View allAll Photos Tagged Repousse
Valentin de Boulogne, dit le Valentin, de son vrai nom Jean Valentin, né le 3 janvier 1591 à Coulommiers et mort le 19 août 1632 à Rome, est un peintre français, représentant du caravagisme.
Judith (vers 1625)
Huile sur Toile
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Website : GALERIE JUGUET
© All rights reserved ®
Website : MÉMOIRE DES PIERRES
© All rights reserved ®
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Contexte historique et artistique
L’artiste : Valentin de Boulogne
Jean Valentin (1591-1632), appelé Valentin de Boulogne, est l’un des plus grands peintres caravagistes français du XVIIᵉ siècle. Toute sa carrière se déroule à Rome, où il côtoie et s’inspire des œuvres de Caravage et de ses disciples directs comme Bartolomeo Manfredi et Cecco del Caravaggio. Il est réputé pour son usage dramatique de la lumière, son naturalisme et sa représentation intense des figures humaines.
Le caravagisme se caractérise par un clair-obscur puissant, un réalisme des visages et des corps, et des scènes souvent proches de la vie réelle, peintes « dal naturale » (d’après des modèles vivants).
Sujet iconographique : Judith, héroïne biblique
L’histoire de Judith provient du Livre de Judith (Ancien Testament) : une veuve juive qui libère sa cité de Béthulie en séduisant puis en décapitant le général assyrien Holopherne. L’iconographie de Judith fut un thème majeur dans la peinture baroque, souvent exploité pour explorer des notions complexes de vertu, de ruse, de foi et de justice divine.
Dans la version de Valentin, l’artiste ne représente pas l’acte violent de la décapitation, mais plutôt la figure de Judith après son geste, en héroïne victorieuse et solennelle.
Description formelle de l’œuvre
Composition
Judith se présente en portrait à mi-hauteur, isolée sur un fond sombre sans paysage ni contexte architectural. Cette absence d’environnement visuel focalise toute l’attention sur la figure elle-même, renforçant son impact dramatique.
Traitement du personnage : La héroïne est peinte comme une « matrone romaine », vêtue d’un riche costume baroque, aux étoffes lourdes et volumineuses qui attrapent la lumière.
Cadrage serré : Le tableau est resserré autour de la figure, créant une impression de monumentalité malgré la taille modeste.
Lumière et couleur
La lumière est dirigée sur la figure, éclairant la peau et les tissus, tout en laissant le fond dans une ombre profonde un effet typique du ténébrisme caravagiste, mais moins contrasté que chez Caravage lui-même.
Les couleurs, notamment celles des étoffes et des bijoux, sont rendues avec soin : la robe richement teinte attire le regard, tandis que la lumière subtilement dorée magnifie les textures et évoque la richesse matérielle de la scène.
Expression et posture
Regard et geste : Judith regarde ouvertement le spectateur, le visage empreint d’une grave détermination, presque mélancolique, ce qui souligne à la fois son rôle héroïque et le poids moral de son acte.
Elle appuie sa main sur l’épée (le cimeterre de Holopherne) et parfois, selon certaines lectures, montre le ciel de la main opposée, rappelant que son geste est guidé par la volonté divine.
Interprétation et portée
Une héroïne religieuse et morale
Valentin choisit de figurer Judith triomphante plutôt que dans l’horreur du geste : elle n’est pas représentée au moment de la décapitation sanglante, mais dans sa postérité spirituelle et morale.
Justice divine : Dans cette interprétation, Judith devient une allégorie de la justice divine son acte est vu non comme un assassinat gratuit, mais comme une libération, rendue légitime par la foi et l’intervention de Dieu.
Femme forte : Cette représentation s’inscrit dans un débat baroque plus large autour de la place des femmes héroïques dans la Bible et dans l’art, où la force, la vertu et la détermination féminines sont mises en avant.
Modernité du traitement visuel
Valentin adopte une vision intimiste et dramatique, proche du spectateur. Sa Judith n’est pas une figure éloignée elle est tangible, humaine, peinte « dal naturale » mais elle conserve une aura de dignité solennelle qui la distingue des simples portraits.
Conclusion
Judith de Valentin de Boulogne est bien plus qu’un simple tableau narratif : c’est une étude complexe du rôle moral et spirituel de l’héroïne biblique, incarnée avec une puissance visuelle et psychologique remarquable. À travers la composition serrée, le jeu subtil de lumière, et le regard grave de Judith, l’artiste transforme un épisode dramatique en une méditation sur la foi, la justice et la condition humaine.
Informations techniques (rappel)
Titre : Judith
Artiste : Jean Valentin, dit Valentin de Boulogne
Date : vers 1625
Technique : huile sur toile
Dimensions : 97 × 74 cm
Conservation : Musée des Augustins, Toulouse
Voici une analyse comparative approfondie qui met en regard la Judith de Valentin de Boulogne avec des représentations célèbres du même sujet par Caravage et Artemisia Gentileschi deux pivots du baroque :
Caravage – Judith décapitant Holopherne (vers 1598-1602)
Moment choisi
Caravage choisit de représenter le geste même de la décapitation, au moment précis où Judith tranche la gorge d’Holopherne, avec sa servante Abra à ses côtés. L’action est figée au centre de la toile, dans un moment brutal et viscéral.
Style et intention
Clair-obscur dramatique : Caravage utilise un contraste de lumière très marqué pour isoler les figures contre un fond sombre, renforçant l’intensité dramatique et la tension du geste.
Naturaliste cru : les corps, les expressions et le sang jaillissant sont rendus avec réalisme presque documentaire, sans idéalisation.
Psychologie des personnages : Judith peut être vue comme hésitante, presque repoussée par l’acte, tandis que la servante est une figure vieillie et secondaire, créant une tension entre action et répulsion.
Importance
C’est l’une des premières représentations baroques où le récit biblique devient une scène de violence figée d’une manière presque cinématographique, influençant toute une génération d’artistes.
Artemisia Gentileschi – Judith décapitant Holopherne (Naples, 1612-13 & Florence, vers 1620)
Vision active et coopérative
Artemisia peint plusieurs versions de la scène, mais contrairement à Caravage la composition met l’accent sur la force et la détermination des deux femmes : Judith et sa servante Abra sont liées dans l’effort physique qui leur permet de maîtriser Holopherne.
Différences clés avec Caravage
Participation égale de la servante : Artemisia ne relègue pas la servante à un rôle passif ; elle retient activement le général pour permettre la décapitation.
Présence énergétique : les corps des femmes appuient physiquement, montrant la lutte et l’effort plutôt qu’un simple geste arrêté.
Force féminine affirmée : la Judith de Gentileschi apparaît souvent plus forte et déterminée que dans la version de Caravage, ce qui a été interprété comme une expression de puissance féminine très rare à l’époque.
Contexte personnel
Certains critiques associent la violence expressive de son traitement de Judith à l’expérience personnelle d’Artemisia (notamment un viol et un procès public alors qu’elle était jeune), qui aurait influencé son engagement profond avec le thème de la justice et de la résistance féminine.
Valentin de Boulogne – Judith (vers 1625)
Moment choisi
À la différence de Caravage et de Gentileschi, Valentin ne montre pas l’instant de la décapitation. Il choisit un portrait solennel de Judith après l’action, victorieuse mais réfléchie, plutôt que la scène violente elle-même.
Sens et ton
Concentration sur la figure : l’absence d’environnement narratif met l’accent sur la personnalité, la gravité morale et la posture intérieure de Judith.
Dramaturgie retenue : on sent l’influence caravagesque dans le clair-obscur, mais la violence explicite est remplacée par une sérieuse dignité qui souligne la vertu plutôt que le combat.
