King hunting a leopard with bow riding a male royal sphinx. Gold flask with reposse decoration. Sassanian, 5th Century AD. Vienna, Austria. Copyright 2016, James A. Glazier.

Sto. Niño or Holy Child

In the posture of the Salvador del Mundo or Savior of the World

18th Century

FILIPINO. Vigan, Ilocos Sur.

Ivory head and hands joined to a wooden body. Glass eyes. Fiber wig. The whole mounted on an elaborate Rococo inspired base.

Dimensions: With base: 43 cm H x 23 cm L x 11 cm W or 17” x 9” x 4 1/2”

Without base: 30 cm x 13 cm x 9 cm or 12” x 5” x 3 1/2”

Provenance: Property of a distinguished Manila gentleman.

Purchased in Vigan, Ilocos Sur.

A charming and highly sophisticated image of the Sto. Niño or Holy Child categorized as a Salvador del Mundo or Savior of the World. The earliest prototypes of these images came from Flanders (the Netherlands); and the earliest extant example of this type in the Philippines is that of the Sto. Niño of Cebu believed to have been brought to the islands by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521.

The figure of the child Jesus stands with his weight on his right leg and his right foot thrust slightly forward. The left leg is relaxed and the left foot thrust back for balance. The body leans to the right with exceptionally naturalistic pose. The image exhibits much movement as can be detected by the gesticulating hands and the undulating feet with the right foot slightly elevated to suggest arrested motion.

The Salvador wears a Tabard giving the whole a slightly medieval air. A tabard is a sleeveless jerkin consisting only of front and back pieces with a hole for the head The tabard is made of silver worked in repoussé of interlocking, rhomboid shapes. The round collar is particularly noteworthy as it is beautifully chased in foliate shapes. Underneath, the child wears unbleached cotton undergarments consisting of pantaloons and a shirt with long sleeves that covers his arms. The tabard is seamed and closed at the back. The Christ child is shod in boots.

The head is exceptionally well carved with the face beautifully rendered. The face is slightly elongated. The forehead is broad and the eyebrows are arched and painted brown almost the color of coffee. Inset glass eyes. The nose is long and straight. The lips are thin and slightly pursed with the edges tilting upward in a slight intimation of a smile. Dimples appear on his cheeks. The lips are outlined in an orange-red tinge typical of most ivory images made in the Philippines. Navarro de Pintado (1986, p. 107) describes the color as “crimson” but a closer analysis reveals that Gatbonton’s assessment of the “orangish” hue are more on point (1983, p. 27 ).

The Christ child wears a wig of fiber hair. On top of his head, he wears an imperial crown (Corona Imperial) made of repoussé silver fire-gilded in gold in the technique which has come to be known as dorado de fuego (or dorado al fuego). The orb is similarly gilded.

Dorado de fuego or fire gilding is a time honored process by which an amalgam of gold is applied to metallic surfaces. The technique is highly dangerous and volatile because it involves the use of Mercury which, when melted, gives off toxic fumes. If absorbed (which is easily done by inhalation), the fumes can cause neurological and other bodily disorders and even death. The dorado de fuego technique have subsequently been supplanted by electroplating gold over nickel which is more economical and less dangerous.

The Salvador is mounted on an elaborate, rococo inspired base or peana. The base is original to the image which helps to date the piece to the 18th century. The Rococo is an artistic style that blossomed in the middle part of the 18th century as a reaction against the excessive regulation and symmetry of the baroque. The style derives its name from a combination of the French words rocaille (stone) and coquilles (shell). And the style manifested in curvilineal and asymmetrical shapes, light colors and a fondness for gold and gilding. The shape and form of this base, in fact, recalls the fanciful limestone grottoes so popular during the period.

The image of the Sto. Niño or the Holy Child has been popular since the earliest days of the Spanish colonial period. This is evident in the writings of Manila’s first Archbishop, Domingo de Salazar, writing of Filipino craftsmen who

“… are so skillful and clever that, as soon as they see any object made by a Spanish workman, they reproduce it with exactness.... they have produced marvelous work with both the brush and the chisel, and I think that nothing more perfect could be produced than some of their [ ] statues of the Child Jesus which I have seen.” 1

___________________________________

1 Text taken from the Gutenberg Project. The Gutenberg text says “Marble images of the Christ child” but I heavily suspect that Salazar probably was referring to ivory images. 

List of Works Consulted:

Blair, E. H. and J. A. Robertson. The Philippine Islands, 1493–1898. www.gutenberg.org/files/13701/13701-h/13701-h.htm. October 11, 2004. Accessed January 15, 2016. www.gutenberg.org/files/13701/13701-h/13701-h.htm.

Finishing Techniques in Metalwork. 2016. Accessed January 14, 2016. www.philamuseum.org/booklets/7_42_77_1.html.

Jose, R. T. 1990. Images of Faith: Religious ivory carvings from the Philippines. Pasadena: Pacific Asia Museum.

Gatbonton, E. B. 1979. A Heritage of saints: Colonial santos in the Philippines. Hong Kong: Editorial Associates.

Gatbonton, E. B. 1983. Philippine religious carvings in ivory. Illus. by R. Figueroa. Manila: Intramurous Administration.

Navarro de Pintado, B. 1985. Marfiles cristianos del Oriente en Mexico [Christian oriental ivories in Mexico]. Mexico City: Fomento Cultural Banamex.

Bronze chariot inlaid with ivory

Period: Archaic

Date: 2nd quarter of the 6th century B.C.

Culture: Etruscan

Scenes from the life of the Greek hero Achilles

The Acquisition

In 1902, a landowner working on his property accidentally discovered a subterranean built tomb covered by a tumulus (mound). His investigations revealed the remains of a parade chariot as well as bronze, ceramic, and iron utensils together with other grave goods. Following the discovery, the finds passed through the hands of several Italian owners and dealers who were responsible for the appearance of the chariot and related material on the Paris art market. There they were purchased in 1903 by General Luigi Palma di Cesnola, the first director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Monteleone chariot is the best preserved example of its kind from ancient Italy before the Roman period. The relatively good condition of its major parts--the panels of the car, the pole, and the wheels--has made it possible to undertake a new reconstruction based on the most recent scholarship. Moreover, some of the surviving ivory fragments can now be placed with reasonable certitude.

The other tomb furnishings acquired with the chariot are exhibited in two cases on the south wall of this gallery.

The Form and Function of the Chariot

Chariots originated in the Ancient Near East during the early second millennium B.C. and spread westward through Egypt, Cyprus, and the Greek world. In the predominant early type, the car consisted essentially of a platform with a light barrier at the front.

On the Italian peninsula, the largest number of chariots come from Etruria and the surrounding regions. They are datable between the second half of the eighth and the fifth centuries B.C. and represent several varieties. None seems to have been used for fighting in battle. Most came to light in tombs; after serving in life, they were buried with their owners, male and also female.

The Monteleone chariot belongs to a group of parade chariots, so called because they were used by significant individuals on special occasions. They have two wheels and were drawn by two horses standing about forty-nine inches (122 centimeters) apart at the point where the yoke rests on their necks. The car would have accommodated the driver and the distinguished passenger.

The shape of the car, with a tall panel in front and a lower one at each side, provided expansive surfaces for decoration, executed in repoussé. The frieze at the axle, the attachment of the pole to the car, and the ends of the pole and yoke all have additional figural embellishment.

The Materials of the Chariot

Although none of the substructure of the original chariot survives, except in one wheel, much information can be gleaned from details on the bronze pieces, other preserved chariots, and ancient depictions of chariots. Note that a chariot is represented on the proper left panel of the car.

The preserved bronze elements of the car were originally mounted on a wooden substructure. The rails supporting the three main figural panels were made from a tree such as a yew or wild fig. The floor consisted of wooden slats. The wooden wheels were revetted with bronze, an exceptional practice probably reserved only for the most elaborate chariots. A bit of the preserved core has been identified as oak. The tires are of iron. The sections of the pole were mounted on straight branches.

A major component of the original vehicle was leather applied to the wooden substructure. The connection of the pole to the car would have been reinforced by rawhide straps gathered beneath the boar's head, and the yoke would have been lashed to the pole. The upper end of the pole shows traces of the leather bands. In addition, all of the horses' harness was of leather. Moreover, rings of pigskin with the fat attached helped reduce friction between the moving parts of the wheels.

The Monteleone chariot is distinguished not only by the extraordinary execution of the bronze panels but also by the inclusion of ivory inlays. The ivories, from both elephant and hippopotamus, are so fragmentary that only the tusks of the boar and the finials at the back of the car have been placed in their original positions. The remaining pieces are exhibited in a case on the south wall. A series of long narrow strips served as edging, perhaps around the panels of the car or on the underside of the pole. It is possible that other fragments filled the spaces between the figures in the central panel of the car. A major question concerning these adjuncts is the method of their attachment, requiring the use of an adhesive. Another question is whether the ivories were painted.

The Figures on the Chariot

The iconography represents a carefully thought-out program. The three major panels of the car depict episodes from the life of Achilles, the Greek hero of the Trojan War. In the magnificent central scene, Achilles, on the right, receives from his mother, Thetis, on the left, a shield and helmet to replace the armor that Achilles had given his friend Patroklos, for combat against the Trojan Hektor. Patroklos was killed, allowing Hektor to take Achilles' armor. The subject was widely known thanks to the account in Homer's Iliad and many representations in Greek art. The panel on the left shows a combat between two warriors, usually identified as the Greek Achilles and the Trojan Memnon. In the panel on the right, the apotheosis of Achilles shows him ascending in a chariot drawn by winged horses.

The subsidiary reliefs partly covered by the wheels are interpreted as showing Achilles as a youth in the care of the centaur Chiron and Achilles as a lion felling his foes, in this case a stag and a bull.

The central axis of the chariot is reinforced by the head and forelegs of the boar at the join of the pole to the car. The deer below Achilles' shield appears slung over the boar's back. The eagle's head at the front of the pole repeats the two attacking eagles at the top of the central panel, and the lion heads on the yoke relate to the numerous savage felines on the car.

While the meaning of the human and animal figures allows for various interpretations, there is a thematic unity and a Homeric quality emphasizing the glory of the hero.

The Artistic Origin of the Chariot

The three panels of the car represent the main artistic achievement. Scholarly opinion agrees that the style of the decoration is strongly influenced by Greek art, particularly that of Ionia and adjacent islands such as Rhodes. The choice of subjects, moreover, reflects close knowledge of the epics recounting the Trojan War. In the extent of Greek influence, the chariot resembles works of virtually all media from Archaic Etruria. Contemporary carved ambers reflect a similar situation.

The typically Etruscan features of the object begin with its function, for chariots were not significant in Greek life of the sixth century B.C. except in athletic contests. Furthermore, iconographical motifs such as the winged horses in Achilles' apotheosis and the plethora of birds of prey reflect Etruscan predilections. The repoussé panels may have been produced in one of the important metal-working centers such as Vulci by a local craftsman well familiar with Greek art or possibly by an immigrant bronze-worker. The chariot could well have been made for an important individual living in southern Etruria or Latium. Its burial in Monteleone may have to do with the fact that this town controlled a major route through the Appenine Mountains. The vehicle could have been a gift to win favor with a powerful local authority or to reward his services.

Beyond discussion is the superlative skill of the artist. His control of the height of the relief, from very high to subtly shallow, is extraordinary. Equally remarkable are the richness and variety of the decoration lavished on all of the figures, especially those of the central panel. In its original state, with the gleaming bronze and painted ivory as well as all of the accessory paraphernalia, the chariot must have been dazzling.

The Reconstruction

After the parts of the chariot arrived in the Museum in 1903, they were assembled in a presentation that remained on view for almost a century. During the new reconstruction, which took three years' work, the chariot was entirely dismantled. A new support was made according to the same structural principles as the ancient one would have been. The reexamination of many pieces has allowed them to be placed in their correct positions. Moreover, the bronze sheathing of the pole, which had been considered only partially preserved, has been recognized as substantially complete.

The main element that has not been reconstructed is the yoke. Although the length is correct, the wooden bar simply connects the two bronze pieces.

The Battersea shield is not in fact a complete shield, but only the facing, a metal cover that was attached to the front of wooden shield. It is made from different parts of sheet bronze (4 sheets and 3 decorated panels), held together with bronze rivets and enclosed in a binding strip. All the rivets are hidden by overlaps between different components where the panels and roundels were originally attached to the organic backing.

