Mastery of Design: The Salamanca Pendant, 1800-1870

Pendant
Salamanca Spain
1800-1870
The Victoria & Albert Museum

It’s not surprising, given Spain’s highly-Catholic history, that Roman Catholic imagery would be incorporated into all art forms. Many jewels made in Spain from the Seventeenth to Nineteenth Centuries featured religious themes along with more secular designs.

This cross-shaped pendant is a good example. Made in the Salamanca region of Spain, the pendant is a great representation of the sort of filigree work which made the region famous. While the piece is dominated by the cross, it is suspended from a tulip, and this from a filigree bow—a popular fashion of the early-to-mid Nineteenth Century. Similarly, as was the style of the time, the pendant is made in three sections—each encrusted with seed and baroque pearls attached by thin gold wire. The whole was worn on a ribbon, tied around the throat.

The work of an unknown jeweler, the piece dates between 1800 and 1870.

 

Painting of the Day: A Garland of Flowers Surrounding a Cartouche

Still Life
Jan Pauwel Gillemans
Flanders (Stupid Flanders)
Mid-Seventeenth Century
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This lush painting is the work of the rather mysterious painter Jan Pauwel Gillemans the Elder (1618-1675). We don’t know too much about this son of a goldsmith who spent his entire life in his native Antwerp. Beyond those few sketchy details, we only can guess about his life based on his work and that of his son, Jan Pauwel Gillemans the Younger (1651-1704) who was also a still-life painter.

Gillemans the Elder was of the “Flemish Stuff on a Table” school of still-life painting. He excelled at depictions of fruit and flowers and used these as a way of hinting at Biblical subject matter. For instance, in the piece pictured above, the fruits and flowers that he has selected allude to the Passion of Christ and have overtones of the Eucharist. The blooms surround a cartouche containing a representation of an angel, and, an eagle sits above the entire composition.

Let’s see if we can read Gillemans’ message. He’s allowed the lower portion of the composition to be overtaken by spiky plants and those with thorns—roses, thistles, hawthorn, blackthorn, rose-hips and raspberries, all of which signify the Crown of Thorns. Above this, we have grapes, wheat stalks, corn, poppies, cornflowers and narcissus—bountiful symbols which work in conjunction with the chalice. The eagle, of course, is a representation of the Resurrection. The butterflies signify the same.

I’m not sure about the parrots. I think they’re just there because they’re groovy.

Besides, those Flemish…they’d put a bird on a table whenever they got a chance. I’m just happy to see these parrots are alive and not in a state of decay like most of the birds in Flemish paintings.

Gifts of Grandeur: An Indian Turban Ornament, 1800-1850

Turban Ornament
Jaipur, 1800-1850
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Made between 1800 and 1850, this ornament was designed to be worn on a man’s turban. It’s likely that such a fine jewel would have been made for the Maharaja of Jaipur in Rajasthan by the royal workshop. Jewelers in Jaipur have long been celebrated for their high-quality, thin enamels. 

The ornament is made in the form of a peacock—an unusual motif for the era. Some speculate that rather than for the regent, the ornament was made for a ceremonial figure of the deity Krishna whose attribute is the peacock. 

Mastery of Design: An Enameled Finial, c. 1200

Finial from a reliquary
German, c. 1200
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This enameled finial of gilt copper boasts cast forms of leaves and fruit which frame its six teardrop-shaped enamel plaques. This adornment would have been made to be fitted at the top of a shrine or reliquary meant to hold the relics of a saint. When made, this probably glittered with jewels or crystals as well.

The piece was made in Germany at the start of the Thirteenth Century. 

Masterpiece of the Week: Children Playing with a Lamb, 1840

Children Playing with a LambSwiss, 1840
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The painter Barthélemy Menn (1815-1893) was born in Geneva where he studied with some of the greatest Swiss and French painters of the Nineteenth Century.  Menn later studied with the famed Ingres and followed him in Rome where he produced portraits and landscapes similar in style to those of the school of Barbizon.

This 1840 painting, “Children Playing with a Lamb,” is a great example of Menn's transitional style when he ceased historical painting in favor of a freer approach based on natural themes. 

The genre scene depicts two women and two children playing with a lamb, which may be understood as a symbolic representation of the traditional image of Mary and Anne with the Infants Jesus and St John the Baptist.