CES PHOTOS NE SONT PAS À VENDRE ET NE PEUVENT PAS ÊTRE REPRODUITES, MODIFIÉES, REDIFFUSÉES, EXPLOITÉES COMMERCIALEMENT OU RÉUTILISÉES DE QUELQUE MANIÈRE QUE CE SOIT.
UNIQUEMENT POUR LE PLAISIR DES YEUX.
Ganymede abducted by Zeus in the form of an Eagle. Gold flask with reposse decoration. Sassanian, 5th Century AD. Vienna, Austria. Copyright 2016, James A. Glazier.
Santo Niño
18th Century
Ivory, Wood and Silver
with base: H:17” x L:9” x W:4 1/2” (43 cm x 23 cm x 11 cm)
without base: H:12” x L:5” x W:3 1/2” (30 cm x 13 cm x 9 cm)
Opening bid: P 200,000
Provenance:
Property of a distinguished Manila gentleman
Purchased in Vigan, Ilocos Sur.
Lot 16 of the Leon Gallery / Asian Cultural Council auction on 20 February 2016. For more details, please go to www.leon-gallery.com
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 “orange-ish” hue is 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 grottos 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
-Murvyn Rodriguez Callo
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
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
Hakone - voyage nocturne à travers la montagne
L'étape d'Hakone était réputé difficile à l'époque avec des chemins très escarpés et dangereux
Oeuvre d'Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
gravure sur bois polychrome
Estampe n°11 de la série des 53 étapes du Tokaido
(Tokaido gojusan zue)
Le Tokaido est la route, reliant la capitale du shōgun, Edo, à la capitale impériale, Kyoto, c'est l'axe principal du Japon de l'époque. C'est également la plus importante des « Cinq Routes», les cinq artères majeures du Japon (Gokaidō), créées ou développées pendant l'ère Edo pour améliorer le contrôle du pouvoir central sur l'ensemble du pays. Wikipedia
1855
tate-e Tokaido (il existe plusieurs éditions du Tokaido, les numéros des étapes peuvent changer d'un ouvrage à l'autre)
Hiroshige hitsu
www.hiroshige.org.uk/hiroshige/tokaido_tate-e/tokaido_tat...
Oeuvre de la collection du musée d'art oriental de Venise, présentée dans l'exposition Hiroshige. De Edo à Kyoto vues célèbres du Japon, au palais Grimani du 20 septembre 2014 au 15 janvier 2015
Cette exposition très bien scénographiée dans les salles du palazzo Grimani permet de voir de nombreuses oeuvres (estampes) de Hiroshige appartenant aux collections du musée d'art oriental de Venise. Ce musée, dont le fond japonais est très riche, se trouve hébergé depuis de nombreuses années dans des locaux trop exigus au 3ème étage du palais Ca' Pesaro, le musée d'art moderne de Venise. Sa réinstallation dans un palais plus vaste a été sans cesse repoussée, ce qui l'oblige à exposer ses collections dans d'autres musées.
Album sur le musée d'art oriental (photos dalbera)
An exhibition piece de gozne ivory ‘San Miguel Arkanghel’ figure with gold and silver accoutrements
ESTIMATE: PHP 1,500,000 - 1,800,000
Early 19th century
Manila
Ivory head, hands, legs; gold wings, helmet, shield, and closed-toe boots; silver sword; lightwood San Miguel’s mannequin body, devil figure, and base; polychrome and gesso
Without stand: 33 x 18 x 14 cm (13 x 7 x 5 1/2 in)
With stand: 42 x 18.5 x 14.5 cm (16 1/2 x 7 1/4 x 5 3/4 in)
Literature:
Regalado Trota Jose, Images of Faith: Religious Ivory Carvings from the Philippines, 1990, p. 92
Exhibition:
"Images of Faith: Religious Ivory Carvings from the Philippines," 1990, USC Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena
Provenance:
Collection of Johnny Ramirez, Manila
San Miguel Arkanghel, or St. Michael the Archangel, is most popularly depicted in Christian art as the armored angel with sword and shield, trampling Satan beneath his feet. This exquisite santo stands out for its exceptional craftsmanship, high-quality materials, notable former owner, and feature in a book published over 30 years ago. Its well-carved, well-preserved ivory head, arms, and legs are mounted on a de gozne or mannequin body. The detailed chasing and repoussé work in precious gold and silver are evident in the helmet—resembling a cuirass—along with the scaled-down sword with its wavy blade and crossguard, the buckler shield, closed-toe boots, and a pair of wings. San Miguel’s compassionate expression and overall pale, neutral tones contrast beautifully with the bemused, mischievous look of the dark-painted devil, emphasizing the universal theme of Good over Evil—a hopeful reminder that goodness always triumphs.
This santo was one of Johnny Ramirez’s most prized acquisitions and had always had a special place on top of an exquisite kamagong chest of drawers in the sitting room of his luxurious penthouse condominium unit in the metropolis. He lent this santo to the Pacific Asia Museum for their second major exhibition on religious ivories in 1990, and it appeared in the accompanying exhibition catalog.
Lot 710 of the Salcedo Auctions online and live auction on 27 September 2025. For more information and to place an online bid, please go to salcedoauctions.com.
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)
Remarkable gold elliptical funeral diadems, leaves, wheels, cups, earrings, pendants and pins from Shaft Grave III, "Grave of the Women", Grave Circle A, Mycenae. 1600-1500 BC.
National Archaeological Museum, Athens.
Once part of a large cemetery outside the acropolis walls, Grave Circle A was discovered within the Mycenaean citadel by Heinrich Schliemann in 1876 under the supervision of the Greek Ephor of Antiquities Panagiotis Stamatakis.
The tombs in Grave Circle A contained a total of nineteen burials: nine males, eight females and two infants. With the exception of Grave II, which contained a single burial, all of the other graves contained between two and five inhumations.
The amazing wealth of the grave gifts reveals both the high social rank and the martial spirit of the deceased: gold jewelry and vases, a large number of decorated swords and other bronze objects, and artefacts made of imported materials, such as amber, lapis lazuli, faience and ostrich eggs. All of these, together with a small but characteristic group of pottery vessels, confirm Mycenae's importance during this period, and justify Homer's designation of Mycenae as 'rich in gold.'
Shaft Grave III, the so-called "Grave of the Women," contained three female and two infant interments. The women were literally covered in gold jewelry and wore massive gold diadems, while the infants were overlaid with gold foil. A great number of gold roundels and other gold cut-out foils in various shapes with repousse decoration were initially embroidered onto, either the deceased's clothes, or their shrouds. The jewelry included large silver and bronze pins with rock crystal heads or with gold ornaments and sheething, a necklace of amber beads, gold earrings, and gold seals engraved with hunting or dueling scenes. Miniature gold vessels, faience vessels and gold scales were also found.
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)
Portait painted of Julian Assange wikileaks at the Abode of Chaos
Wall-paint by Thomas Foucher @ the Abode of Chaos
Tribute #1 to Julian Assange
(Creative Commons Paternity) original version free on Flickr 2592 x 3872
For those who have just arrived on Planet Earth, let me remind you that what we are experiencing since last Sunday evening is the “Pearl Harbor of Global Democracy” according to Hilary Clinton and the “9/11 of American Diplomacy” according to Barak Obama and his advisors. After 400,000 secret documents on the operating methods of the US army in Iraq, Assange has broken the sound barrier since Sunday with 250,000 diplomatic cables that concern 179 countries! Le Monde, Der Spiegel, El País, the Guardian and the New York Times… according to the latter, more than 1,200 journalists are picking their way through roughly half a billion words of extremely contemporary cables, the most recent of which dates from March 2010. For historians who normally have to wait 50 years before getting access to such material, this is a dream come true. In this case the diplomatic cables are not much older than 7 months. Their scope is colossal. Hence the US State Department’s cry of “murder”…
My dear little wolves and she-wolves, in truth, I tell you, Sunday night tens of thousands of writers put an end to their lives … Imagine you were a Sci-Fi or Anticipation writer, director of Sci-Fi – Fantasy Collection at Pocket, Denoël or Rivages.