The decoration is concentrated in the three roundels. A high domed boss in the middle of the central roundel (shown here) is over where the handle was located. The La Tène-style decoration is made using the repoussé technique, emphasized with engraving and stippling. The overall design is highlighted with twenty-seven framed studs of red glass 'enamel' (opaque red glass) in four different sizes, the largest set at the centre of the boss. The dominant repoussé forms on the shield are the palmette and interlocking S-motifs.

Stylistically, the La Tène-style decoration is not closely related to any other object. Because of this, closely dating this object is difficult. The shield was almost certainly made in Britain because of the use of a specifically British form of central circular shield boss.

British, bronze and enamel, ca. 350 - 50 BCE (Iron Age). Found in the Thames River at Battersea, London.

British Museum, London (1857,0715.1)

I teach art literacy at my son's school. One month of art lit each year is dedicated to creating a class auction project. I planned and executed the project. Each student made a tile, and every tile is a different plant of the northwest. This was a very time consuming project on my end, as I had to build the mirror from scratch, antique the tiles, attach them, and do the finish work. I estimate that I put in 60 hours of labor. 24 kids spent an hour making their tiles. The mirror contains approximately $100 worth in materials, and brought in $1100 at our school auction.

Candelero or candle holder, with ramillete-type repousse metalwork. Originally from a Visayan church. 24" x 9 1/2" x 7" total area. Sold.

© Hughes Léglise-Bataille/Wostok Press

France, Nanterre

19.01.2010

Plusieurs centaines de jeunes ont affronte les forces de l'ordre pres du lycee Joliot Curie a Nanterre le 19/10/2010 pour la deuxieme journee consecutive. Plusieurs voitures ont ete brulees, du mobilier urbain detruit, avant que les casseurs soient repousses dans la cite Pablo Picasso.

Hundreds of youth fought the police near the college Joliot Curie in Nanterre, in the suburbs of Paris, on October 19, 2010 for the second day in a row. A couple of cars were burned and bus stops smashed before they were pushed back in the Pablo Picasso complex.

Statue of Liberty, Liberty Island, New York City. I took this photo of the magnificent Statue of Liberty on my first trip to Liberty Island and New York City in October 2004. She is of utmost beauty and I was totally blown away by her magnifigance.

THE STATUE OF LIBERTY

Liberty Enlightening the World (French: La liberté éclairant le monde), known more commonly as the Statue of Liberty (Statue de la Liberté), is a large statue that was presented to the United States by France in 1886. It stands at Liberty Island, New York in New York Harbor as a welcome to all visitors, immigrants, and returning Americans. The copper-clad statue, dedicated on October 28, 1886, commemorates the centennial of the United States and is a gesture of friendship from France to America. Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi sculpted the statue, and Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (designer of the Eiffel Tower) engineered the internal structure. Eugène Viollet-le-Duc was responsible for the choice of copper in the statue's construction and adoption of the repoussé technique.

The statue is of a female figure standing upright, dressed in a robe and a seven point spiked rays representing a nimbus (halo), holding a stone tablet close to her body in her left hand and a flaming torch high in her right hand. The tablet bears the words "JULY IV MDCCLXXVI" (July 4, 1776), commemorating the date of the United States Declaration of Independence.

The statue is made of a sheeting of pure copper, hung on a framework of steel (originally puddled iron) with the exception of the flame of the torch, which is coated in gold leaf. It stands atop a rectangular stonework pedestal with a foundation in the shape of an irregular eleven-pointed star. The statue is 151' 1" (46.5 m) tall, with the pedestal and foundation adding another 154 feet (46.9 m).

Worldwide, the Statue of Liberty is one of the most recognizable icons of the United States, and, more generally, represents liberty and escape from oppression. The Statue of Liberty was, from 1886 until the jet age, often one of the first glimpses of the United States for millions of immigrants after ocean voyages from Europe. The Statue of Liberty's obviously classical appearance (Roman stola, sandals, facial expression) derives from Libertas, ancient Rome's goddess of freedom from slavery, oppression, and tyranny. Broken shackles lie at her feet. The seven spikes in the crown represent the Seven Seas and seven continents. Her torch signifies enlightenment. The tablet in her hand shows the date of the nation's birth, July 4, 1776.

Since 1903, the statue, also known as "Lady Liberty," has been associated with Emma Lazarus's poem “The New Colossus” and has been a symbol of welcome to arriving immigrants. The interior of the pedestal contains a bronze plaque inscribed with the poem, which reads:

“Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

There are 354 steps inside the statue and its pedestal. There are 25 windows in the crown which comprise the jewels beneath the seven rays of the diadem. The tablet which the Statue holds in her left hand reads, in Roman numerals, "July 4, 1776" the day of America's independence from Britain. The Statue of Liberty was engineered to withstand heavy winds. Winds of 50 miles per hour cause the Statue to sway 3 inches (7.62 cm) and the torch to sway 5 inches (12.7 cm). This allows the Statue to move rather than break in high [wind load] conditions.

Source: Wikipedia

A 19th-Century Silver Tabernacle

Binondo, Manila

second quarter of the nineteenth century (1825–50)

solid silver (Mexican silver, 80%)

48" x 36" x 21 1/4" (122 cm x 91 cm x 54 cm)

Opening bid: PHP 900,000

Provenance: Private Collection, Manila

ABOUT THE WORK

In the Roman Catholic religion, a tabernacle is used for the proper storage of the Eucharist (consecrated hosts), which Catholics believe contain the real presence of Jesus Christ. This wooden tabernacle is covered in worked sheets of Mexican silver 80% and is from the second quarter of the nineteenth century. The door of the tabernacle features a repousse reliquary with the IHS (“Iesolus”) Christogram standing on Chinese clouds. The door is flanked by 2 Doric colonettes on both sides, the outer ones recessive. Above the door are lambrequins of flowers and leaves. Over the door is an entablature with a frieze of single flowers. Atop the entablature is a cupola with three sections. The central section features a repousse and chased “Agnus Dei” (“Lamb of God”) of a particular late eighteenth/ early nineteenth century type --- a lamb crouched on a Bible speared by a banner with the JHS (“Jesolus”) Christogram (the same type found on silver “guidons” processional banners of that period). The left and the right sections feature repousse and chasework of stylized acanthus leaves and native “catmon” flowers. The door and the columns are supported by thick plinth bases with suitable moldings. The base below the door is adorned with an applique of a chased festoon with flowers and leaves. The bases below the columns are embellished with appliquees of chased beribboned shields with flowers and leaves. This tabernacle came from a rich church, most probably from the Augustinian churches in Pampanga or the Ilocos, or the Franciscan churches in Bicol. A storied Neo–Gothic silver tabernacle is conserved at the Santo Domingo church in Quezon city. It was the tabernacle at the altar of the lady chapel of “Nuestra Senora del Santisimo Rosario”/Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary known as “La Naval de Manila” at the Santo Domingo church in Intramuros from 1875–1941 when the church complex was bombed by the Japanese. It was most probably the work of a prominent Santa Cruz silversmith like Zamora or de Jesus, as the architect Don Felix Roxas y Arroyo was predisposed to collaborating with only the best artists in the city. The two best surviving ensembles of silver altars and tabernacles are to found at the Arzobispado de Nueva Segovia in Vigan, Ilocos Sur and at the Arzobispado in Manila. The magnificent “Monumento” ensemble in Vigan is in eighteenth century full–blown rococo style with altar frontals, a tabernacle, small sanctuary lamps, and includes myriad pieces like two small “baldaquinos” (shrines), “sacras” (prayer cards), candlesticks, “ramilletes” (silver bouquets), vases, “relicarios” (reliquaries), silver and gold chalices, trays, oil and water containers, etc. It once even included an opulent silver bed complete with miniature ivory angels and enameled bells for an ivory “Nino Dormido” accessorized in exquisitely worked gold. The splendid ensemble in Manila, originally intended for the private services of the Archbishop, is in the more restrained neoclassical style and has altar frontals, a tabernacle, an “urna” (shrine), a statuette of “La Inmaculada Concepcion” with ivory face and hands and the body wrapped in engraved silver, as well as myriad pieces like “sacras” (prayer cards), candlesticks, “ramilletes” (silver bouquets), “relicarios” (reliquaries), etc. The collections of antique Filipino silver in Manila are always a spectacle, specially since the proud collectors make it a point for their silver to always be clean and polished. There are trained household staff dedicated to maintaining the silver. Silver polishes are sourced abroad. Some have collections of Filipino church silver and some of Filipino household silver. Some have both. There are very private collection rooms in Manila containing a range of Filipino church silver: altar frontals, tabernacles, candleholders, “ramilletes” (silver bouquets), “sacras” prayer card frames, processional banners, “relicarios” reliquaries, oil and water vessels, silver appliquees for vestments, etc. The stimmung is certainly hieratic (otherworldly) and visions of the opulent ceremonies in the Intramuros churches during the 1800s come to mind. One of the things showcased in these wunderkammers is a Filipino silver tabernacle like this one. It was crafted from Mexican silver coins (solid silver 80% ) sometime in the mid–1800s, probably in Binondo, where most of the expert Chinese and Filipino silversmiths worked. That was about 200 years ago. The fashionable style then was late neoclassicism (Louis XVIII, Charles X, Louis–Philippe), a French royal style loosely based on an amalgam of the previous neoclassical styles Directoire, Consulat, and Empire with their classical Greek and Roman motifs and Egyptian symbology. Those are the motifs albeit simplified in this tabernacle. It is composed of several parts --- the cabinet, colonettes, entablature, cupola, and plinth base. Two metalworking techniques that were used to decorate it are the conjunctive repousse (hammering to relief from the reverse side) and chasing (hammering to sink the front side). This tabernacle was made to be placed on the first “gradilla” level of an altar, the old kind where the priest faced the wall and not the people. It was usually flanked by six candlesticks and six “ramilletes.” The models varied in size and decoration to suit the customer’s budget. If it was Quiapo church or Antipolo church (superrich churches during those times, and even now) ordering this, it would have been larger, more elaborate, and brimming with exquisite details. This particular tabernacle came from a rich church in Pampanga, the Ilocos, or Bicol and was acquired in the early 1960s during the Antique Craze. The Augustinian churches of Pampanga and the Ilocos as well as the Franciscan churches of Bicol all had loads of beautiful antique silver during the Spanish time all the way to the American time, World War II, postwar, at least until unscrupulous and corrupt Filipino secular parish priests entered the story and sold them off secretly to antique collectors. All the antique silver are gone from the churches now. They are all with collectors in the t o n y Makati villages --- Forbes Park, Dasmarinas village, Urdaneta village, San Lorenzo village. Sic transit gloria mundi. A rich church like the seven churches of Intramuros --- San Agustin, Recoletos, San Francisco, Venerable Orden Tercera, Santo Domingo, San Ignacio, Lourdes --- and rich parishes like those of Binondo, Santa Cruz, Tondo, Quiapo, Antipolo, Binan (Laguna), Majayjay (Laguna), et al meant that all of the altar frontals, tabernacles, sanctuary lamps, candleholders (small and large), and “ramilletes” (silver bouquets) were all crafted out of exquisitely worked Mexican silver 80%, usually post–1764 (post–British Occupation 1762–64). Such was the staggering wealth of Spanish Catholic Filipinas. This tabernacle of Mexican silver 80% of Filipino workmanship is a rare survivor of a confused culture that has allowed many of its greatest masterpieces in silver and other metals to be destroyed and melted down in the crucibles of Meycauayan, Bulacan. As mentioned beforehand, it once adorned a magnificent altar in a great church. --- Augusto Marcelino Reyes Gonzalez III

Lot 114 of the Leon Gallery auction on September 10, 2022. Please see leon-gallery.com for more information.

Copper & brass

Fibula (rear chamber, Regolini-Galassi Tomb, Cerveteri), 670–650 B.C.E., gold, 29.2 cm long Museo Gregoriano Etrusco, Musei Vaticani)

Learn More on Smarthistory

First attempt using "real" repousse tools. I like the "Arts and Crafts" vibe.