It’s very Easter-y.  So, there you are.  

This painting was part of the collection of Rev. Chauncey Hare Townshend whom we know largely for his important collection of jewels.  The work was listed in the 1868 post-mortem register of the contents of his villa in Lausanne as “Oil on millboard. Children playing with a Lamb. By B. Menn. In frame. Signed. Swiss. Present century.”  It was bequeathed by Townshend to the V&A in 1868.

Painting of the Day: A Garland of Flowers Surrounding a Cartouche

Still Life
Jan Pauwel Gillemans
Flanders (Stupid Flanders)
Mid-Seventeenth Century
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This lush painting is the work of the rather mysterious painter Jan Pauwel Gillemans the Elder (1618-1675). We don’t know too much about this son of a goldsmith who spent his entire life in his native Antwerp. Beyond those few sketchy details, we only can guess about his life based on his work and that of his son, Jan Pauwel Gillemans the Younger (1651-1704) who was also a still-life painter.

Gillemans the Elder was of the “Flemish Stuff on a Table” school of still-life painting. He excelled at depictions of fruit and flowers and used these as a way of hinting at Biblical subject matter. For instance, in the piece pictured above, the fruits and flowers that he has selected allude to the Passion of Christ and have overtones of the Eucharist. The blooms surround a cartouche containing a representation of an angel, and, an eagle sits above the entire composition.

Let’s see if we can read Gillemans’ message. He’s allowed the lower portion of the composition to be overtaken by spiky plants and those with thorns—roses, thistles, hawthorn, blackthorn, rose-hips and raspberries, all of which signify the Crown of Thorns. Above this, we have grapes, wheat stalks, corn, poppies, cornflowers and narcissus—bountiful symbols which work in conjunction with the chalice. The eagle, of course, is a representation of the Resurrection. The butterflies signify the same.

I’m not sure about the parrots. I think they’re just there because they’re groovy.

Besides, those Flemish…they’d put a bird on a table whenever they got a chance. I’m just happy to see these parrots are alive and not in a state of decay like most of the birds in Flemish paintings.

Sculpture of the Day: The Coral St. Michael, 1700-1750



The Victoria & Albert Museum


Coral’s softness allows for easy carving and it’s presumed “powers” made it a favorite medium for figurines and jewels assigned talisman properties. Here, we see a statuette in coral of St. Michael. The saint is wearing a feathered helmet and stands upon a dragon, as one does. In his right hand, he carries a sword, presumably to slay said dragon. Since coral was thought to protect against malignant magic, both the design and purpose of this figure seems to be to triumph over evil.

This, like most coral pieces, was made in Italy (Naples) during the early-to-mid Eighteenth Century when the use of coral for decorative purposes was at an all-time high.

Gifts of Grandeur: The Hull Grundy Bodice Ornament, c. 1650

Click image to see larger picture.
Hull Grundy Bodice Ornament
Spain, Seventeenth Century
The British Museum

This bodice ornament of gold is set with table-cut emeralds and diamonds. The upper section of the piece features an openwork design in a bow form incorporating foliate tendrils and volutes. This is hinged to a section which works the initial “S” in pierced openwork.

The reverse of the jewel is enameled in pink and black on a ground of white in a floral pattern.

At one point, this piece was in the collection of Dame Joan Evans, but ended up in the catalogue of the Hull Grundys who presented this as part of a large gift to the British Museum. It’s believed that the ornament has significance to a Spanish religious confraternity.

Object of the Day: For Worms in Children

Click image to be graceful.

Sometimes, Christianity borrowed the iconography of previous cultures in order to communicate a concept. An example of this is “The Three Graces.” In Greek mythology, the Three Graces (or Charities) represented concepts such as charm, beauty and creativity, among other similar concepts. The graces were typically personified as three diaphanously-clad young woman who would often huddle together. Christianity, having three graces of its own, used a similar depiction to communicate to concepts of Faith, Hope and Charity.

So, what does that have to do with worms? We’re about to find out.

Dating to about 1870, this trade card boasts, on the obverse, a very handsome chromolithograph of “The Three Graces.” And, they don’t look at all Greek, do they? So, you’d think this was a card for something pretty…like silk, or jewelry, or…well, not this.