According to Laurent COURAU, the mythical founder of the Spirale who is postponing his suicide, “Assange and Wikileaks have definitively relegated fiction to beneath reality and we are seeing a veritable incarnation of the cyber-punk imagination right now in this early 21st century”.
As I see it, Julian Assange is the natural son of Lorenz (Edward Norton), he is quite simply the “Black Swan” of the beginning of this century… he is breaking the seals one by one in the agora of the ethers that is Internet.
Last precaution: Julian Assange has placed a small encrypted file entitled Insurance History on the Swedish Server of Pirate Bay (specialist in the illegal download of music and film music). On Twitter, he recommends that his followers download the file and await his instructions…
thierry Ehrmann, www.ehrmann.org/en/propaganda.html
Abode Of Chaos / Demeure du Chaos 2010
Mur peint par Thomas Foucher @ la Demeure du Chaos
Hommage numéro 1 à Julian Assange . Wikileaks
Hommage numéro 2 à Julian Assange . Wikileaks
Hommage numéro 3 à Julian Assange . Wikileaks
Peinture: Thomas Foucher photo Abode of Chaos (creative communs)
©2010 www.AbodeofChaos.org
courtesy of Organ Museum
Pour ceux qui arriveraient sur la planère Terre, je leur rappelle que, ce que nous vivons depuis dimanche soir, est le « Pearl Harbor de la Diplomatie mondiale » cqfd Hillary Clinton et selon Obama et ses conseillers le « 11 septembre de la diplomatie américaine ». Après 400 000 documents confidentiels, relatifs au mode opératoire de l’armée américaine en Irak, il passe le mur du son avec depuis dimanche soir, 250 000 dépêches diplomatiques qui frappent plus de 179 pays ! Le Monde, Der Spiegel, El PAis, the Guardian et New York Times. Selon ce dernier, plus de 1 200 journalistes sont jour et nuit sur une base de données de près d’un demi milliard de mots… sur des dépêches diplomatiques ultra-récentes donts les dernières datent de mars 2010. C’est le rêve de l’historien qui doit normalement patienter jusqu’à 50 ans pour pouvoir accéder à de tels trésors. Ici les dépêches diplomatiques ont à peine plus de 7 mois. Tout y passe. D’où le département d’état américain qui hurle à l’assassin…
Mes p’tits loups, mes p’tites louves, en vérité, je vous le dis, dimanche soir des dizaines de milliers d’écrivains se sont donnés la mort… Imaginez une seconde que vous soyiez écrivain de SF ou d’Anticipation, directeur de Collection SF – Fantasy chez Pocket, Denoël ou Rivages.
Selon Laurent COURAU, fondateur mythique de la Spirale qui repousse son suicide, il déclare : « Assange et Wikileaks relèguent définitivement la fiction loin derrière la réalité et l’on assiste à la véritable incarnation de l’imaginaire cyber-punk dans ce début de XXIème siècle ».
A mes yeux, Julian Assange est le fils naturel de Lorenz (Edward Norton), il est tout simplement le « Cygne Noir » du début de ce siècle, il brise les sceaux un par un dans l’agora des éthers qu’est l’Internet.
Avec la globalisation d’Internet, il faut s’attendre, selon mon vieux maître Paul Virillio à un accident général, un accident jamais vu, aussi étonnant que le temps mondial, ce temps jamais vu. Un accident général qui serait un peu ce qu’Epicure appelait « l’accident des accidents ».
Ce jour fut le 28 novembre 2010 où Internet est devenu l’incarnation de l’information à l’état brut, c’est aussi le jour où les citoyens du village “Glocal” de Mc Lhuan ont eu à leurs dispositions l’histoire en temps réel, apanage jusqu’à présent des puissants. C’est aussi la révélation de la phrase de Mathieu(x26) qui prends son plein sens “car il n’y a rien de caché qui ne doit être découvert ni de secret qui ne doivent être connu” …(page 183 Opus III Abode of Chaos Spirit)
Ultime précaution : Julian Assange a placé sur le serveur suédois de Pirate Bay (spécialisé dans les téléchargements illicites de musique et de films), un petit fichier crypté mystérieux, baptisé »Assurance historique ». Sur Twitter, il recommande à ses partisans de le télécharger et d’attendre les instructions.
thierry Ehrmann www.ehrmann.org/propaganda.html
DemeureduChaos.org
thierry Ehrmann blog.ehrmann.org/
The Abode of Chaos from Above,/La Demeure du Chaos vue du ciel:
www.flickr.com/photos/home_of_chaos/sets/72157624460145909/
Preview 2011 Borderline Biennial at the Abode of Chaos adult only version EN/FR
Averse à Ohashi (« le grand pont »)
Oeuvre d'Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
gravure sur bois polychrome
Estampe n°52 de la série des 100 vues d'Edo
(Meisho Edo hyakkei)
1856-1858
Hiroshige hitsu
Oeuvre de la collection du musée d'art oriental de Venise, présentée dans l'exposition Hiroshige. De Edo à Kyoto vues célèbres du Japon, au palais Grimani du 20 septembre 2014 au 15 janvier 2015
www.palazzogrimani.org/mostre-ed-eventi/hiroshige/
Cette exposition très bien scénographiée dans les salles du palazzo Grimani permet de voir de nombreuses oeuvres (estampes) de Hiroshige appartenant aux collections du musée d'art oriental de Venise. Ce musée, dont le fond japonais est très riche, se trouve hébergé depuis de nombreuses années dans des locaux trop exigus au 3ème étage du palais Ca' Pesaro, le musée d'art moderne de Venise. Sa réinstallation dans un palais plus vaste a été sans cesse repoussée, ce qui l'oblige à exposer ses collections dans d'autres musées.
Album sur le musée d'art oriental (photos dalbera)
Since the antique shop was closed for Ascension Day—a major public holiday in Bruges marked by church services and processions, especially the veneration of the Holy Blood relic—I was left to admire this exquisite tableau from the street. The central object in the display is a beautifully preserved example of European tin-glazed earthenware, framed by other compelling artifacts.
🔍 Primary Object: Tin-Glazed Earthenware Plaque (Center)
This ceramic plaque is a striking example of 18th-century faience or delftware, likely produced in northern France (Rouen, Nevers, Lille), the Southern Netherlands, or even by Dutch Delft potters catering to francophone markets.
Decoration: A cobalt blue scene of three birds perched on a garland suspended above a basket of gourds or flowers, all rendered in vigorous brushstrokes. The imagery is set within a cartouche-shaped frame decorated in vibrant antimony yellow and edged with baroque scrolls and shell motifs.
Style & Iconography: The scalloped rim and shell ornaments evoke late Baroque and Rococo aesthetics (ca. 1725–1780). The birds may symbolize harmony or courtship, while the central basket suggests seasonal abundance or rustic festivity.
Technique: Hand-painted cobalt on an opaque white tin glaze, with yellow achieved through iron- or antimony-based pigments. The form is molded, not thrown, reflecting the complexity of French and Flemish faience production.