Fibula (rear chamber, Regolini-Galassi Tomb, Cerveteri), 670–650 B.C.E., gold, 29.2 cm long Museo Gregoriano Etrusco, Musei Vaticani)

Learn More on Smarthistory

fr: La Vieille Église Saint-Vincent, village de Eus, Conflent, Pyrénées Orientales, France

See it BIGGER On Black

More of the set Pittoresques Villages de France | More of the Set Pyrénées

See my most interesting pictures here or take some time to view the slideshow .

History: Eus smells of the aromas of orchards, ancient olive groves and guarrigue. Built in a terrace shape, sheltered from the wind, its name comes from the green oaks (yeuses) that border the village.

Conceived for defence, Eus successfully repelled the French in 1598 and the Spaniards in 1793. St Vincent’s church (18th century) stands where a Roman camp used to be. The roman-style chapel is dedicated to the saint patron of wine-makers. It opens onto a 13th marble porch. (source: www.cometofrance.com)

Histoire: Entre la vallée du Conflent et le mont Canigou coiffé de neiges éternelles, cette magnifique petite cité fut construite dans un but défensif sur un mamelon jadis dominé par le château des comtes de Cerdagne.

Conçu pour la défense, Eus a repoussé en 1598 les français et en 1793 l'armée espagnole qui dominait alors le Conflent. L'église St Vincent du XVIIIe siècle se dresse à l'emplacement du camp romain qui surveillait la voie allant de Terrenera à la Cerdagne, et de Notre Dame de la Volta, ancienne chapelle du château bâtie au XIIIe siècle. A l'entrée d'Eus, la chapelle romane est dédiée au patron des vignerons et à St Gaudérique. Elle s'ouvre sur un porche du XIIIe siècle en marbre rose de Villefranche de Conflent. (source: Villages de France)

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Aigisthos lies dead on the ground; a gorgon in the panel to the right.

Perhaps an applique for furniture or a belt.

South Italian Greek, ca. 540-530 BCE

Hammered silver and gold

The Getty Villa, Malibu/Pacific Palisades, California (Official site; Wikipedia), 83.AM.343.1

The marriage of the two figures on the gold pendant is blessed by Christ who holds wreaths over their heads, a Christian variation of a pagan motif. The hematite pendant with its pagan solar deity was probably attached for its healing qualities.

This work was part of a hoard found at the base of the Capitoline Hill, the center of commercial activity in Rome even after the transfer of the imperial capital to Constantinople. The jewelry was probably hidden during the sack of Rome by the Visigoths in 410 or the Vandals in 455.

Byzantine, from Rome. Medallion made 400-450 CE; amulet made 100-200 CE. Gold wrought and worked in repoussé.

Met Museum, New York (58.12)

This is a small version of our regular line of color on metal pod brooches. It measures about 2.25 inches H (60mm)

Jeweled covers of the Lindau Gospels, front cover (Court School of Charles the Bald, Abbey of St. Gall), c. 880; back cover (Salzburg or vicinity), 750-800, 350 x 275 mm (Morgan Library)

Bronze chariot inlaid with ivory

2nd quarter of the 6th century B.C.

Scenes from the life of the Greek hero Achilles

In 1902, a landowner working on his property accidentally discovered a subterranean built tomb covered by a tumulus (mound). His investigations revealed the remains of a parade chariot as well as bronze, ceramic, and iron utensils together with other grave goods. Following the discovery, the finds passed through the hands of several Italian owners and dealers who were responsible for the appearance of the chariot and related material on the Paris art market. There they were purchased in 1903 by General Luigi Palma di Cesnola, the first director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Monteleone chariot is the best preserved example of its kind from ancient Italy before the Roman period. The relatively good condition of its major parts--the panels of the car, the pole, and the wheels--has made it possible to undertake a new reconstruction based on the most recent scholarship. Moreover, some of the surviving ivory fragments can now be placed with reasonable certitude. The other tomb furnishings acquired with the chariot are exhibited in two cases on the south wall of this gallery.

...On the Italian peninsula, the largest number of chariots come from Etruria and the surrounding regions. They are datable between the second half of the eighth and the fifth centuries B.C. and represent several varieties. None seems to have been used for fighting in battle. Most came to light in tombs; after serving in life, they were buried with their owners, male and also female. The Monteleone chariot belongs to a group of parade chariots, so called because they were used by significant individuals on special occasions. They have two wheels and were drawn by two horses standing about forty-nine inches (122 centimeters) apart at the point where the yoke rests on their necks. The car would have accommodated the driver and the distinguished passenger. The shape of the car, with a tall panel in front and a lower one at each side, provided expansive surfaces for decoration, executed in repoussé. The frieze at the axle, the attachment of the pole to the car, and the ends of the pole and yoke all have additional figural embellishment.

...The iconography represents a carefully thought-out program. The three major panels of the car depict episodes from the life of Achilles, the Greek hero of the Trojan War. In the magnificent central scene, Achilles, on the right, receives from his mother, Thetis, on the left, a shield and helmet to replace the armor that Achilles had given his friend Patroklos, for combat against the Trojan Hektor. Patroklos was killed, allowing Hektor to take Achilles' armor. The subject was widely known thanks to the account in Homer's Iliad and many representations in Greek art. The panel on the left shows a combat between two warriors, usually identified as the Greek Achilles and the Trojan Memnon. In the panel on the right, the apotheosis of Achilles shows him ascending in a chariot drawn by winged horses. The subsidiary reliefs partly covered by the wheels are interpreted as showing Achilles as a youth in the care of the centaur Chiron and Achilles as a lion felling his foes, in this case a stag and a bull. The central axis of the chariot is reinforced by the head and forelegs of the boar at the join of the pole to the car. The deer below Achilles' shield appears slung over the boar's back. The eagle's head at the front of the pole repeats the two attacking eagles at the top of the central panel, and the lion heads on the yoke relate to the numerous savage felines on the car. While the meaning of the human and animal figures allows for various interpretations, there is a thematic unity and a Homeric quality emphasizing the glory of the hero.

The three panels of the car represent the main artistic achievement. Scholarly opinion agrees that the style of the decoration is strongly influenced by Greek art, particularly that of Ionia and adjacent islands such as Rhodes. The choice of subjects, moreover, reflects close knowledge of the epics recounting the Trojan War. In the extent of Greek influence, the chariot resembles works of virtually all media from Archaic Etruria. Contemporary carved ambers reflect a similar situation. The typically Etruscan features of the object begin with its function, for chariots were not significant in Greek life of the sixth century B.C. except in athletic contests. Furthermore, iconographical motifs such as the winged horses in Achilles' apotheosis and the plethora of birds of prey reflect Etruscan predilections. The repoussé panels may have been produced in one of the important metal-working centers such as Vulci by a local craftsman well familiar with Greek art or possibly by an immigrant bronze-worker. The chariot could well have been made for an important individual living in southern Etruria or Latium. Its burial in Monteleone may have to do with the fact that this town controlled a major route through the Appenine Mountains. The vehicle could have been a gift to win favor with a powerful local authority or to reward his services. Beyond discussion is the superlative skill of the artist. His control of the height of the relief, from very high to subtly shallow, is extraordinary. Equally remarkable are the richness and variety of the decoration lavished on all of the figures, especially those of the central panel. In its original state, with the gleaming bronze and painted ivory as well as all of the accessory paraphernalia, the chariot must have been dazzling.

After the parts of the chariot arrived in the Museum in 1903, they were assembled in a presentation that remained on view for almost a century. During the new reconstruction, which took three years' work, the chariot was entirely dismantled. A new support was made according to the same structural principles as the ancient one would have been. The reexamination of many pieces has allowed them to be placed in their correct positions. Moreover, the bronze sheathing of the pole, which had been considered only partially preserved, has been recognized as substantially complete. The main element that has not been reconstructed is the yoke. Although the length is correct, the wooden bar simply connects the two bronze pieces.

[Met Museum]

In the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 5th Avenue, New York

Okay, you understand, this is a picture taken during the «Great War» 14/18. (which is not without recalling: www.flickr.com/photos/anaglyphepeppin/49168901392/in/albu... )

How many of these young men will see their continents again?

But where Realistic Travels Stereoview is characterized by to port a all the stereo editors is their very bad staging!

Self-censorship or censorship imposed .

Without ammunition, you would have given the order to proceed to attack this culminating point .

Possible, some French generals have done much worse...

In addition, some soldiers are even forced to climb over poor wooden barriers that have not been removed!

Not being a military strategist, I would have personally repulsed or advanced this attack to avoid that all soldiers do not have the sun in full face making their visibility zero!

One at the very least!

And Realistic Travels Stereoview has done a lot like that! An air combat... Whose foreground is an airplane with the propellers standing still!

The recovery of dozens of corpses of which not one has a scratch, a tear on his uniform...

Smoking a small cigarette at night in the trenches, in full light is exposed, the snapeur opposite must surely sleep!

I’ll pass you the attacks through the lethal gases poorly or not equipped to! Well if it reassured parents, it served at least, but I do not understand that today people do not report the «farce» side of these stereos! ( ??? )

Corpses in bulk and in pieces, stereoscopic there are thousands, either taken by the army or by anonymous. Do not take these bad scenes for historical snapshots!

Yet the difference is obvious (!).

"Realistic Travel" is the trade name of the photographs taken by the English company H.D.Girdwood, which sent their stereo photographers to the combat zones of the First World War to record the war as it occurred.

S: merchant site

The Battle of the Dardanelles, also known as the Battle of Gallipoli (or the Dardanelles campaign, or the Gallipoli campaign), is a First World War confrontation between the Ottoman Empire and British and French troops in the Gallipoli Peninsula in present-day Turkey from March 18, 1915 to January 9, 1916.

(...)

The battle was a serious setback for the Allies and one of the greatest Ottoman successes during the conflict. In Turkey, the clash remained famous because it marked the beginning of the rise of Mustafa Kemal who later became one of the main actors of the war of independence and the first president of the country. The campaign was also a founding element of Turkish national identity.

Commemorated as ANZAC Day, the April 25 landing date is the largest military celebration in Australia and New Zealand, surpassing Remembrance Day on November 11.

S:Wiki

Realistic Travels Stereoview of H.R.H. Printed vertically on the right side: By Royal Command to their Imperial Majesties - King George V and Queen Mary." Caption printed horizontally on the lower left.

According to William Darrah, the Realistic Travels company funded by H. D. Girdwood was “the most successful British stereo publisher in the twentieth century.” The company did not however live long, by comparison with many of the American publishers, being active in the period between 1908 and 1916 [Darrah 1997, p. 109].

S:https://ptstereo.wordpress.com/category/realistic-travels/

Ok, vous l'avez compris c'est bien une photo prise pendant la « Grande guerre » 14/18.

( qui n'est pas sans rappeler : www.flickr.com/photos/anaglyphepeppin/49168901392/in/albu... )

Combien parmi tous ces jeunes hommes reverront leurs continents ?

Mais là où Realistic Travels Stereoview se caractérise par à port a tous les éditeurs de stéréo c'est leur très mauvais mise en scène !

Auto censure ou censure imposée .

Sans munitions, vous auriez donné l'ordre de passer à l'attaque de ce point culminant .

Possibles, certains généraux français ont fait bien pire...

De plus certains soldats sont même obligés d'enjamber de pauvres barrières en bois non écartées !

N’étant pas fin stratège militaire, j'aurai personnellement repoussé ou avancer cette attaque pour éviter que tous les soldats n'aient pas le soleil en pleine face rendant leur visibilité nul !

Un au minimum !

Et Realistic Travels Stereoview en a fait beaucoup comme cela !

Un combat aérien... Dont le premier plan est un avion avec les hélices à l’arrêt !

La récupération de dizaines de cadavres dont pas un a une écorchure, une déchirure sur son uniforme....

Fumer une petite clope la nuit dans les tranchées, en pleine lumière et exposé, les snapeur en face devant sûrement dormir !

Je vous passe les attaques à travers les gaz mortels mal ou pas équipé pour !Bon si cela a rassuré des parents, cela a servi au moins, mais je ne comprends pas qu’aujourd’hui personnes ne signalent le côté « farce » de ces stéréos !( ??? )

Des cadavres en vrac et en morceaux, stéréoscopiques il en existe des milliers, soit pris par l'armée ou par des anonymes.

Ne pas prendre ces mauvaises mises en scène pour des instantanés historiques !

Pourtant la différence saute (!) aux yeux.