The reverse is rather shocking, in fact. It reads:

FAITH, HOPE, AND CHARITY, the
Album picture on the other side, is a new treatment in
miniature, for our special use, of the celebrated painting, “The
Christian Graces.” We trust it will prove acceptable, and that
The following suggestions will share your attention, Dr. D.J. & S.
THE BEST TONIC—for grown persons and
children—safe, effective, and reasonable in price, is Dr.
Jayne’s Tonic Vermifuge. In DYSPEPSIA, a disease from which
so many adults suffer, and the prominent symptoms of which
are—a variable appetite, heartburn, oppression and soreness
of the stomach, low spirits, sick headache, fever and languor,
this Tonic is really invaluable. It should be taken in small
doses after each meal, using in connection the Sanative Pills
when needed, as per directions. So also when used
FOR WORMS IN CHILDREN, this Ver-
milifuge is exceedingly useful. The presence of these
dreadful pests, which prey on the delicate systems of the young,
until through irritation and general debility, their constitutions
are broken down—may be known by a capricious appetite,
craving of strange articles, weakness of the bowels, swelling of
the abdomen, fevers, sallow complexion, fitful sleep, grinding
of teeth, picking of the nose, flushed cheeks, twitching and a
wasting away. The Vermilifuge should be used according to
directions, remembering that it will not only destroy Worms,
but reason of its excellent Tonic powers (possessed by no
other worm medicine,) the proper action of the stomach will
be restored, and the general health re-established. It will also
be found of much value in Fever and Ague in children.
FOR SUMMER COMPLAINTS of either
Adults or Children, such as Colic, Cramps, Cholera,
Morbus, Diarrhœa, and Dyssentery, Dr. Jayne’s Carminative Balsam
is the SUREST CURATIVE KNOWN. No Family or Traveler
should be without it, as by its prompt use, much suffering and
many lives may be saved.Presented by 

L. COUDRY
                        Greenwood, McHenry Co.,
                                                                 Illinois. 



Well, that was a treat to type.

I hope you read it all. If you didn't, go back and read it. Because, I'll know...

So, let me understand…worms cause children to pick their noses and grind their teeth and twitch until they die. That’s a lot to pin on a little internal parasite. But, hey—I got to type Diarrhœa again and use my little œ. That’s twice in a week. Pretty good rate for something I’ve never used before.

And, really, thank the stars that someone is finally addressing my Summer Complaints.  

In short, Dr. Jayne hopes you like this card which he commissioned—a copy of a famous painting done FOR THEIR OWN SPECIAL USE!!!! He hopes you like it so much that you’ll read all about worms and loose bowels and maybe buy some Balsam Tonic. It’s enough to make you want to pick your nose until you die.

Unusual Artifacts: The Spanish Inquisition Emerald Egg, 1620-30

Pendant of Emerald and Enameled Gold
Spain 1620-1630
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Here’s a wild bit of Seventeenth Century Spanish weirdness. It’s incredibly beautiful and made of the world’s finest materials, yet also, a startling reminder of the Spanish Inquisition.

Made in Spain around 1620 to 1630, this egg-shaped emerald drop is encased in enameled gold. The black and white cross that we see here is that of the Roman Catholic Dominican order. The enameled green cross on the back symbolizes the hope of repentance before punishment. This is flanked by an olive branch of reconciliation and a sword of punishment.

A penitent would have worn this pendant to show piety and agreement with the policies of the Inquisition in the suppression of heresy.

Painting of the Day: Jonah Under his Gourd, 1561

Jonah Under His Gourd
Marten van Hemmskerck, 1561
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
This Image and the detail below are
 Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Marten van Heemskerck (1498-1574) created this work of oil on panel in around 1561. The biblical-themed piece was purchased by King Charles II from William Frizell in 1662 for 250 florins.

The painting depicts a moment from the story of Jonah (of Whale fame). The story recounts a time when Jonah was doing prophet-y stuff and warned the filthy, dirty, sinful citizens of Nineveh about an impending punishment because of their dirty, filthy, sinful ways. Well, the people got their act together and God said, “Eh, it’s okay. I won’t smite you today.” Well, good for Nineveh, but not so good for Jonah who just looked a fool and was very embarrassed about the whole thing. After all, he said there’d be smiting and no smiting occurred. And, so, it goes something like this:

‘And the Lord God prepared a gourd,’ the story continues, ‘and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief...But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day and it smote the gourd that it withered. And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die’. (Jonah 4: 6-8)

And, so, you see. When the gourd tree was taken away or eaten by big bible worms or whatever the hell, Jonah realized it had value. So, shouldn’t he also see the value of the citizens of the city? Well, yes. So, Jonah learned that he was wrong to wish the city destroyed just so he wouldn’t be embarrassed. 