Nearby Objects of Interest:
Left: A repoussé gilded metal plaque, likely devotional, featuring a radiant female figure—possibly an allegorical representation of Faith or the Virgin Mary. 19th century.
Right: A utilitarian salt-glazed stoneware jar with loop handles—probably German (Westerwald) or Dutch, 18th–19th century. Its soft sheen and pitted surface contrast nicely with the delicate faience.
Foreground Right: A small brown-glazed bottle with incised details—possibly a miniature Bellarmine, or a piece of 19th-century English or German stoneware.
🎯 Conclusion:
This charming composition captures the breadth of European ceramic traditions—from the decorative exuberance of Rococo faience to the earthy utility of stoneware. That this was visible only through the window on a solemn Bruges feast day made it all the more dreamlike: an accidental still life, rich with material history and aesthetic contradiction.
This text is a collaboration with Chat GPT.
Every city needs a giant allegorical statue of itself, and this is Portland's.
Situated at 1120 SW 5th Ave, the statue stands 36 feet (11m) tall and is the second-largest copper repoussé (beaten copper supported by an interior skeleton) statue in the United States after the Statue of Liberty.
Numerous bronze plates decorated with repoussé were found in the Roman countryside in 1872. Augusto Castellani recognised they were relevant to the decoration of the wooden bands of a tensa, a processional chariot for the transport of gods. An additional restoration was carried out with the inclusion of the missing wooden parts.
This was possibly a private wagon designed to transport wealthy Etruscan citizens. The decoration, ordered in six overlapping bands, refers to episodes from the life of Achilles, from his childhood (with scenes of the bath in the Styx, the education of Chiron, his life in Skyros) to adulthood (episodes of the Trojan cycle).
Etruscan
6th century BCE
Musei Capitolini, Rome
Rhyton with auroch bull protome and repousse floral designs. Seleucid (Hellenistic) 2nd Century BC, Gilded silver. From the Toledo Art Museum. Special Exhibit, Animal-Shaped Vessels from the Ancient World: Feasting with Gods, Heroes and Kings. Harvard Art Museum. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Copyright 2018, James A. Glazier.
...En 1697, le traité de Ryswick restitue la Lorraine au duc Léopold, empereur du Saint-Empire, mais impose que Bitche soit rasée.
Chose faite en 1698.
Une enceinte de palissades se dressera progressivement jusqu'en 1788, avec 4 barrières de passage.
En 1844, le général Schneider, originaire de la région, ancien ministre de la guerre (1839-1840) fait réaliser des fortifications terminées en 1852.
Du fait du développement de la population, les portes sont repoussées vers l'extérieur par rapport à l'emplacement des anciennes.
Sauf la porte de Strasbourg, toujours au même endroit.
A partir de 1872, les portes seront démolies, sauf celle-ci, la seule encore en place mais que la route aujourd'hui contourne.
www.bitscherland.fr/Canton-de-Bitche/Bitche/fortification...
Cumdach (book shrine) of the Cathach, 1062–94 and late 14th century with later additions and repairs, bronze, gilt silver, wood, crystal, and glass, 19 x 25 x 5.25 cm (National Museum of Ireland)
1909
Eric Otto Woldemar Ehrström
Repoussé copper door panel
Main doors
National Museum of Finland (1916)
Eric Otto Woldemar Ehrström ( February 5, 1881, Helsinki - October 11, 1934, Helsinki) was a Finnish art collector and ornamental artist specializing in metal enamelling . He also designed jewelry and glassware and practiced printmaking.
Ehrströn left high school and went on to study at the Finnish Art Association's drawing school in 1899. He was a student of Akseli Gallen-Kallela in Ruovesi, Kalela, between 1899-1900 and studied forging and metal repoussé and chasing in Paris from 1901 to 1902 and 1908. In Paris, he became acquainted with his wife Olga Gummer . She also had her own exhibition show at the Salon d'Automne in Paris.
Ehrström designed and manufactured a variety of small metal objects such as ashtrays, jars, cups, vases and various boxes using copper, brass, bronze or tin.
He worked on metalwork in several buildings, such as the Hvitträski artist's villa and the Suur-Merijoki mansion in Kannas Karelia.
Ehrström also designed jewelery, and in 1918 he designed the crown of the King of Finland, as well as the Finnish coat of arms and the seals of the authorities. In 1927 Ehrström lost his right hand in an accident, after which his wife Olga Gummerus-Ehrström, who himself was a versatile and talented artist, helped her husband in this work.
Ehrström was a teacher of metal sculpture and interior design at the Art Institute's Industrial School 1904-1905 and 1912-1919. In 1924 he wrote a handbook for the arts industry Konsthantverk: Teknisk rådgivare (published in Finnish as Art: Technical Guide ) as a textbook for students and craftsmen in craft schools.
In 1919 Ehrström, together with sculptor Emil Wikström , Gösta Serlachius, and Paavo Tynelli, together with Taidetakomo Taito, later founded Oy Taito Ab, with Ehrström as the head of the Department of Art and Design.
Like to see the pictures as LARGE as your screen? Just click on this Slideshow : www.flickr.com/photos/reurinkjan/sets/72157630983897338/s...
The street of loud hammering sounds of coppersmiths beating copper and brass. This beautiful copper street is located in the capital of Rushar county who bears the same name. Here they are making from big to small Temple roof ornaments and all the buddhists deities in copper, brass, and or bronze.
Repoussée d'une année, cette sixième édition de Monumenta confie la majestueuse nef du Grand Palais à un couple d'artistes d'origine russe, Ilya et Emilia Kabakov. Leur Étrange cité matérialise une forme d'utopie qui, après les désastres du XXe siècle, n'existerait que dans l'art. La Coupole, cette énorme structure en vitrail de seize mètres de haut, adopte une forme de coupole Art Nouveau renversée sur le côté, et fait écho à la verrière dentelée du Grand Palais. Un millier de tubes fluorescents changent de couleur lentement au rythme de la musique. C'est un véritable choc visuel, évoquant un immense radar cosmique, que l'on aperçoit après avoir contourné l'enceinte de la « ville », premier élément que le visiteur voit avant de pénétrer par une porte en ruines dans la cité elle-même, sorte de médina d'une blancheur céleste.
www.exponaute.com/magazine/2014/05/07/monumenta-visite-gu...
Cumdach (book shrine) of the Cathach, 1062–94 and late 14th century with later additions and repairs, bronze, gilt silver, wood, crystal, and glass, 19 x 25 x 5.25 cm (National Museum of Ireland)
Cumdach (book shrine) of the Cathach, 1062–94 and late 14th century with later additions and repairs, bronze, gilt silver, wood, crystal, and glass, 19 x 25 x 5.25 cm (National Museum of Ireland)
Cavendish Mews is a smart set of flats in Mayfair where flapper and modern woman, the Honourable Lettice Chetwynd has set up home after coming of age and gaining her allowance. To supplement her already generous allowance, and to break away from dependence upon her family, Lettice has established herself as a society interior designer, so her flat is decorated with a mixture of elegant antique Georgian pieces and modern Art Deco furnishings, using it as a showroom for what she can offer to her well heeled clients.