À court de munitions, ils continuent, la véritable ruée vers le bull-dog de nos troupes à Gallipoli

Realistic Travels Stereoview of H.R.H. Printed vertically on the right side: By Royal Command to their Imperial Majesties - King George V and Queen Mary." Caption printed horizontally on the lower left.

According to William Darrah, the Realistic Travels company funded by H. D. Girdwood was “the most successful British stereo publisher in the twentieth century.” The company did not however live long, by comparison with many of the American publishers, being active in the period between 1908 and 1916 [Darrah 1997, p. 109].

S:https://ptstereo.wordpress.com/category/realistic-travels/

"Voyages réalistes" est le nom commercial des photographies prises par la société anglaise H.D.Girdwood, qui a envoyé leurs photographes stéréo dans les zones de combat de la Première Guerre mondiale pour enregistrer la guerre telle qu’elle s’est produite.

S: site marchand

La bataille des Dardanelles, également appelée bataille de Gallipoli (ou campagne des Dardanelles, ou campagne de Gallipoli), est un affrontement de la Première Guerre mondiale qui opposa l'Empire ottoman aux troupes britanniques et françaises dans la péninsule de Gallipoli dans l'actuelle Turquie du 18 mars 1915 au 9 janvier 1916.

(...)

La bataille fut un sérieux revers pour les Alliés et l'un des plus grands succès ottomans durant le conflit. En Turquie, l'affrontement est resté célèbre car il marqua le début de l'ascension de Mustafa Kemal qui devint par la suite un des principaux acteurs de la guerre d'indépendance et le premier président du pays. La campagne fut également un élément fondateur de l'identité nationale turque. Commémorée sous le nom de journée de l'ANZAC, la date du débarquement du 25 avril est la plus importante célébration militaire en Australie et en Nouvelle-Zélande, où elle surpasse le jour du Souvenir du 11 novembre.

S:Wiki

Crown of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception (Crown of the Andes, Columbia) c. 1660 (diadem), c. 1770 (arches), gold and emeralds, 34.3 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Learn more at Smarthistory

Liberty Enlightening the World (French: La liberté éclairant le monde), commonly known as the Statue of Liberty (French: Statue de la Liberté), has stood on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, welcoming visitors, immigrants, and returning Americans, since it was presented to the United States by the people of France. Dedicated on October 28, 1886, the gift commemorated the centennial of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence and has since become one of the most recognizable national icons--a symbol of democracy and freedom.

The 151-foot (46-meter) tall statue was sculpted by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and stands atop Richard Morris Hunt's 154-foot (93-meter) rectangular stonework pedestal with a foundation in the shape of an irregular eleven-pointed star. Maurice Koechlin, chief engineer of Gustave Eiffel's engineering company and designer of the Eiffel Tower, engineered the internal structure. Eugène Viollet-le-Duc was responsible for the choice of copper and adoption of the repoussé technique, where a malleable metal is hammered on the reverse side. The Statue of Liberty depicts a woman clad in Roman Stola and holding a torch and tablet, and is made of a sheeting of pure copper, hung on a framework of steel with the exception of the flame of the torch, which is coated in gold leaf.

Affectionately known as Lady Liberty, the figure is derived from Libertas, ancient Rome's goddess of freedom from slavery, oppression, and tyranny. Her left foot, fitted in Roman sandals, tramples broken shackles, symbolizing freedom from opression and tyranny, while her raised right foot symbolizes Liberty and Freedom refusing to stand still. Her torch signifies enlightenment. The tablet in her hand represents knowledge and shows the date of the Declaration of Independence--July 4, 1776. The seven spikes on the crown represent the Seven Seas and seven continents. Visually the the Statue of Liberty draws inspiration from the ancient Colossus of Rhodes of the Greek Sun-god Zeus or Helios, and is referred to in the 1883 sonnet The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus, which was later engraved inside.

The Statue of Liberty National Monument was designated a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1976.

Statue of Liberty National Monument New Jersey State Register (1971)

Statue of Liberty National Monument National Register #66000058 (1966)

Jeweled covers of the Lindau Gospels, front cover (Court School of Charles the Bald, Abbey of St. Gall), c. 880; back cover (Salzburg or vicinity), 750-800, 350 x 275 mm (Morgan Library)

Learn more at Smarthistory

Crown of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception (Crown of the Andes, Columbia) c. 1660 (diadem), c. 1770 (arches), gold and emeralds, 34.3 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Learn more at Smarthistory

The origins of the word "gadget" trace back to the 19th century. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, there is anecdotal evidence for the use of "gadget" as a placeholder name for a technical item whose precise name one can't remember since the 1850s; with Robert Brown's 1886 book Spunyarn and Spindrift, A sailor boy’s log of a voyage out and home in a China tea-clipper containing the earliest known usage in print. The etymology of the word is disputed.

A widely circulated story holds that the word gadget was "invented" when Gaget, Gauthier & Cie, the company behind the repoussé construction of the Statue of Liberty (1886), made a small-scale version of the monument and named it after their firm; however this contradicts the evidence that the word was already used before in nautical circles, and the fact that it did not become popular, at least in the USA, until after World War I. Other sources cite a derivation from the French gâchette which has been applied to various pieces of a firing mechanism, or the French gagée, a small tool or accessory..........................

The first atomic bomb was nicknamed the gadget by the scientists of the Manhattan Project, tested at the Trinity site.

Wikipedia

Silver and silver gilt, Late 5th-early 4th century B.C.E., allegedly from the Black Sea Region

Weight: 391.21 g.; H. 23.5 cm.

For the technique employed refer to the amphora with ibex handles, cat. no. 205 and footnotes 2 and 3.

In view of the vessel's length, it was back raised from about the middle. The vessel was then filled with either bitumen/pitch or with a mixture of powdered sulphur rock and fine sand, heated to render fluid. Once hardened the fluting was then hammered in or impressed from the outside [1] The decorative details are also chased.

The lower end is then trimmed and the inset bezel for the protome finished.

The mouth of the vessel is then hammered and annealed to shape and the lotus frieze is outlined by "tracing", the surface within the contours lightly grooved and thin gold sheet applied and burnished into place.

The protome formed as the vessel and in keeping with its sophistication worked extensively and elaborately by the repoussé method from both sides.

The ears and antlers shaped separately by cutting and hammering, the former inserted by means of a dowel, the latter, it would appear, by a sort of plate held in place by three dowels. The various thin gold sheet elements executed as the lotus frieze. The inlays for the rosettes [2], the legs and hooves would appear to be of electrum. A round hole in the centre of the muzzle to enable passage of the liquid through a spout.

Condition: the body of the vessel with a few indents here and there, a large one on the underside at its lower end. The whole forepart of the protome crushed in and torn, the left cheek and jaw with part of the neck crushed, the left antler and spout from centre of muzzle missing, the left ear pushed up in restoration.

The horn conforms to type both for the vertical fluting and the decoration around the outer lip. The buck protome is of such extreme sensitivity, the author would like to say humanism, that it is probably the work of an Ionian Greek producing for a Persian satrap. The art is Achaemenid though it does not partake of its cold formalism.

A close parallel is a bull-headed partially gilt silver protome in the National Museum in Copenhagen [3] that must have belonged to a comparable rhyton. It was acquired in 1955 and said to have come from Sinope. This is all the more interesting since the Achaemenid handles on an amphora in Paris [4] in the shape of ibexes ascribed to the region between Sinope and Trabzon [5] bear a strong similarity with ours for the style and gilding of the mane, and the amphora's fluting is similar with its rounded chased tops. There is also a rapport for the mane with the handles divided between Paris and Berlin [6] surely from the same vessel said to be from Amisos to the east of Sinope and according to other sources from Armenia [7]. It is interesting to note, says P. Amandry, that an amphora with griffins on the Persepolis reliefs is held by an Armenian.

In conclusion, it is obvious that precious metal vessels were produced in different centres throughout the empire. The present example is exceptional but bears comparison for several details with the above. Whether the workshop and the artist who produced it was an Ionian Greek working in Caria, in the region of Kyzikos, in a centre around Sinope or located in Armenia is impossible to determine and must await lengthy study or further discoveries to enable a better attribution.

Published:

Melikian-Chirvani, A.S.: L'emblème de gloire solaire d'un roi iranien du Pont, in: Altman Bromberg, C. (ed.): Iranian Studies in Honor of A.D.H. Bivar, BAsInst, New Series, vol. 7, 1993, p. 23 ff., fig. 8, 9.

1 After having fulfilled its purpose the core can be made fluid again by heating, and removed.

2 A solar motif, the gyrating solar rosette represents liquid sunlight symbolized by wine, "a substitute ... to replace the sacrificial blood of a bull". This substitution probably took place around the time of the Zoroastrian reforms (Melikian- Chirvani, A.S.: Light of Heaven and Earth, in: Altman Bromberg, C. et al. (eds.): InHonor of Richard Nelson Frye. Aspects of Iranian Culture, BAsInst, New Series, vol. 4, 1990, p. 105). Appropriate for a vessel destined for the ritual of wine libations (Melikian-Chirvani, A.S.: BAsInst, New Series, vol. 7,

1993, p. 26).

3 National Museum 13.534.

4 Rothschild collection: Amandry, P.: Toreutique achéménide, AntK 2, 2, 1959, pl. 24.

5 Amandry, P.: op. cit., p. 48 n. 84.

6 Amandry, P.: op. cit., p. 50, pl. 26,2, 27,2+3, 28,4.

7 Amandry, P.: op. cit., pp. 53-54.

Text from the website of George Ortiz.

A PAIR OF ROMAN GOLD, PEARL AND GLASS EARRINGS

CIRCA 2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.

Each of navicella form, fronted with a bezel-set drop-shaped garnet, with fifteen wires radiating from the back of the bezel, each threaded through a small pearl, supporting a large triangular openwork element bordered with filigree beaded wire, centered by a large cluster of granulation between repoussé fish, a bird to each side embellished with filigree and granulation, the bottom row with drop-shaped cabochon garnets in dog-tooth settings, encircled with beaded wire, on either side of plain wire rosettes set with pearls, centered by a circular green glass cabochon in a dog-tooth setting encircled with beaded wire, the underside with five loops, each topped with a large granule, a small cabochon garnet or green glass in a dog-tooth setting encircled with beaded wire between each loop, five pendants below, four in the form of a biconical amphora, the handles with clusters of granulation in the scrolls, the central pendant with a dog-tooth bezel set with a drop-shaped cabochon garnet, each terminating in a wire threaded through a pearl

Each: 3 in. (7.6 cm.) long (2)

CNY12607464

This "E" was a project for the Mendocino Art Center Jewelry Studio. The studio has been dedicated as the Susan Elizabeth Wood Studio. Tara Turner has put together a bunch of artists to each create a letter for the new studio sign. This is my "E". Materials are: Copper, Fine Silver, Carved and Alcohol inked Plexiglass with a Silver foil backing. To mount the "E" Tara requested bolts or rivets that were 1 1/2" long. I sawed commercially available bolt heads into squares and cut a matching slot in the Plexiglass. I figured a square would not spin in place, as a circle would. The bolts are held in with expoxy. The piece is composed of three layers riveted together. Processes are etching, chasing and repousse, liver of sulfer, riveting, carving, etc.

See more jewelery and tutorials at www.nancylthamilton.com

24”tall, copper and galvanized steel wire, copper repousse face.

Pornic (Loire-Atlantique)

Le château.

Son rôle était évidemment de défendre l'entrée du port.

Au IXe siècle, Pornic fait partie du comté d’Herbauges*

En 851, le roi de Bretagne (Erispoë) et le roi de France (Charles le Chauve)*, signent le traité d’Angers* qui permet aux Bretons d'occuper le Pays rennais, le Pays nantais et le pays de Retz. La charge de la défense de ces territoires revient donc aux Bretons.

Au Xe siècle, le premier duc de Bretagne Alain Barbe-Torte* érige une forteresse en bois dans la vallée de Pornic pour protéger la ville des Vikings. De ce castrum subsiste aujourd'hui le nom de la rue de la Douve et du chemin des Remparts, et le relief de la butte du calvaire.

Au XIIe - XIIIe siècles, il est la propriété des seigneurs de Rais (ou de Retz) qui le reconstruisent en pierres.