Van Heemskerck shows us the very moment “when the morning rose the next day.” He’s done a fine job of showing the time of day. The scene has a nifty misty quality to it—a characteristic of an early morning which will die to a hot, day. The artist sets a scene, however, of Sixteenth Century Rome as opposed to ancient Nineveh. This, however, was not uncommon for Renaissance artists who found that putting Biblical tales in contemporary settings helped communicate the story more clearly to those whose only encounters with these themes came from viewing such pieces of art.

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: Le Pardon de Plourin, Brittany, 1877

Le Pardon de Plourin, Brittany
Leon Lhermitte, 1877
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Painter Léon Lhermitte (1844-1925) was born in Mont-Saint-Père, but he didn’t remain in the little French town.  Lhermitte soon became a student at the Petite Ecole in Paris, under the supervision of Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran (1802-1897), who was responsible for instructing such famous names as Henri Fantin-Latour (1836-1904) and Alphonse Legros (1837-1911) among others.

Lhermitte exhibited at the Paris Salon between 1866 and the first decade of the 20th century. He was, notably, a founding member of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts in 1890 and was made officer of the Légion d'honneur in 1894.

Lhermitte's is best known for his bucolic peasant scenes depicting scenes of everyday life.  Here, we see such a scene set outside of a church on the occasion of a religious feast called a “Pardon” which was celebrated during Easter. 

Lhermitte presents a charming scene of men and women in traditional dress. They are chatting and buying fruits and cakes while leaving the church in a village which looks a lot like Mont-Saint-Père—the artist’s birthplace.  In fact, Lhermitte painted this work while visiting his home town in 1877.

This work was commissioned from the artist (as a pair) by Constantine Alexander Ionides around April 1877.  A letter in a private collection from Lhermitte in Paris to the famed collector Ionides is dated April 19 1877.  The letter mentions that one of his two pictures is finished and that the other would be ready in time for his next trip to London.

Mastery of Design: A Belgian Silver Reliquary, 1250-1300

Reliquary
Parcel Gilt Silver Sheeting
1250-1300, Belgium
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This falls into the category of beautifully creepy—a category into which a lot of religious artifacts fall. Here, we see a sheet silver, parcel-gilt reliquary in the shape of a man’s hand wearing a ring, set with mica and a gemstone. It rests on a modern wooden base.

Orpha Polk could use this.

A reliquary is a container for displaying precious relics. Such relics are usually bones, hair or possessions associated with Christ and the saints. Museums and churches are filled with reliquaries which are, in turn, filled with stuff which is purported to have belonged to a notable theological figure. My father and I often joke that there are enough wrist bones of St. Anne in reliquaries around the world that she must have had hundreds of arms and that there are enough pieces of the true cross floating around to construct a bridge across the ocean. Nevertheless, these little fragments are assigned particular value by the faithful and, for that reason alone, are worth preserving and appreciating.

In the Middle Ages, such relics were thought to have miraculous powers and were greatly venerated. The faithful truly believed that by praying near, and, especially, by touching a reliquary that contained something special, they would receive protection against sickness and ill fortune. Sadly, most reliquaries have been stripped of their relics, but the containers themselves, regardless of their religious value, have a great deal of artistic and historical appeal.

Most reliquaries were crafted of precious materials – gold or silver, with enamel or gems – and were made in a variety of forms. Some of them were modeled to represent the saint, or a portion of the saint such as a body part: an arm, leg, head, foot or finger. Others were designed in the form of a temple, shrine or monstrance (from the Latin meaning “to show”), with the relic on view inside a glass compartment.

This particular reliquary comes from Belgium and dates to the mid-to-late Thirteenth Century. It is in the shape of a hand and may have been part of a larger collection of reliquaries which also included an arm. The relics (now lost) would have been visible through the windows in the fingers. You’ll notice that the ring is worn almost at the fingertip. This was a common practice throughout the Middle ages which lasted well into the 16th century.