Today we are still in Mayfair, and only a short distance from Cavendish Mews, out the front of an imposing Palladian style mansion on the grand thoroughfare of Park Lane, opposite Hyde Park. Lettice gulps as she looks up at the cascading layer cake of columns, balustrades, balconies and rows of windows, most shaded from the afternoon sun by striped awnings. At one window not covered by an awning, a maid in her afternoon uniform of black moiré with a lace cap, cuffs and apron gazes out over the street below. Lettice catches her eye and smiles meekly at her, but the maid does not return it, looking both quizzically and critically at her standing on the steps leading up to the front door of the palatial residence, before retreating into the shadows within. Lettice’s heart begins to flutter. For nearly a year Lettice has been patiently awaiting the return of her beau, Selwyn Spencely, son of the Duke of Walmsford, after being sent to Durban by his mother, the Duchess of Walmsford, Lady Zinnia in an effort to destroy their relationship which she wants to end so that she can marry Selwyn off to his cousin, Pamela Fox-Chavers. Now Lettice has been invited to tea by Lady Zinnia, and it is the Park Lane mansion belonging to the Duke and Duchess of Walmsford that Lettice now stands before. Gulping again, she depresses the button next to the enormous white painted double front doors with black painted knockers. Deep within she can hear a bell ring, announcing her arrival. A tall and imperious looking bewigged footman in splendid Eighteenth Century style livery answers the door.
“The Honourable Lettice Chetwynd to see Her Grace.” Lettice says firmly, determined not to betray her nerves at being here.
“Is Her Grace expecting you, Miss Chetwynd?” and the footman asks, and when she affirms that she is, he steps aside, ushering her from the golden late afternoon light outside into the cool darkened marble hallway within.
Lettice feels that even the sound of her shallow breaths echo noisily off the marble of the lofty entrance hall as she enters it. The grand space is illuminated from skylights in a dome three storeys above, by a grand electrified crystal chandeliers hanging from vaulted ceilings and by sconces in the ornately carved columns about her. The footman politely asks her to wait whilst he strides silently up the sweeping carpeted spiral staircase with shining ostentatious silver banisters to the upper floors of the mansion. Lettice takes a seat in an elegant, gilded chair. The wine coloured velvet upholstery looks soft and comfortable, but Lettice quickly discovers that it is anything but that, feeling the hard horsehair beneath her as it forces her to sit up more straightly in her seat. “How very Lady Zinnia.” Lettice remarks bitterly as she waits. Somewhere, deep within the bowels of the house, behind one or more sets of tightly closed doors, the muffled sound of a clock chiming four o’clock makes its presence known. Lettice shivers, sighs and hopes that Lady Zinnia will not keep her waiting too long as part of a cruel joke of her own making. A short while later, the footman returns.
“Her Grace will see you now, Miss Chetwynd. Please follow me to the Cream Drawing Room.”
He leads her up the grand staircase to the second floor and then takes her through a suite of rooms with lofty, vaunted ceilings, polished parquet floors and walls lined with gilded columns. Each room is filled with gilt chairs and sofas upholstered in sumptuous satins and rich velvets, no doubt all as uncomfortable as the salon chair she has recently vacated. The walls of the chambers are hung with paintings of past generations of the Dukes of Walmsford and their families, all of them peering at Lettice with imperious gazes, silently judging her as an outsider by their dark, glazed and cold stares.
After what feels like an age to Lettice, they finally they stop before two rich mahogany doors inset with brightly polished brass. The footman knocks loudly upon the door three times.
“Miss Chetwynd, Your Grace.” the liveried footman announces as he turns the door handles, opens the doors and steps into the grand Cream Drawing Room with Lettice in his wake.
Lettice is awe struck for a moment by the room, which is even grander and more luxuriously appointed than those state rooms and apartments she has walked through thus far. Whether named for the furnishings, or whether the salon was decorated after being given its name, the White Drawing Room is decorated with white wallpaper featuring a very fine white Regency stripe, and the lofty space is full of sofas, chaises and chairs all upholstered in white or cram fabrics. Lettice suspects the pared back wallpaper design has been chosen deliberately, so as not to distract from the many gilt framed paintings hanging on them, not to draw attention away from any of the other fine pieces about the apartment. The furnishings are mostly Regency and show off the wealth of the former Dukes of Walmsford with their ornate gilding on chair arms and backs and table legs. Palladian console tables with marble surfaces featuring caryatids* covered in gold jostle for space with ornate ormolu** decorated Empire display cabinets and pedestals held aloft by swans with long necks. Across every surface and on each shelf in the cabinets stand pieces of porcelain from the Eighteenth Century, reflecting the current Duchess of Walmsford’s taste for mostly French ornaments. Vases, bowls, urns, ginger jars and figurines made by Veuve Perrin***, Limoges**** and Chelsea***** grace French polished mahogany and polished grey marble, each item carefully placed to show it off to its very best, whilst the cabinets burst with full dinner services of Sèrves***** covered in floral designs. The salon is flooded with light from the full length windows that overlook Park Lane, the ample sunlight, even on an autumnal London day creating additional brilliance, and the space is filled with the cloying scent of hothouse roses with cascade in ornate arrangements from some of the Duchess’ more impressive vases. The whole arrangement is designed to impress and intimidate visitors, and it achieves this with Lettice as she enters the room, mustering as much courage as she can to walk like the daughter of a viscount, yet feeling a sham amongst such excessive splendour, which even the King and Queen might well be jealous of.
And there, perching daintily on a gold and cream Regency stripe sofa adorned with glittering ormolu next to the crackling fire, sits the current Duchess of Walmsford herself, Lady Zinnia. Arrayed in a rose pink satin frock decorated with ornamental silk flowers, which like everything else around her oozes taste, wealth and status, Lady Zinnia still has the unbreakable steely hardness that sends a shiver down Lettice’s spine as she approaches her. Whilst the pale shade of her frock may not soften her look, it does successfully highlight her flawless pale skin. Several strands of perfect creamy white pearls cascade down the front of her outfit, whilst gold and large pearl droplets hang effortlessly from her lobes. Clusters of diamonds wink amongst her wavy tresses which are all deep blue black, save for the one signature streak of white shooting from her temple and disappearing like a silver trail amongst her darker waves.
“Your Grace.” Lettice utters, dropping an elegant and low curtsey before the Duchess.
Lady Zinnia’s pale white face with her high cheekbones and joyless calculating dark eyes appraise Lettice coldly as Lettice rises from the polished marquetry floor littered with expensive silk Chinese rugs. She purses her thin lips.
“Miss Chetwynd. Right on time.” Lady Zinna remarks as she glances away from Lettice dismissively to the ornate French Rococo clock adorned with porcelain roses sitting in the centre of the mantle. Her eyes dart back to Lettice who now stands before her hostess. “Please, do take a seat.” She indicates with a sweeping movement of her hand which artfully shows off a pearl and winking diamond bracelet at her wrist, to a chair matching the sofa on which she perches which is also drawn up to the fire opposite her.
Lettice does as she is bid, and lowers herself gingerly onto the edge of the walnut chair, feeling the smooth, cool metallic surface of the ormolu on the arms beneath her hands as she does. Glancing down she notices that the arms of both her chair and Lady Zinnia’s sofa are supported by gilded sphinxes. Lettice remembers the tutor who was hired at great expense by her father when she was a child to teach her the classics and smiles bitterly as she recalls him teaching her that the sphinx, with its head of a woman, haunches of a lion and wings of a bird is a treacherous and merciless being.
“Is something amusing, Miss Chetwynd?” Lady Zinnia asks, her clipped voice slicing the perfumed air between them.
“No, Your Grace.” Lettice replies. “I was just thinking, as I look around, how you have set this room in such a way that noting is left to chance. Everything is planned and placed with purpose.”
“How very adroit of you, Miss Chetwynd.” the Duchess replies. “But of course, as an interior designer of some moderate success, I should expect nothing less. You have a keen eye.”
“Thank you, Your Grace.” Lettice replies stiffly, allowing the slight cast by the titled woman to go unremarked upon. However as Lettice sits there, she now knows that this is to be tone of their meeting, and she silently seethes that even in defeat, Lady Zinnia will not be gracious.