En 1370, le château appartient à Gilles de Laval, père de Gilles de Rais. Les remparts partaient de la Terrasse et rejoignaient la rue de la Douve pour en suivre le tracé jusqu'au Marchix.

Au XVème siècle, le tristement célèbre Gilles de Rais*, compagnon de Jeanne d'Arc, en fût le propriétaire. Le château lui sera confisqué par le Duc de Bretagne au moment du procès.

Au XVIIIe siècle, le marquis Alexandre de Brie-Serrant*, achète le duché de Retz, le 19 octobre 1778, au duc de Retz Gabriel de Neufville-Villeroy (1731-1794), qui n'a pas d'enfant et donc pas d'héritier, pour la somme de 1 400 000 livres*. Le nouveau propriétaire n'a que 31 ans. De mauvais placements financiers, ruineront Alexandre de Brie Serrant, le duché de Retz sera déclassé en baronnie de Retz. Tous les châteaux de son duché sont en ruine lorsqu’il décède en 1814. Le château de Pornic, partiellement détruit à la Révolution et que Brie-Serrant a délaissé, tombe également en ruine.

Lors de la Révolution, la plupart des Pornicais est favorable à la République. Le 23 mars 1793, la garde nationale conduite par un prêtre républicain (le curé de Clion), sort de la ville pour récupérer du blé. Les royalistes (les "Blancs") en profitent pour attaquer la ville : c’est la première bataille de Pornic. La ville est prise par le marquis de la Roche-Saint-André, mais les royalistes déplorent des pertes alors que les républicains n'en ont aucune. La prise de la ville s'accompagne par des assassinats et les Rebelles pillent plusieurs habitations puis s'enivrent. Le soir, après une fusillade de 3 heures et une charge à la baïonnette, la ville est reprise par les républicains. Selon le rapport officiel républicain, plus de 200 insurgés ont été tués tandis que le détachement qui reprend Pornic ne déplore que des blessés. Le Marquis de la Roche-Saint-André est en fuite.

Le 27 mars a lieu la deuxième bataille de Pornic, les insurgés menés par Charette s’emparent de la ville, la pillent et mettent le feu aux maisons supposées abriter des républicains. Charette annoncera que ses pertes se limitent à deux blessés et celles des républicains à 60 morts et 30 prisonniers. Un mois plus tard, Charette évacue Pornic devant la menace du général républicain Beysser.

Au XIXe siècle, le château de Pornic, appartient à Casimir Perier, Jacques Laffitte et Philippe-François-Didier Usquin, banquiers et créanciers de la succession du marquis Alexandre de Brie-Serrant.

En 1824, il est racheté par le négociant Joseph Le Breton, adjoint au maire de Nantes et fondateur de l’établissement des bains de mer. Il réalise une première restauration du château.

En 1886, ses descendants, font appel à l’architecte nantais François Bougoüin (un élève de Viollet-le Duc), pour lui donner son aspect actuel.

L'actuel propriétaire, travaillant dans le secteur de la finance (il a monté une société de bourse), ouvre son château pour la journée du patrimoine.

* La création du comté d'Herbauges, vers 820, a été décidée pour contrer la menace Viking. Vaste possession militaire ayant pour chef-lieu Ratiatum (Rezé dans la Loire-Atlantique), comprenant le pays de Retz actuel et le nord de la Vendée. Le comté renferme donc des forces militaires assez importantes.

* Charles le Chauve : A la mort de Louis le Pieux, fils de Charlemagne, en juin 840, l'Empire est partagé entre les trois héritiers. Charles hérite de la Francia occidentalis, terres situées entre Saône et Rhône et la mer à l'Ouest. Charles le Chauve se heurtera à deux voisins, les Bretons et les Aquitains. Les Bretons victorieux à Juvardeil (Maine et Loire), en 851, occuperont pour presque un siècle l'ouest-Mayenne. Mais un bien plus grand péril menace, les Normands.

* Traité d'angers : La bataille de Jengland (lieu sujet à controverse) oppose, le 22 août 851, les troupes franques de Charles le Chauve aux Bretons d'Erispoë. Eripsoë, négocie en vainqueur le traité d'Angers en septembre 851. Le traité d'Angers reconnait Erispoë comme roi de Bretagne et les pays de Rennes, Nantes et de Retz comme terres bretonnes. L'accord d'Angers délimite les frontières du futur duché de Bretagne. En régularisant les relations entre la Francia occidentalis et la Bretagne, ce traité permet une paix intérieure nécessaire pour contrer les incursions des Vikings. La Paix d'Angers sera remise en cause par Salomon, roi de Bretagne de 857 à 874 (après le meurtre d'Erispoë), qui poussera son avantage jusqu'à Orléans. Avec les traités d'Entrammes (Charles le Chauve cède à Salomon une souveraineté sur « le Pays entre deux eaux », entre Mayenne et Sarthe), puis de Compiègne en 858 (Charles cède à Salomon le Cotentin, l'Avranchin ainsi que les îles Anglo-Normandes), la Bretagne atteint son extansion maximale. Salomon aidera Charles à chasser les Vikings d'Angers, puis fait la paix avec les Normands installés sur la Loire. Il se retirera dans un monastère pour expier le meurtre de sont prédécesseur, Eripsoë. Il finira assassiné, le 25 juin 874, dans l'église de La Martyre (Finistère). Son gendre, le gendre d'Eripsoë, et un neveu, le livreront aux Francs qui lui crèveront les yeux avant de le tuer.

* Alain II, premier duc de Bretagne, dit "Barbetorte". Alain, né vers 900-910, est le fils du gendre du dernier roi de Bretagne, Alain le Grand, mort vers 907. Ses parents ayant fuit les invasions normandes en Angleterre, il grandit auprès du futur roi carolingien Louis d'Outremer, lui aussi en exil (Le père de Louis, Charles III le Simple étant emprisonné en 923, sa mère, fille du roi anglo-saxon Édouard l'Ancien, se réfugie donc avec Louis en Angleterre). En 936, Alain débarque en Bretagne, avec une troupe de bretons exilés et d'anglais, il marche sur la Loire et Nantes et en chasse les Normands en 937. Alain est reconnu comme « Brittonum dux » en 938. Dans le même temps, Louis d'Outremer (Louis IV d'Outremer roi des Francs) est rappelé en France en 936 et couronné le 19 juin à Laon par Artaud, archevêque de Reims. Alain II dit Barbetorte ou "al louarn" (le renard en beton) mourut à Nantes, de maladie, en 952 à l'âge de 42 ans

* Gilles de Rais ou de Retz est né à Champtocé-sur-Loire vers 1404. Né Gilles de Montmorency-Laval il sera baron de Retz et comme baron de Retz possesseur de Pornic. Il combattra les anglais aux côtés de Jeanne d'Arc et sera promu maréchal de France, il a environ 25 ans, le jour du sacre de Charles VII à Reims. Il sera disgracié après l'échec du siège de Paris en août 1429 (les anglais occupaient Paris depuis 1420, les bourgeois de Paris avaient d'ailleurs accepté l'administration anglaise par mépris de Charles VII qu'ils appelaient le "rois de Bourges", mais surtout parce que les anglais leur avaient accordé de nouveaux privilèges. Les troupes de Charles VII seront repoussées d'ailleurs autant par les parisiens que par les anglais peu nombreux). Il retourna donc sur ses terres et dépensa son immense fortune que le brigandage (était ce le seul? C'était le temps des "Ecorcheurs") ne parvenait à maintenir. En 1433 il ne lui resta plus aucune terre à part celles de sa femme et deux châteaux en Anjou. En 1435, un édit du Roi interdisait à quiconque de commercer avec lui. Il fit venir d'Italie un alchimiste qui prétendait pouvoir fabriquer de l'or (Franco Prelati), puis essaya de reprendre par la force ce qu'il avait vendu. C'est en essayant de reprendre un de ses châteaux à un religieux qu'il s'aliène le duc de Bretagne et l'évêque de Nantes. (En 1439, Gille de Rais doit vendre la forteresse de Saint-Etienne-de-Mer-Morte à Geoffroy Le Ferron. Contestant cette vente, il demande des comptes au recteur de la paroisse, qui est aussi le frère de Geoffroy Le Ferron. Il entre, à cheval et en armes, dans l'église paroissiale au cours de l'office de la Pentecôte 1440 et brutalise le religieux). Des rumeurs circulaient depuis longtemps à son propos, concernant des enlèvements d'enfants.

Une enquête est lancée et le 15 septembre 1440, Jean Labbé, capitaine de Jean V, assisté du notaire Robin Guillaumet, le

représentant de Malestroi, arrête Gilles de Rais à Machecoul. Celui-ci est enfermé au château de Bouffray à Nantes. Il est suivi peu après par ses complices, Prelati, Blanchet, Henriet, Poitou et Perrine Martin.

Gilles de Rais fera l'objet de deux procès, un devant la justice civile dépendante du duc et un devant la justice ecclésiastique rendue par l'évêque.

Le tribunal séculier reproche au prévenu le refus d’obéir au duc de Bretagne, son suzerain, dans la prise du château, et des assassinats d’enfants.

Le tribunal ecclésiastique juge Gilles de Rais pour hérésie, sorcellerie avec évocation des démons, viol de l’immunité de l’Église lors de l’enlèvement du religieux devenu propriétaire d'un de ses châteaux, et enfin pour sodomie. De nombreux témoignages, dont ceux des parents des enfants disparus, sont cités dans les actes des procès. Les serviteurs de Gilles de Rais confirment les enlèvements. Sous la torture, Gilles de Rais se livrera à une confession particulièrement horrible (Lorsque le juge Pierre de L’Hôpital interroge Gilles de Rais sur ses motivations, celui-ci répond à plusieurs reprises que ce fut «seulement pour son plaisir et sa délectation charnelle»).Les deux procès estiment à entre 140 et plus de 200 le nombre des victimes. Le 25 octobre 1440, les deux procès condamnent Gilles de Rais et ses deux complices à être pendus et brûlés. Toutefois, Gilles de Rais sera inhumé avec les honneurs dus à son rang. Les cadavres des complices seront effectivement brûlés. L'alchimiste Prelati (père Francisco Prelati) sera condamné, mais s'échappera.

* Alexandre de Brie-Serrant, page du roi (Louis XV) à 14 ans, passera sous-lieutenant dans le régiment de Bourgogne, puis sera maréchal de camp (au XVe siècle, le maréchal de camp avait pour mission de répartir les logements des troupes et de les placer sur le champ de bataille). Ruiné par des projets de canaux qui ne voient pas le jour, Brie-Serrant meurt à 66 ans dans une obscure soupente le 23 décembre 1814, rue des Blancs-Manteaux à Paris.

*Une livre tournois sous Louis XV vaut 0,31 g d'or fin. Le prix du duché de Retz peut donc être estimé à plus de 400 kg d'or. Soit environ 35 lingots de 12,4kg (lingot de réserve des banques).

Greek, East Greek (Rhodian), Orientalizing Period, ca. 660-640 BCE

From Kameiros on the island of Rhodes (Pleiades).

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Henry Lillie Pierce Fund, 1899: 99.386 (R), 99.388 (L)

More info on museum's website.

Pornic (Loire-Atlantique)

Le château.

Son rôle était évidemment de défendre l'entrée du port.

Au IXe siècle, Pornic fait partie du comté d’Herbauges*

En 851, le roi de Bretagne (Erispoë) et le roi de France (Charles le Chauve)*, signent le traité d’Angers* qui permet aux Bretons d'occuper le Pays rennais, le Pays nantais et le pays de Retz. La charge de la défense de ces territoires revient donc aux Bretons.

Au Xe siècle, le premier duc de Bretagne Alain Barbe-Torte* érige une forteresse en bois dans la vallée de Pornic pour protéger la ville des Vikings. De ce castrum subsiste aujourd'hui le nom de la rue de la Douve et du chemin des Remparts, et le relief de la butte du calvaire.

Au XIIe - XIIIe siècles, il est la propriété des seigneurs de Rais (ou de Retz) qui le reconstruisent en pierres.

En 1370, le château appartient à Gilles de Laval, père de Gilles de Rais. Les remparts partaient de la Terasse et rejoignaient la rue de la Douve pour en suivre le tracé jusqu'au Marchix.