Painting of the Day: A Leaf from a Calendar, 1510-60

Leaf from a Calendar or Book of Hours
1510-60
Simon Bening
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Dating between 1510 and 1560, this double-sided leaf is thought to be from the calendar of a book of hours.  The sides appear to illustrate, on one side, the month of April, and, on the other, side the month of May.

April depicts music-makers by a canal while in the fields beyond them a cow is being milked as sheep are taken out to graze and stork makes its nest on a chimney pot.

Meanwhile, May shows a scene of typical May Day merrymaking, including a boat trip with musicians, a floral procession and joyful dancing in a town square.

This is the work of Simon Bening, from Bruges, who was one of the most celebrated illuminators of his time. He worked mainly in Bruges. His works often look more contemporary than they really are and he was responsible for many an illuminated manuscript like this one.  

In the late medieval period, Books of Hours, like the one from which this page was taken, were a type of prayer book meant for private use by the worshipful. These portable books consisted of psalms and devotions for the eight canonical hours of the day.

The Home Beautiful: A Seder Plate, 1764

Seder Plate
Pewter, 1764
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Since Passover begins today, I thought I would re-post one of the many Jewish objects which we've looked at in previous years.  

But, before we look at this beautiful Eighteenth Century pewter Seder plate, let's revisit what happens on the evening of Passover...

On Passover, the youngest member of a Jewish household asks four questions.  These are, in Hebrew and in English:

1.      Shebb'khol hallelot anu okh’lin ḥamets umatsa, vehallayla hazze kullo matsa.
Why is it that on all other nights during the year we eat either leavened bread or matza, but on this night we eat only matza?

2.     Shebb'khol hallelot anu okh’lin sh’ar y'rakot, vehallayla hazze maror.
Why is it that on all other nights we eat all kinds of vegetables, but on this night we eat bitter herbs?

3.     Shebb'khol hallelot en anu matbillin afillu pa‘am eḥat, vehallayla hazze sh'tei fe‘amim.
Why is it that on all other nights we do not dip [our food] even once, but on this night we dip them twice?

4.    Shebb'khol hallelot anu okh’lin ben yosh’vin uven m'subbin, vehallayla hazze kullanu m'subbin.
Why is it that on all other nights we dine either sitting upright or reclining, but on this night we all recline?

The Seder plate holds the six symbolic foods that are eaten during the Passover meal—those addressed in the four questions. Seder, ostensibly, means “order” in Hebrew, and the service includes the recitation of the story of the exodus from Egypt.

The symbolic foods include bitter herbs such as horseradish, as a symbol of suffering, and unleavened bread (matzo) to recall the escape from Egypt when there was not time to wait for the bread to rise.

The full list of foods is:

§  Maror and Chazeret: Two types of bitter herbs, symbolizing the bitterness and harshness of the slavery which the Jews endured in Ancient Egypt. For maror, most families employ freshly grated horseradish or whole horseradish root. Chazeret is typically symbolized as romaine lettuce, whose roots are bitter-tasting.

§  Charoset: A sweet, brown  paste of fruits and nuts, representing the mortar used by the Jewish slaves to build the storehouses of Egypt.

§  Karpas: A vegetable other than bitter herbs.  This is usually parsley but sometimes something such as celery or cooked potato is substituted.  These are dipped into salt water (Ashkenazi custom), vinegar (Sephardi custom), or charoset at the beginning of the Seder.  The salt water represents the tears that were shed.

§  Zeroa: A roasted lamb bone, symbolizing the korban Pesach (Pesach sacrifice), which was a lamb offered in the Temple in Jerusalem and was then roasted and eaten as part of the meal on Seder night.  Watch out Lambchop!

§  Beitzah: A hard boiled egg, symbolizing the korban chagigah (festival sacrifice) that was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem.

So, let’s take a look at this plate.  It was made in 1764 by Lieb bar Yitzak of engraved pewter.  In the center of the plate is an engraved star and, within it, an image of the Passover lamb.  Around it are scenes that relate to the song ‘Only One Kid’, which is sung on Seder night.  Engraved text around the rim of the plate show where each of the six foods should be placed.  

And...just because I'm a weird puppet man in my own way, let's just admit that many of you KNEW I couldn't let the opportunity to post THIS again from Lambchop's Passover Surprise.