“Now, knowing that in spite of the fact that you come from obscure and unremarkable aristocratic lineage,” Lady Zinnia remarks, eliciting a gasp of outrage from Lettice, much to her delight. “That your parents would have taught you the importance of timeliness,”
“Which they have.” Lettuce defends hotly.
“Admirably so, Miss Chetwynd. So, I have already ordered tea, coffee and cake for us.” Lady Zinnia indicates to the galleried gold rectangular Rococo tea table which stands between them, like a fortress, upon which sits a silver tea service and a cake plate on which stands a splendid looking Victoria sponge cake dusted with sugar and oozing jam and cream.
The Duchess takes up a small silver bell from the side table to her right and gives it two definite rings. The tinkle of the bell, high pitched and remarkably loud for such a dainty bell, pierces the charged, rose scented air between them. Immediately two more footmen in the Duke of Walmsford’s livery, different to the one who showed her upstairs, sweep through the White Drawing Room’s doors and stride across the room. They bow respectfully to Lady Zinnia and then turn in unison and nod their heads in acknowledgement of Lettice, before stopping between the two women, standing side by side in front of the tea table: hands behind their backs and heads lifted slightly, starting straight ahead impassively in complete silence and unmoving, as if they were mechanical and their mechanisms had wound down.
“Tea or coffee, Miss Chetwynd?” lady Zinnia asks.
“Tea, I think, Your Grace.” she replies.
One footman immediately springs to life, as if wound up again, and picks up the stylish silver teapot from the table with his white glove clad hand and pours tea into a dainty floral and gilt edged French porcelain teacup. The other footman takes up the cup and makes the few steps between his position and Lettice, and places the cup and saucer on the low occasional table to the right of her chair. Meanwhile the other footman has poured tea for the Duchess, which is then delivered to her in the same fashion as the tea was delivered to Lettice by the same footman.
“That’s a beautiful teapot, if I may say so, Your Grace.” Lettice admits begrudgingly.
“You may, Miss Chetwynd.” Lady Zinnia replies politely. “The set is Georg Jensen********. I bought it just before the war.”
The footman who had poured the tea starts slicing the Victoria sponge with a silver knife, whilst the other footman removes the teapot and coffee pot from the small silver tray on which they stand. He then picks up the tray which still holds a dainty milk jug and a sugar basket containing sugar lumps and a pair of silver sugar nips*********.
“You’ll forgive me, but I’ve forgotten how you took your tea when we had dinner at the Savoy*********, Miss Chetwynd.”
The footman walks over to Lettice, bows slight with a stiff back and holds out the tray to Lettice, in his glove clad hands, allowing her to add her own milk and sugar to suit her own tastes to her beverage.
Lettice shudders as she remembers the dinner at the Savoy that Selwyn had organised with her. He had intended it to be a romantic evening for he and Lettice in honour of his birthday. However, when Lettice arrived in the main dining room, she was confronted not with the smiling face of her beau, but the haughty and cruel spectre of Lady Zinnia. It was there that Lettice learned about the pact Lady Zinnia had made with her son before packing him off to Durban for a year.
“That’s because I didn’t have tea with you that evening, Your Grace.” Lettice replies awkwardly as he drops first one and then a second lump of sugar in her tea, stirring the contents of her cup to dissolve the sugar before adding a small amount of milk.
“That’s right! You left directly after the caviar, didn’t you, Miss Chetwynd?” Lady Zinnia smiles cruelly. “You really did miss a fine repast that evening.”
“I’ll have to take your word for it, Your Grace.”
The footman who cut the cake places a generous slice each onto two dainty floral plates that match the teacups. As the other footman allows Lady Zinnia to help herself to sugar and milk for her tea, he takes up a plate and places it on the table next to Lettice’s teacup and saucer.
“I’m not all that hungry, Your Grace.”
Lady Zinnia looks up with her hard gaze from her teacup, still holding the now empty sugar nips aloft, seemingly unconcerned that the bowing footman at her side cannot straighten up again until she has replaced them in the bowl. “I seem to remember you saying that at the Savoy too, Miss Chetwynd. I must say, I find a woman who has little appetite rather tiresome, however pretty and charming she may be.” She continues to hold the sugar nips in her hand, suddenly taking great interest in the elegant repousse work*********** on the curved handle as she continues. “You Bright Young Things************ are so tiresome, worrying about being rake thin.”
The tray in the bent footman’s hands begins to quiver a little, causing the sugar basket and milk jug to rattle ever so slightly as he strains to maintain his stiff back and bent stance. Lady Zinnia’s eyes flick to him angrily, causing him to make a frightened intake of breath as he tries not to move.
“In my day.” Lady Zinnia goes on. “We ate as much as we could muster, and then simply tightened our stays a little more.” She sighs with irritation, and still holding the sugar tongs, pointing them accusingly at Lettice as she adds. “But of course you young flappers have all eschewed your corsets in favour of all those filly undergarments from Paris that have become so much in vogue, haven’t you.”
The tray in the footman’s hands tremble again. With a slow, and purposefully languid movement, Lady Zinnia replaces the tongs in the sugar basket and picks up the milk jug, pouring a decent amount into her cup, turning her brackish looking tea an insipid pale brown.
Replacing the jug to the tray she turns her attention to the young footman. “Get out!” she hisses through barred white teeth, her breath so forceful in its vehemence that Lettice can see it blows the young man’s fringe out of place.
The young footman starts in fright, making the silverware in his hands rattle all the more.
“Poole!” Lady Zinnia addresses the other footman.
“Yes, Your Grace?” he asks, standing stiffly to attention, his hands quickly placed behind hi back again as he stares ahead of him, rather than at Lady Zinnia.
“Poole, see to it that this pathetic excuse for a third footman doesn’t come back until he can serve me in the correct way a Duchess of the Realm should be served, or I’ll have you both reprimanded.” She looks Poole up and down appraisingly, seemingly pleased by his unflappability. “Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Your Grace!” Poole replies.
“Good!” She returns her attentions to the other footman. “And you! Just be grateful that you are only going to receive a reprimand and dock in your wages, and aren’t thrown out on your ear with no reference.” She pauses as she replaces her cup and saucer on the side table and picks up her cake plate and fork. “I shan’t be so lenient a second time.”
“Yes… yes Your Grace.” the footman replies quickly before depositing the silver tray back onto the tea table and joining his companion as the pair make a hasty retreat, far less composed and sleek as their arrival.
As the doors are closed behind them, lady Zinnia returns her attentions to Lettice. “Pardon that little…” She pauses and toys with her fork, sticking it into the tip of her sponge cake as she considers her words. “Unpleasantness, Miss Chetwynd. It’s so hard to find decent footmen with proper backbone amongst the pool of domestics available since the end of the war. Standards amongst servants are slipping. I’m sure your parents would agree with me.”
Lettice doesn’t reply, instead taking up her cup and saucer and sipping her tea.
Picking up where she had left off before berating her servants, Lady Zinnia continues, “And of course you left your birthday present for Selwyn behind at the Savoy as well. But don’t worry, I made sure to have it put aside for when he returns.”
Once again, Lettice does not rise to the Duchess’ bait and bites her tongue rather than replying.
Lady Zinnia slices her fork delicately through the light and fluffy Victoria sponge on her plate.
“You must despise me, Miss Chetwynd.” she says before slipping a small mouthful between her red painted lips.
“No, not at all, your Grace.”
“What?” Lady Zinnia replies, her eyes widening in surprise. “Not even a little, Miss Chetwynd? Are you a saint walking upon the earth?”