Au XVème siècle, le tristement célèbre Gilles de Rais*, compagnon de Jeanne d'Arc, en fût le propriétaire. Le château lui sera confisqué par le Duc de Bretagne au moment du procès.

Au XVIIIe siècle, le marquis Alexandre de Brie-Serrant*, achète le duché de Retz, le 19 octobre 1778, au duc de Retz Gabriel de Neufville-Villeroy (1731-1794), qui n'a pas d'enfant et donc pas d'héritier, pour la somme de 1 400 000 livres*. Le nouveau propriétaire n'a que 31 ans. De mauvais placements financiers, ruineront Alexandre de Brie Serrant, le duché de Retz sera déclassé en baronnie de Retz. Tous les châteaux de son duché sont en ruine lorsqu’il décède en 1814. Le château de Pornic, partiellement détruit à la Révolution et que Brie-Serrant a délaissé, tombe également en ruine.

Lors de la Révolution, la plupart des Pornicais est favorable à la République. Le 23 mars 1793, la garde nationale conduite par un prêtre républicain (le curé de Clion), sort de la ville pour récupérer du blé. Les royalistes (les "Blancs") en profitent pour attaquer la ville : c’est la première bataille de Pornic. La ville est prise par le marquis de la Roche-Saint-André, mais les royalistes déplorent des pertes alors que les républicains n'en ont aucune. La prise de la ville s'accompagne par des assassinats et les Rebelles pillent plusieurs habitations puis s'enivrent. Le soir, après une fusillade de 3 heures et une charge à la baïonnette, la ville est reprise par les républicains. Selon le rapport officiel républicain, plus de 200 insurgés ont été tués tandis que le détachement qui reprend Pornic ne déplore que des blessés. Le Marquis de la Roche-Saint-André est en fuite.

Le 27 mars a lieu la deuxième bataille de Pornic, les insurgés menés par Charette s’emparent de la ville, la pillent et mettent le feu aux maisons supposées abriter des républicains. Charette annoncera que ses pertes se limitent à deux blessés et celles des républicains à 60 morts et 30 prisonniers. Un mois plus tard, Charette évacue Pornic devant la menace du général républicain Beysser.

Au XIXe siècle, le château de Pornic, appartient à Casimir Perier, Jacques Laffitte et Philippe-François-Didier Usquin, banquiers et créanciers de la succession du marquis Alexandre de Brie-Serrant.

En 1824, il est racheté par le négociant Joseph Le Breton, adjoint au maire de Nantes et fondateur de l’établissement des bains de mer. Il réalise une première restauration du château.

En 1886, ses descendants, font appel à l’architecte nantais François Bougoüin (un élève de Viollet-le Duc), pour lui donner son aspect actuel.

L'actuel propriétaire, travaillant dans le secteur de la finance (il a monté une société de bourse), ouvre son château pour la journée du patrimoine.

* La création du comté d'Herbauges, vers 820, a été décidée pour contrer la menace Viking. Vaste possession militaire ayant pour chef-lieu Ratiatum (Rezé dans la Loire-Atlantique), comprenant le pays de Retz actuel et le nord de la Vendée. Le comté renferme donc des forces militaires assez importantes.

* Charles le Chauve : A la mort de Louis le Pieux, fils de Charlemagne, en juin 840, l'Empire est partagé entre les trois héritiers. Charles hérite de la Francia occidentalis, terres situées entre Saône et Rhône et la mer à l'Ouest. Charles le Chauve se heurtera à deux voisins, les Bretons et les Aquitains. Les Bretons victorieux à Juvardeil (Maine et Loire), en 851, occuperont pour presque un siècle l'ouest-Mayenne. Mais un bien plus grand péril menace, les Normands.

* Traité d'angers : La bataille de Jengland (lieu sujet à controverse) oppose, le 22 août 851, les troupes franques de Charles le Chauve aux Bretons d'Erispoë. Eripsoë, négocie en vainqueur le traité d'Angers en septembre 851. Le traité d'Angers reconnait Erispoë comme roi de Bretagne et les pays de Rennes, Nantes et de Retz comme terres bretonnes. L'accord d'Angers délimite les frontières du futur duché de Bretagne. En régularisant les relations entre la Francia occidentalis et la Bretagne, ce traité permet une paix intérieure nécessaire pour contrer les incursions des Vikings. La Paix d'Angers sera remise en cause par Salomon, roi de Bretagne de 857 à 874 (après le meurtre d'Erispoë), qui poussera son avantage jusqu'à Orléans. Avec les traités d'Entrammes (Charles le Chauve cède à Salomon une souveraineté sur « le Pays entre deux eaux », entre Mayenne et Sarthe), puis de Compiègne en 858 (Charles cède à Salomon le Cotentin, l'Avranchin ainsi que les îles Anglo-Normandes), la Bretagne atteint son extansion maximale. Salomon aidera Charles à chasser les Vikings d'Angers, puis fait la paix avec les Normands installés sur la Loire. Il se retirera dans un monastère pour expier le meurtre de sont prédécesseur, Eripsoë. Il finira assassiné, le 25 juin 874, dans l'église de La Martyre (Finistère). Son gendre, le gendre d'Eripsoë, et un neveu, le livreront aux Francs qui lui crèveront les yeux avant de le tuer.

* Alain II, premier duc de Bretagne, dit "Barbetorte". Alain, né vers 900-910, est le fils du gendre du dernier roi de Bretagne, Alain le Grand, mort vers 907. Ses parents ayant fuit les invasions normandes en Angleterre, il grandit auprès du futur roi carolingien Louis d'Outremer, lui aussi en exil (Le père de Louis, Charles III le Simple étant emprisonné en 923, sa mère, fille du roi anglo-saxon Édouard l'Ancien, se réfugie donc avec Louis en Angleterre). En 936, Alain débarque en Bretagne, avec une troupe de bretons exilés et d'anglais, il marche sur la Loire et Nantes et en chasse les Normands en 937. Alain est reconnu comme « Brittonum dux » en 938. Dans le même temps, Louis d'Outremer (Louis IV d'Outremer roi des Francs) est rappelé en France en 936 et couronné le 19 juin à Laon par Artaud, archevêque de Reims. Alain II dit Barbetorte ou "al louarn" (le renard en beton) mourut à Nantes, de maladie, en 952 à l'âge de 42 ans

* Gilles de Rais ou de Retz est né à Champtocé-sur-Loire vers 1404. Né Gilles de Montmorency-Laval il sera baron de Retz et comme baron de Retz possesseur de Pornic. Il combattra les anglais aux côtés de Jeanne d'Arc et sera promu maréchal de France, il a environ 25 ans, le jour du sacre de Charles VII à Reims. Il sera disgracié après l'échec du siège de Paris en août 1429 (les anglais occupaient Paris depuis 1420, les bourgeois de Paris avaient d'ailleurs accepté l'administration anglaise par mépris de Charles VII qu'ils appelaient le "rois de Bourges", mais surtout parce que les anglais leur avaient accordé de nouveaux privilèges. Les troupes de Charles VII seront repoussées d'ailleurs autant par les parisiens que par les anglais peu nombreux). Il retourna donc sur ses terres et dépensa son immense fortune que le brigandage (était ce le seul? C'était le temps des "Ecorcheurs") ne parvenait à maintenir. En 1433 il ne lui resta plus aucune terre à part celles de sa femme et deux châteaux en Anjou. En 1435, un édit du Roi interdisait à quiconque de commercer avec lui. Il fit venir d'Italie un alchimiste qui prétendait pouvoir fabriquer de l'or (Franco Prelati), puis essaya de reprendre par la force ce qu'il avait vendu. C'est en essayant de reprendre un de ses châteaux à un religieux qu'il s'aliène le duc de Bretagne et l'évêque de Nantes. (En 1439, Gille de Rais doit vendre la forteresse de Saint-Etienne-de-Mer-Morte à Geoffroy Le Ferron. Contestant cette vente, il demande des comptes au recteur de la paroisse, qui est aussi le frère de Geoffroy Le Ferron. Il entre, à cheval et en armes, dans l'église paroissiale au cours de l'office de la Pentecôte 1440 et brutalise le religieux). Des rumeurs circulaient depuis longtemps à son propos, concernant des enlèvements d'enfants.

Une enquête est lancée et le 15 septembre 1440, Jean Labbé, capitaine de Jean V, assisté du notaire Robin Guillaumet, le

représentant de Malestroi, arrête Gilles de Rais à Machecoul. Celui-ci est enfermé au château de Bouffray à Nantes. Il est suivi peu après par ses complices, Prelati, Blanchet, Henriet, Poitou et Perrine Martin.

Gilles de Rais fera l'objet de deux procès, un devant la justice civile dépendante du duc et un devant la justice ecclésiastique rendue par l'évêque.

Le tribunal séculier reproche au prévenu le refus d’obéir au duc de Bretagne, son suzerain, dans la prise du château, et des assassinats d’enfants.

Le tribunal ecclésiastique juge Gilles de Rais pour hérésie, sorcellerie avec évocation des démons, viol de l’immunité de l’Église lors de l’enlèvement du religieux devenu propriétaire d'un de ses châteaux, et enfin pour sodomie. De nombreux témoignages, dont ceux des parents des enfants disparus, sont cités dans les actes des procès. Les serviteurs de Gilles de Rais confirment les enlèvements. Sous la torture, Gilles de Rais se livrera à une confession particulièrement horrible (Lorsque le juge Pierre de L’Hôpital interroge Gilles de Rais sur ses motivations, celui-ci répond à plusieurs reprises que ce fut «seulement pour son plaisir et sa délectation charnelle»).Les deux procès estiment à entre 140 et plus de 200 le nombre des victimes. Le 25 octobre 1440, les deux procès condamnent Gilles de Rais et ses deux complices à être pendus et brûlés. Toutefois, Gilles de Rais sera inhumé avec les honneurs dus à son rang. Les cadavres des complices seront effectivement brûlés. L'alchimiste Prelati (père Francisco Prelati) sera condamné, mais s'échappera.

* Alexandre de Brie-Serrant, page du roi (Louis XV) à 14 ans, passera sous-lieutenant dans le régiment de Bourgogne, puis sera maréchal de camp (au XVe siècle, le maréchal de camp avait pour mission de répartir les logements des troupes et de les placer sur le champ de bataille). Ruiné par des projets de canaux qui ne voient pas le jour, Brie-Serrant meurt à 66 ans dans une obscure soupente le 23 décembre 1814, rue des Blancs-Manteaux à Paris.

*Une livre tournois sous Louis XV vaut 0,31 g d'or fin. Le prix du duché de Retz peut donc être estimé à plus de 400 kg d'or. Soit environ 35 lingots de 12,4kg (lingot de réserve des banques).

A bronze appliqué in low relief represents the solar deity Usil, the equivalent of Helios/Sol in Greek and Roman religion. On this figure, the radiate crown behind his head and spreading wings identify the god. Usil wears a diadem, necklace, and a mantle over his shoulders, which falls to either side in pleated folds. Nude from the groin up, he has disproportionately long arms and large hands. At the top of the thighs the figure merges into a broad plate decorated with undulating lines indicating the waves from which the sun god emerges and sinks at daybreak and dusk. A projecting lug is hollow behind to accommodate a wood or metal structure, to which the relief was attached by three pairs of rivets.

The rare examples of Usil appliqués are associated with burials, which often held grave offerings of funerary carts and chariots. Driven in ceremonial processions, elaborate wood vehicles were covered with sheet bronze repoussé and fitted with cast animal-head protomes. Figural reliefs such as this are interpreted as decorative attachments on the sideboards, used to cover structural elements of the vehicle.

Etruscan, from Vulci, Italy, ca. 500-475 BCE.

Getty Villa Museum (2017.126)

The Gates on the Grand Carriage Drive were commissioned by Henry, 2nd Lord Leconfield in the late 1860’s or early 1870’s.

Lord Leconfield inherited Petworth in 1869 and with his architect Anthony Salvin set about making improvements to the house and park, which had seen little change since the death of the 3rd Earl Egremont in 1837

Lord Leconfield’s Carriage Drive Gates and the Screens (either side of the house) recall iron railings and gates which once enclosed the Grand Courtyard and West Front of Petworth House. The current design is Baroque in style and are based upon Jean Tijou’s (fl.1689-1711). original work at Hampton Court Palace, in particular the Lion Gate and the Fountain Garden Gates. Hence, these beautiful gates at Petworth are locally referred as the ‘Tijou’ Gates.

