Mirror as one which would allow a praying man to use them for his personal piety: the mirror surrounded by scenes of the Passion to reflect on it and on oneself, a rosary as a device in this process, the veiled and cushioned bench to use as a prie-dieu, and the abandoned shoes that point in the direction in which the praying man kneeled. The metaphorical meaning of depicted mirrors is complex and many-layered, e.g. as an attribute of Mary, the “speculum sine macula”, or as attributes of scholarly and theological wisdom and knowledge as they appear in book illuminations of
Desk and bench Desk and bench A Desk and bench can be an antique or a modern form of desk combined with a small bench or a stool made in exactly the same style and material. The desk is usually not very big and meant to be placed against a wall, in a little room or a hallway. Because of this intended venue and its small size it is in a sense a cousin to the telephone desk. In form it is in general a smaller brother of the writing table. The term "Desk and bench" is also sometimes used to describe a