“No, Your Grace.” Lettice replies. “The truth is that I don’t hate you, because I don’t think of you.” she lies, lifting her cup to her lips partly to hide any sign of emotion that might suggest otherwise, and partly to prevent her from saying what she would really like to, to the Duchess.
An almost imperceptible ripple runs through Lady Zinnia’s composure and the woman’s thin lips move slightly as she chews, revealing themselves like a bright blood red gash across her perfect, white face. Lettice smiles behind the lip of her cup, knowing that her remark has hit its mark perfectly and irritated her titled hostess.
“Oh, I find that hard to believe, Miss Chetwynd.” Lady Zinnia answers after a momentary pause. “Everyone who meets me, thinks about me. It’s only natural that they should.”
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, Your Grace, but as we don’t move in the same circles, me being so much younger than you,” Lettice replies, determined to show Lady Zinnia up for her almost unbelievable conceitedness. “I must confess I haven’t.”
“Oh come now, Miss Chetwynd,” Lady Zinnia scoffs. “Are you telling me that even though it was I, who has separated you and my son and prevented you from seeing him for a year, that you didn’t think of me?”
Determined not to give her the satisfaction of knowing how much Lettice has thought of her, she continues her plucky lie to Lady Zinnia. “Indeed no. I have felt Selwyn’s absence over the last year, very keenly. However, it is him I have been thinking of, Your Grace.” She gives Lady Zinnia a dismissive look and crumples her nose up in distaste. “Not you. However, I’ve been busy distracting myself by attending balls and functions to make Selwyn’s absence less obvious.”
“Yes, I’ve seen you in the society pages, Miss Chetwynd.”
“And I’m sure your spies have kept you well informed too, Your Grace.”
“My spies!” laughs Lady Zinnia. “My, how you young people develop such fanciful ideas!”
Ignoring her remark, Lettice goes on, Tthen of course I have had my work to keep me occupied as well.”
“Ah yes!” Lady Zinnia acknowledges. “You’ve done some work for Gladys Caxton, I believe. Her ward’s flat here in London if I’m not mistaken.”
“Indeed, Your Grace. And I’ve designed a room for the wife of the godson of Sir John Nettleford-Hughes, at Arkwright Bury in Wiltshire.”
“Oh yes, Miss Chetwynd. My sources,” she emphasises the last word to draw Lettice’s attention to her choice of words. “Tell me that I am to expect a most favourable article about it by Henry Tipping****** in Country Life******* this month.”
“As I said, Your Grace,” Lettice replies. “Your spies keep you well informed as to the comings and goings in my life.”
The two women fall into an awkward silence again.,,,,,,,
“Anyway, the year of separation you have enforced upon Selwyn and I is almost at an end, without incident,” Lettice dares to say as her boldness grows. “And I am very much looking forward to seeing your son returned from Durban, and arranging for the formal announcement of our engagement.”
The Duchess doesn’t say anything.
“I imagine that is why you have summoned me here today. To concede defeat?” Lettice allows herself a triumphant smile. “After a year of enforced separation, one during which both of us have held to your wish that we not correspond with one another, Selwyn is returning to me and we will pick up just as we left off.” A thought comes into her head. “You might even consider giving me back the book I left at the Savoy. After all, it is my gift to give Selwyn, not yours, Your Grace.”
The stony silence and scrutinising stare Lettice receives in return unnerves her. She wonders what on earth is going on inside the mind behind those cold and dark eyes. However, she doesn’t have long to wait as the Duchess picks up her silver bell again, this time giving it three definite rings: two short ones and one long one, rather like a signal. She deposits the bell back on the table and takes another mouthful of cake. Her tongue darts out of her bitter mewl of a mouth and snatches up a crumb of cake that has lodged itself on her bottom lip.
The door to the White Drawing Room is suddenly opened again, by Poole the footman, and in bustles a woman in a smart printed cotton frock of sprigged flowers with a pale pink silk cardigan worn over the top of the bodice. Glass beads jangle about her throat, glinting in the light as she moves towards the two seated ladies. As Lettice expects, as the woman draws closer, she can see that she is quite plain looking. Lettice considers that it is likely that all the females on the Duchess’ household staff will be quite plain, to avoid any light being drawn away from the titled woman herself. The woman appears middle aged and has her straight, mousey brown hair tied in a neat chignon at the back of her neck. She approaches the Duchess and drops her a deep, respectful curtsey before rising, never releasing a buff coloured card folder that she hugs over her chest.
“Your Grace, you rang?” she asks in a soft, pleasant and well educated voice, which reminds Lettice a little of one of her less favourite nannies when growing up.
“Miss Chetwynd, may I present Miss Carroway, my Secretary.” Lady Zinnia announces.
“Carroway, Miss Chetwynd.” She sweeps her well manicured hand out in the direction of where Lettice sits.
Miss Carroway turns her head and looks towards Lettice with soft brown and kind eyes. “How do you do, Miss Chetwynd.”
“How do you do, Miss Carroway.” Lettice replies, a little perplexed as to why Lady Zinnia has summoned her secretary.
“Do you have it, Carroway?” Lady Zinnia asks.
“Right here, Your Grace.” She releases her arms from around her and relinquishes the thin buff folder to her employer.
Lady Zinnia puts aside her slice of cake, accepts the proffered folder, opens it and looks at the contents inside. Her hands skim over whatever is inside, whilst her eyes flit over it quickly.
“I think you’ll find everything is in order, Your Grace.”
“Yes,” Lady Zinnia remarks rather distractedly as she continues to inspect the contents.
“Will that be all, Your Grace?” Miss Carroway asks.
“Yes, thank you, Carroway.” Lady Zinnia replies with a dismissive shallow wave, as though shaking something irritable from her left hand.
Miss Carroway retreats quickly and as she approaches the doors, Poole opens them again for her from outside and closes them behind her after she has scuttled out.
“What’s this then?” Lettice asks once the doors as closed again.
“This, my dear Miss Chetwynd, is what I summoned you here today to speak of.” Lady Zinnia replies in a very businesslike fashion.
“I thought I had come here so that we could discuss Selwyn’s imminent return to England.” Lettice retorts.
“And so we will, Miss Chetwynd, but perhaps the conversation may not be quite what you imagined or planned it to be.” she replies enigmatically.
“What do you mean, Lady Zinnia?” Lettice asks, the assured smile curling the Duchess’ lips upwards curdling her stomach. “What is in that folder, and how does it concern Selwyn?”
“What is in this folder pertains to you both, Miss Chetwynd.” Lady Zinnia replies, the smile, cold and unfriendly, broadening on her face. “You see, as you have noted, my sources,” Once again she emphasises her choice of words. “Are spread far and wide, and one of my contacts in Durban was approached independently by a very reliable source who had access to and presented him with these.” Lady Zinnia withdraws a dozen pages from the folder and leans forward with them.
Lettice leans forward herself and grasps the papers over the tea table before settling back in her seat. Looking at them she sees that they are photos, cut from articles in newspapers, magazines or journals. She cannot help but emit a gasp as she sees Selwyn’s handsome, smiling face peering out from them. It is one of the few times in the last twelve months since she has seen a new photograph of him, with news from Durban society generally not worthy enough to be printed in London newspapers, and the Durban papers impossible to obtain in London. It is then as she spreads them out across her lap, that she notices that aside from Selwyn’s appearance, they all have something else in common.
“You see, Miss Chetwynd, what this source provided is photographic proof that when Selwyn comes home, he won’t be returning alone.”