The gates are designated Grade 1 as they are part of the curtilage of nationally important Petworth House . In 1996 it was noted that the structure was at risk from corrosion damage. A vital conservation decision was approved by the National Trust and the Gate facade was partly dismantled. The ornate overthrow and basket topped crestings from the gate piers, side quadrants, loose Repoussework and Acanthus work was put into secure and dry storage. This controlled action limited the degradation and loss to the precious Wrought Ironwork structure. This was a difficult decision at the time, but ultimately saved the greater proportion of the exquisite leaf work for conservation and restoration at a later date.

Link to NT info on restoration:

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/article-1355777849753/

Donaufelder Parish

View from Danube Tower to the Donaufelder church

Inside view towards to the altar of the Donaufelder Church

The Roman Catholic Donaufelder parish church (St. Leopold) is located in 21 District of Vienna Floridsdorf. The according to plans of building officer Franz Ritter von Neumann built neo-Gothic brick building (with Art Nouveau interior design) is surrounded by a small park on the Kinzerplatz in the district part of Danube field (Donaufeld).

History

The Donaufelder parish church originally was planned as a bishop's church of a new Lower Austrian diocese. This explains the enormous scale of this parish (in the parish about 7,000 Catholics live). But the higher policy had it otherwise and the new diocese was never established. Thus Danube field came to its imposing parish church.

At the laying of the foundation stone on 6 June 1905 took part a number of important personalities, at the head of those participants, Emperor Franz Joseph I. with the then Mayor of Vienna Dr. Karl Lueger. Furthermore, were Archduke Friedrich, Archduke Leopold Salvator and the provost of Klosterneuburg monastery Bernhard Johannes Peitl present. The foundation stone now is walled in the apse to the left of the high altar.

With the construction of the church building originally building officer Franz Ritter von Neumann was commissioned. When he died even before the foundation stone was laid, architects Karl Troll and Johann Stobble supervised the construction in strict accordance with the plans of Neumann.

The solemn consecration was carried out by Cardinal Archbishop Dr. Friedrich Piffl. On the part of the Imperial family participated Archduke Peter Ferdinand. The capstone was walled in opposite the foundation stone and provided with a decorative plate.

When the church was already completed, yet two emergency exits had to be built, as subsequently was detected that with a capacity of 5,000 people too few outputs were provided.

The Sacramental altar of the church stems from the Academic Gymnasium and was only in 1940 erected. However, since it was believed it was disturbing the Art Nouveau overall picture of the church, they wanted it to have removed again. After becoming aware of the cost of 30,000 shillings, the idea of removing it later on was abandoned (for good). The Sacramental altar is still in the church today.

The building

Description

The neo-Gothic hall church made ​​of brick has a nave with transversely positioned gabled roofs above the side aisles and a slightly lower retracted choir, which is structured by buttresses and two-part to four-part lancet windows. Side of the choir there are two storey extensions and a domed staircase turret. The northwestern gable front is flanked by domed staircase turrets; put in front is the mighty tower with an open porch and an octagonal spire.

Dimensions

The church is 35 m wide and 80 m long; the clear height of the arch is 18 m. The church tower is 96 m high. Thus, the tower is the third highest of all of Vienna. Hence, the Donaufelder parish is to be found in the center field of the list of the highest constructions in the world. Furthermore, it is also the third largest church in Vienna and has the largest timber roof of Vienna. According to official reports, It offers 5,000 people space.

The interior

In designing the interior particular emphasis was placed. The imposing high altar, carved in metal repoussé work rests on a marble base and shows the group "St. Leopold and his wife Agnes kneeling before the Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus". The Pietà of the left side altar created Arthur Kaan. From him stem also the chandeliers "Heart of Jesus" and "Heart of Mary". The right side altar comes from the Viennese artist Alexander Illitsch and displays "The Holy Family on the Flight into Egypt".

From the art historical point of view, the interior of the church is a unique Art Nouveau Gesamtkunstwerk.

Organ

The organ of the Donaufelder parish church was built in 1910 by the Viennese organ builder Josef Swoboda and is the largest yet playable left in its original state Swoboda organ. It has a total of 1,940 pipes, the smallest measuring 10 cm, the largest 9 m. The organ sonically never was changed and is regarded as a sound monument.

The prospectus of the organ adorn sculptures in relief and show the figure group "The Saint Cecilia and two kneeling angels".

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donaufelder_Pfarrkirche

Aphrodite sits back lazily on a rocky outcrop, her drapery falling casually below her waist. She is leaning on the rock with her left hand. There is a tortoise under her palm and a dolphin at her feet: the rock is decorated with cinquefoil flowers. At the right, behind her, Eros seems to be putting a basket with wickerwork rim onto his head.

Without looking at the attendant girl standing on a pedestal, Aphrodite takes from her some leaves, or perhaps delicately wipes her fingers on a cloth. The main theme is worked from behind the disc, but there are a number of motifs chased into the surface, a thyrsos, quatrefoil flower and butterfly above, and a bird, stars and grasshopper between musical pipes (syrinx) and a lyre (kithara) in the exergue.

The inclusion of the dolphin may be a link to Tarentum (Taranto) and the story of Taras brought safely to land on the back of a dolphin, a motif which appears on the coins of that city.

Gilded silver roundel found at Taranto, S. Italy. and probably made there.

The British Museum, London

Photo André Knoerr, Genève. Reproduction autorisée avec mention de la source.

Utilisation commerciale soumise à autorisation spéciale préalable.

L'ouverture du prolongement de la ligne 14 jusqu'à Bernex Vailly est repoussée au 4 juillet 2021.

Afin d'aligner le tracé au niveau du terminus actuel, celui-ci devra temporairement être ramené à Confignon Croisée.

Les lignes d'autobus de rabattement seront adaptées en conséquence.

23378

Finished the whole buffalo this time! 6" x 8" , 24 gauge copper sheet.

Mounted knight siezing and enemy. Saffle decorated with severed trophy head. Gold flask with reposse decoration. Sassanian, 5th Century AD. Gold cup with floral openwork,, reposse decoration and buckle handle. Sassanian, 5th Century AD. Vienna, Austria. Copyright 2016, James A. Glazier.

Ganymede being abducted by Zeus in the form of an eagle (?). Tree of life and floral borders. Gold pitcher with reposse decoration. Sassanian, 5th Century AD. Vienna, Austria. Copyright 2016, James A. Glazier.

Crown of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception (Crown of the Andes, Columbia) c. 1660 (diadem), c. 1770 (arches), gold and emeralds, 34.3 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

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Crown of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception (Crown of the Andes, Columbia) c. 1660 (diadem), c. 1770 (arches), gold and emeralds, 34.3 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

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This brooch is a continuation of an idea we had several years ago wherein we were invisioning alien life forms. Specifically, we wondered, as we are slowly evolving into cybernetic beings, what would that look like for other life forms. We called this the Sylph series.

This is an orchid sylph which is fabricated from brass and stainless steel. The surface finish is built up of numerous layers of wet and dry pigments combined with various metal and organic powders. The sylph is 3.25 inches high

Pornic (Loire-Atlantique)

Le château. La tour nord.

Son rôle était évidemment de défendre l'entrée du port.

Au IXe siècle, Pornic fait partie du comté d’Herbauges*

En 851, le roi de Bretagne (Erispoë) et le roi de France (Charles le Chauve)*, signent le traité d’Angers* qui permet aux Bretons d'occuper le Pays rennais, le Pays nantais et le pays de Retz. La charge de la défense de ces territoires revient donc aux Bretons.

Au Xe siècle, le premier duc de Bretagne Alain Barbe-Torte* érige une forteresse en bois dans la vallée de Pornic pour protéger la ville des Vikings. De ce castrum subsiste aujourd'hui le nom de la rue de la Douve et du chemin des Remparts, et le relief de la butte du calvaire.

Au XIIe - XIIIe siècles, il est la propriété des seigneurs de Rais (ou de Retz) qui le reconstruisent en pierres.

En 1370, le château appartient à Gilles de Laval, père de Gilles de Rais. Les remparts partaient de la Terrasse et rejoignaient la rue de la Douve pour en suivre le tracé jusqu'au Marchix.

Au XVème siècle, le tristement célèbre Gilles de Rais*, compagnon de Jeanne d'Arc, en fût le propriétaire. Le château lui sera confisqué par le Duc de Bretagne au moment du procès.

Au XVIIIe siècle, le marquis Alexandre de Brie-Serrant*, achète le duché de Retz, le 19 octobre 1778, au duc de Retz Gabriel de Neufville-Villeroy (1731-1794), qui n'a pas d'enfant et donc pas d'héritier, pour la somme de 1 400 000 livres*. Le nouveau propriétaire n'a que 31 ans. De mauvais placements financiers, ruineront Alexandre de Brie Serrant, le duché de Retz sera déclassé en baronnie de Retz. Tous les châteaux de son duché sont en ruine lorsqu’il décède en 1814. Le château de Pornic, partiellement détruit à la Révolution et que Brie-Serrant a délaissé, tombe également en ruine.

Lors de la Révolution, la plupart des Pornicais est favorable à la République. Le 23 mars 1793, la garde nationale conduite par un prêtre républicain (le curé de Clion), sort de la ville pour récupérer du blé. Les royalistes (les "Blancs") en profitent pour attaquer la ville : c’est la première bataille de Pornic. La ville est prise par le marquis de la Roche-Saint-André, mais les royalistes déplorent des pertes alors que les républicains n'en ont aucune. La prise de la ville s'accompagne par des assassinats et les Rebelles pillent plusieurs habitations puis s'enivrent. Le soir, après une fusillade de 3 heures et une charge à la baïonnette, la ville est reprise par les républicains. Selon le rapport officiel républicain, plus de 200 insurgés ont été tués tandis que le détachement qui reprend Pornic ne déplore que des blessés. Le Marquis de la Roche-Saint-André est en fuite.

Le 27 mars a lieu la deuxième bataille de Pornic, les insurgés menés par Charette s’emparent de la ville, la pillent et mettent le feu aux maisons supposées abriter des républicains. Charette annoncera que ses pertes se limitent à deux blessés et celles des républicains à 60 morts et 30 prisonniers. Un mois plus tard, Charette évacue Pornic devant la menace du général républicain Beysser.

Au XIXe siècle, le château de Pornic, appartient à Casimir Perier, Jacques Laffitte et Philippe-François-Didier Usquin, banquiers et créanciers de la succession du marquis Alexandre de Brie-Serrant.

En 1824, il est racheté par le négociant Joseph Le Breton, adjoint au maire de Nantes et fondateur de l’établissement des bains de mer. Il réalise une première restauration du château.

En 1886, ses descendants, font appel à l’architecte nantais François Bougoüin (un élève de Viollet-le Duc), pour lui donner son aspect actuel.

L'actuel propriétaire, travaillant dans le secteur de la finance (il a monté une société de bourse), ouvre son château pour la journée du patrimoine.

* La création du comté d'Herbauges, vers 820, a été décidée pour contrer la menace Viking. Vaste possession militaire ayant pour chef-lieu Ratiatum (Rezé dans la Loire-Atlantique), comprenant le pays de Retz actuel et le nord de la Vendée. Le comté renferme donc des forces militaires assez importantes.

* Charles le Chauve : A la mort de Louis le Pieux, fils de Charlemagne, en juin 840, l'Empire est partagé entre les trois héritiers. Charles hérite de la Francia occidentalis, terres situées entre Saône et Rhône et la mer à l'Ouest. Charles le Chauve se heurtera à deux voisins, les Bretons et les Aquitains. Les Bretons victorieux à Juvardeil (Maine et Loire), en 851, occuperont pour presque un siècle l'ouest-Mayenne. Mais un bien plus grand péril menace, les Normands.

