looked And STILL disagree with you.

[Rauville]

Not sure what others are seeing, but I see green fronds with with leaf veins and thick brown tree trunks. Carving looks like a a field of battle or jousting field between two castles. I could always be wrong.

As far as what I see: A scene taken from the Crusades in North Africa, with the carver depicting date palms in the background. (The ranks of the Crusaders in the early 1200's were made up with numbers of knights and infantrymen from Hungary, Austria, etc.)

[Skinny]

I was wondering about palm trees myself. The trunks don't look quite right for palms though. I don't know. I don't think the carver was too worried about the scientific accuracy of his depiction of the flora.

[KC]

I have to agree with that summation about the tree Skinny!

[mart]

LOL !!  No matter if tree or flower,, its still only half of one !!