Detail of On the Moral Use of a Mirror...

On the Moral Use of a Mirror which Reflects both Vices and Virtues. Discours sur le Mariage de Pollion et d'Eurydice by Plutarch. Translation by Jean Lodet. Illuminations executed by unknown court workshop artisans. France, very late 15th to early 16th century (c.1499 or later).

"Pointing at the mirror, the wise author warns children of vices and sins which would disfigure their 'very beautiful' faces Over the fireplace is the royal coat of arms; in the background an elegant lady, 'chaste and kind hearted', is arranging her hair that has escaped from a black cap such as was worn in Brittany and popularized by Anne of Brittany."

Image from the book Western European Illuminated Manuscripts 8th to 16th Centuries by Tamara Voronova and Andrei Sterligov (2003). Image #230, Page #163. Confidential Concepts. ISBN 1904310478.