* Traité d'angers : La bataille de Jengland (lieu sujet à controverse) oppose, le 22 août 851, les troupes franques de Charles le Chauve aux Bretons d'Erispoë. Eripsoë, négocie en vainqueur le traité d'Angers en septembre 851. Le traité d'Angers reconnait Erispoë comme roi de Bretagne et les pays de Rennes, Nantes et de Retz comme terres bretonnes. L'accord d'Angers délimite les frontières du futur duché de Bretagne. En régularisant les relations entre la Francia occidentalis et la Bretagne, ce traité permet une paix intérieure nécessaire pour contrer les incursions des Vikings. La Paix d'Angers sera remise en cause par Salomon, roi de Bretagne de 857 à 874 (après le meurtre d'Erispoë), qui poussera son avantage jusqu'à Orléans. Avec les traités d'Entrammes (Charles le Chauve cède à Salomon une souveraineté sur « le Pays entre deux eaux », entre Mayenne et Sarthe), puis de Compiègne en 858 (Charles cède à Salomon le Cotentin, l'Avranchin ainsi que les îles Anglo-Normandes), la Bretagne atteint son extansion maximale. Salomon aidera Charles à chasser les Vikings d'Angers, puis fait la paix avec les Normands installés sur la Loire. Il se retirera dans un monastère pour expier le meurtre de sont prédécesseur, Eripsoë. Il finira assassiné, le 25 juin 874, dans l'église de La Martyre (Finistère). Son gendre, le gendre d'Eripsoë, et un neveu, le livreront aux Francs qui lui crèveront les yeux avant de le tuer.

* Alain II, premier duc de Bretagne, dit "Barbetorte". Alain, né vers 900-910, est le fils du gendre du dernier roi de Bretagne, Alain le Grand, mort vers 907. Ses parents ayant fuit les invasions normandes en Angleterre, il grandit auprès du futur roi carolingien Louis d'Outremer, lui aussi en exil (Le père de Louis, Charles III le Simple étant emprisonné en 923, sa mère, fille du roi anglo-saxon Édouard l'Ancien, se réfugie donc avec Louis en Angleterre). En 936, Alain débarque en Bretagne, avec une troupe de bretons exilés et d'anglais, il marche sur la Loire et Nantes et en chasse les Normands en 937. Alain est reconnu comme « Brittonum dux » en 938. Dans le même temps, Louis d'Outremer (Louis IV d'Outremer roi des Francs) est rappelé en France en 936 et couronné le 19 juin à Laon par Artaud, archevêque de Reims. Alain II dit Barbetorte ou "al louarn" (le renard en beton) mourut à Nantes, de maladie, en 952 à l'âge de 42 ans

* Gilles de Rais ou de Retz est né à Champtocé-sur-Loire vers 1404. Né Gilles de Montmorency-Laval il sera baron de Retz et comme baron de Retz possesseur de Pornic. Il combattra les anglais aux côtés de Jeanne d'Arc et sera promu maréchal de France, il a environ 25 ans, le jour du sacre de Charles VII à Reims. Il sera disgracié après l'échec du siège de Paris en août 1429 (les anglais occupaient Paris depuis 1420, les bourgeois de Paris avaient d'ailleurs accepté l'administration anglaise par mépris de Charles VII qu'ils appelaient le "rois de Bourges", mais surtout parce que les anglais leur avaient accordé de nouveaux privilèges. Les troupes de Charles VII seront repoussées d'ailleurs autant par les parisiens que par les anglais peu nombreux). Il retourna donc sur ses terres et dépensa son immense fortune que le brigandage (était ce le seul? C'était le temps des "Ecorcheurs") ne parvenait à maintenir. En 1433 il ne lui resta plus aucune terre à part celles de sa femme et deux châteaux en Anjou. En 1435, un édit du Roi interdisait à quiconque de commercer avec lui. Il fit venir d'Italie un alchimiste qui prétendait pouvoir fabriquer de l'or (Franco Prelati), puis essaya de reprendre par la force ce qu'il avait vendu. C'est en essayant de reprendre un de ses châteaux à un religieux qu'il s'aliène le duc de Bretagne et l'évêque de Nantes. (En 1439, Gille de Rais doit vendre la forteresse de Saint-Etienne-de-Mer-Morte à Geoffroy Le Ferron. Contestant cette vente, il demande des comptes au recteur de la paroisse, qui est aussi le frère de Geoffroy Le Ferron. Il entre, à cheval et en armes, dans l'église paroissiale au cours de l'office de la Pentecôte 1440 et brutalise le religieux). Des rumeurs circulaient depuis longtemps à son propos, concernant des enlèvements d'enfants.

Une enquête est lancée et le 15 septembre 1440, Jean Labbé, capitaine de Jean V, assisté du notaire Robin Guillaumet, le

représentant de Malestroi, arrête Gilles de Rais à Machecoul. Celui-ci est enfermé au château de Bouffray à Nantes. Il est suivi peu après par ses complices, Prelati, Blanchet, Henriet, Poitou et Perrine Martin.

Gilles de Rais fera l'objet de deux procès, un devant la justice civile dépendante du duc et un devant la justice ecclésiastique rendue par l'évêque.

Le tribunal séculier reproche au prévenu le refus d’obéir au duc de Bretagne, son suzerain, dans la prise du château, et des assassinats d’enfants.

Le tribunal ecclésiastique juge Gilles de Rais pour hérésie, sorcellerie avec évocation des démons, viol de l’immunité de l’Église lors de l’enlèvement du religieux devenu propriétaire d'un de ses châteaux, et enfin pour sodomie. De nombreux témoignages, dont ceux des parents des enfants disparus, sont cités dans les actes des procès. Les serviteurs de Gilles de Rais confirment les enlèvements. Sous la torture, Gilles de Rais se livrera à une confession particulièrement horrible (Lorsque le juge Pierre de L’Hôpital interroge Gilles de Rais sur ses motivations, celui-ci répond à plusieurs reprises que ce fut «seulement pour son plaisir et sa délectation charnelle»).Les deux procès estiment à entre 140 et plus de 200 le nombre des victimes. Le 25 octobre 1440, les deux procès condamnent Gilles de Rais et ses deux complices à être pendus et brûlés. Toutefois, Gilles de Rais sera inhumé avec les honneurs dus à son rang. Les cadavres des complices seront effectivement brûlés. L'alchimiste Prelati (père Francisco Prelati) sera condamné, mais s'échappera.

* Alexandre de Brie-Serrant, page du roi (Louis XV) à 14 ans, passera sous-lieutenant dans le régiment de Bourgogne, puis sera maréchal de camp (au XVe siècle, le maréchal de camp avait pour mission de répartir les logements des troupes et de les placer sur le champ de bataille). Ruiné par des projets de canaux qui ne voient pas le jour, Brie-Serrant meurt à 66 ans dans une obscure soupente le 23 décembre 1814, rue des Blancs-Manteaux à Paris.

*Une livre tournois sous Louis XV vaut 0,31 g d'or fin. Le prix du duché de Retz peut donc être estimé à plus de 400 kg d'or. Soit environ 35 lingots de 12,4kg (lingot de réserve des banques).

Bronze chariot inlaid with ivory

2nd quarter of the 6th century B.C.

Scenes from the life of the Greek hero Achilles

In 1902, a landowner working on his property accidentally discovered a subterranean built tomb covered by a tumulus (mound). His investigations revealed the remains of a parade chariot as well as bronze, ceramic, and iron utensils together with other grave goods. Following the discovery, the finds passed through the hands of several Italian owners and dealers who were responsible for the appearance of the chariot and related material on the Paris art market. There they were purchased in 1903 by General Luigi Palma di Cesnola, the first director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Monteleone chariot is the best preserved example of its kind from ancient Italy before the Roman period. The relatively good condition of its major parts--the panels of the car, the pole, and the wheels--has made it possible to undertake a new reconstruction based on the most recent scholarship. Moreover, some of the surviving ivory fragments can now be placed with reasonable certitude. The other tomb furnishings acquired with the chariot are exhibited in two cases on the south wall of this gallery.

...On the Italian peninsula, the largest number of chariots come from Etruria and the surrounding regions. They are datable between the second half of the eighth and the fifth centuries B.C. and represent several varieties. None seems to have been used for fighting in battle. Most came to light in tombs; after serving in life, they were buried with their owners, male and also female. The Monteleone chariot belongs to a group of parade chariots, so called because they were used by significant individuals on special occasions. They have two wheels and were drawn by two horses standing about forty-nine inches (122 centimeters) apart at the point where the yoke rests on their necks. The car would have accommodated the driver and the distinguished passenger. The shape of the car, with a tall panel in front and a lower one at each side, provided expansive surfaces for decoration, executed in repoussé. The frieze at the axle, the attachment of the pole to the car, and the ends of the pole and yoke all have additional figural embellishment.

...The iconography represents a carefully thought-out program. The three major panels of the car depict episodes from the life of Achilles, the Greek hero of the Trojan War. In the magnificent central scene, Achilles, on the right, receives from his mother, Thetis, on the left, a shield and helmet to replace the armor that Achilles had given his friend Patroklos, for combat against the Trojan Hektor. Patroklos was killed, allowing Hektor to take Achilles' armor. The subject was widely known thanks to the account in Homer's Iliad and many representations in Greek art. The panel on the left shows a combat between two warriors, usually identified as the Greek Achilles and the Trojan Memnon. In the panel on the right, the apotheosis of Achilles shows him ascending in a chariot drawn by winged horses. The subsidiary reliefs partly covered by the wheels are interpreted as showing Achilles as a youth in the care of the centaur Chiron and Achilles as a lion felling his foes, in this case a stag and a bull. The central axis of the chariot is reinforced by the head and forelegs of the boar at the join of the pole to the car. The deer below Achilles' shield appears slung over the boar's back. The eagle's head at the front of the pole repeats the two attacking eagles at the top of the central panel, and the lion heads on the yoke relate to the numerous savage felines on the car. While the meaning of the human and animal figures allows for various interpretations, there is a thematic unity and a Homeric quality emphasizing the glory of the hero.

The three panels of the car represent the main artistic achievement. Scholarly opinion agrees that the style of the decoration is strongly influenced by Greek art, particularly that of Ionia and adjacent islands such as Rhodes. The choice of subjects, moreover, reflects close knowledge of the epics recounting the Trojan War. In the extent of Greek influence, the chariot resembles works of virtually all media from Archaic Etruria. Contemporary carved ambers reflect a similar situation. The typically Etruscan features of the object begin with its function, for chariots were not significant in Greek life of the sixth century B.C. except in athletic contests. Furthermore, iconographical motifs such as the winged horses in Achilles' apotheosis and the plethora of birds of prey reflect Etruscan predilections. The repoussé panels may have been produced in one of the important metal-working centers such as Vulci by a local craftsman well familiar with Greek art or possibly by an immigrant bronze-worker. The chariot could well have been made for an important individual living in southern Etruria or Latium. Its burial in Monteleone may have to do with the fact that this town controlled a major route through the Appenine Mountains. The vehicle could have been a gift to win favor with a powerful local authority or to reward his services. Beyond discussion is the superlative skill of the artist. His control of the height of the relief, from very high to subtly shallow, is extraordinary. Equally remarkable are the richness and variety of the decoration lavished on all of the figures, especially those of the central panel. In its original state, with the gleaming bronze and painted ivory as well as all of the accessory paraphernalia, the chariot must have been dazzling.

After the parts of the chariot arrived in the Museum in 1903, they were assembled in a presentation that remained on view for almost a century. During the new reconstruction, which took three years' work, the chariot was entirely dismantled. A new support was made according to the same structural principles as the ancient one would have been. The reexamination of many pieces has allowed them to be placed in their correct positions. Moreover, the bronze sheathing of the pole, which had been considered only partially preserved, has been recognized as substantially complete. The main element that has not been reconstructed is the yoke. Although the length is correct, the wooden bar simply connects the two bronze pieces.

[Met Museum]

In the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 5th Avenue, New York

Photographed at the Smithsonian's Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of Asian Art in Washington D.C.

Crown of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception (Crown of the Andes, Columbia) c. 1660 (diadem), c. 1770 (arches), gold and emeralds, 34.3 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

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The Philharmonic Dining Rooms is a public house at the corner of Hope Street and Hardman Street in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, and stands diagonally opposite the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building

The interior is decorated in musical themes that relate to the nearby concert hall. These decorations are executed on repoussé copper panels designed by Bare and by Thomas Huson, plasterwork by C. J. Allen, mosaics, and items in mahogany and glass. Two of the smaller rooms are entitled Brahms and Liszt. Of particular interest to visitors is the high quality of the gentlemen's urinals, constructed in "a particularly attractive roseate marble'

One of the staff offered to accompany me to the gents to photo those but I declined - I so regret not taking him up on it.