Lettice’s head spins as she looks down at the smiling face of a young girl, laughing and cheerful, on Selwyn’s arm in each and every photograph. She looks to be about Lettice’s age, with light coloured hair coiffured into styles using large exotic flowers, dressed in fashionable looking gowns. There are photographs of her standing beside Selwyn, dancing with him, taking with him, and there is even one of the two of them riding horses together, whilst another shows the pair of them in fancy dress costumes: he as Sinbad the Sailor and she as Columbine according to the typed caption printed below.
“The young lady in these photos is Kitty Avendale,” Lady Zinnia goes on. “She’s the daughter of an Australian adventurer and thrill seeker turned Kenyan diamond mine owner. The jewels you see her wearing all come from his, by all accounts, very generous diamond mine.” She takes a sip of her tea.
Lettice’s mouth suddenly feels very dry.
“The output from his mines put the fortunes of the Duke of Walmsford in the shadows.” Lady Zinnia continues. “Mr. Richard Avendale may indeed be richer than the King himself. Of course it’s a bit hard to tell exactly quite how wealthy he is, even with access to some of his business ledgers. He’s a very discreet man: most admirable in an Australian, I must say. Kitty is twenty-three, which I think is also, your age, Miss Chetwynd. She’s Mr. Avendale’s only daughter - indeed his only surviving child - which makes her an heiress of some interest to many young men, but she seems to have tipped her hat towards Selwyn.”
Lettice looks at the smiling faces of Selwyn and Kitty in the photos in disbelief.
“The… the fact… the fact that they have been photographed together is no proof that Selwyn and Kitty are involved romantically.” Lettice manages to say, albeit without the conviction she hoped for. “If that were the case, I’d be engaged to half the eligible bachelors in London, and a few married men too.”
“That’s true,” Lady Zinnia agrees. “But you’ll find that if you feel behind a couple of those photos, the proof of the seriousness of their relationship.”
Lettice looks up uncomprehendingly at the Duchess. The older woman indicates with a bejewelled hand for Lettice to feel behind the back of the photographs. As she does, Lettice feels a few have a thin margin of paper folded up behind the bottom of some of them. She picks up one of Selwyn and Kitty posed together holding champagne glasses aloft and folds down the paper.
“Mr. Selwyn Spencely, son of the Duke of Walmsford, and Miss Kitty Avendale, only daughter of diamond mine millionaire Richard Avendale, engaged.” she reads. She lets the paper slip from her fingers into her lap, and blindly scrambles for another one. This one shows Selwyn standing behind a seated Kitty. “Mr. Selwyn Spencely and Miss Kitty Avendale, engaged.” She grasps another, showing Selwyn and Kitty dancing together. “The happy couple.” she reads. She drops it in her lap, unable to read any more as the tears mist her vision as they flood her eyes.
“So, there you have it, Miss Chetwynd.” Lady Zinnia says in triumph. “Incontrovertible proof. Selwyn has forsaken you, and forgotten your, foolish dalliance,” She smiles cruelly. “And he’s proposed to a peerless match greater than even I had hoped for.”
“No. No, he… No. No.” Lettice begins.
“Of course, Bertrand doesn’t mind, now that Pamela has gone against both his and my original plans and gotten herself engaged to that banker’s son, Jonty Knollys.” She sighs. “He may not have a title, or pedigree that Selwyn presented, but he is certainly from a wealthy family, so she could have done worse for herself.”
“No. No! No!” Lettice stammers in disbelief as the tears fall from her eyes, creating wet splotches on the newspaper clippings.
“And you, my dear Miss Chetwynd,” Lady Zinna rises from her seat elegantly. “You can still make a suitable match: one with a man more befitting your station, such as a viscount, or earl’s son, and all this nonsense you’d planned with Selwyn will all be swept under the carpet and quickly forgotten about.” She smiles piteously at the crumpled form of Lettice collapsed and tearful on the chair before her. “You’re young and pretty, and have a good enough lineage that will have country squires lining up to accept your hand. Give up this London life and move to the country near your parent’s estate, and you’ll soon forget Selwyn.”
Just at that moment, the clock on the mantle chimes the three quarter hour prettily.
“Goodness!” Lady Zinnia exclaims. “Is that the time? I’m so sorry, but this rather difficult conversation took a little longer than I imaged that it would, Miss Chetwynd. I’m afraid I really must go and get dressed. It’s awfully tiresome, but I’m having luncheon with the Queen today, and well, you can’t refuse a royal invitation can you? Would you excuse me?”
Without waiting for a response, the Duchess turns on her heels and walks towards the doors of the White Drawing Room, her heels sinking into the luxurious silk carpet.
As she starts to walk on the bare parquet floor, her Louis heels announcing to the footman outside of her approach, she pauses and turns back. “You may stay here as long as you need to, Miss Chetwynd, and when you feel composed enough to leave, then Poole will show you out. Have some more tea. There’s plenty left in the pot. I find tea in a crisis always helps.”
As Lettice cries piteously, her sobs echoing around the well-appointed White Drawing Room, Lady Zinnia quietly instructs her footman before slipping away. The doors close behind her, and Lettice is left alone to weep and wail and process this seismic shift in everything she has been planning for, for the last year.
*A caryatid is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head. The Greek term karyatides literally means "maidens of Karyai", an ancient town on the Peloponnese. Caryatids are sometimes called korai (“maidens”). Similar figures, bearing baskets on their heads, are called canephores (from kanēphoroi, “basket carriers”); they represent the maidens who carried sacred objects used at feasts of the gods. The male counterparts of caryatids are referred to as atlantes.
**Ormolu is the gilding technique of applying finely ground, high-carat gold–mercury amalgam to an object of bronze, and objects finished in this way. The mercury is driven off in a kiln, leaving behind a gold coating. The French refer to this technique as "bronze doré"; in English, it is known as "gilt bronze". The technique was banned in the Nineteenth Century on account of its toxicity.
***Veuve Perrin was a factory in Marseille, France, that manufactured Faïence wares between 1748 and 1803.
****Limoges porcelain is hard-paste porcelain produced by factories in and around the city of Limoges, France. Beginning in the late Eighteenth Century, Limoges was produced but the name Limoges does not refer to a particular manufacturer. By about 1830 Limoges, which was close to the areas where suitable clay was found, had replaced Paris as the main centre for private porcelain factories, although the state-owned Sèvres porcelain near Paris remained dominant at the very top of the market. Limoges has maintained this position to the present day.
****Chelsea porcelain is the porcelain made by the Chelsea porcelain manufactory, the first important porcelain manufactory in England, established around 1743–45, and operating independently until 1770, when it was merged with Derby porcelain. It made soft-paste porcelain throughout its history, though there were several changes in the "body" material and glaze used. Its wares were aimed at a luxury market, and its site in Chelsea, London, was close to the fashionable Ranelagh Gardens pleasure ground, opened in 1742.
*****The Manufacture nationale de Sèvres is one of the principal European porcelain factories. It is located in Sèvres, Hauts-de-Seine, France. It is the continuation of Vincennes porcelain, founded in 1740, which moved to Sèvres in 1756. It has been owned by the French crown or government since 1759. Its production is still largely based on the creation of contemporary objects today. It became part of the Cité de la céramique in 2010 with the Musée national de céramique, and since 2012 with the Musée national Adrien Dubouché in Limoges.
******Henry Tipping (1855 – 1933) was a French-born British writer on country houses and gardens, garden designer in his own right, and Architectural Editor of the British periodical Country Life for seventeen years between 1907 and 1910 and 1916 and 1933. After his appointment to that position in 1907, he became recognised as one of the leading authorities on the history, architecture, furnishings and gardens of country houses in Britain. In 1927, he became a member of the first committee of the Gardens of England and Wales Scheme, later known as the National Gardens Scheme.
*******Country Life is a British weekly perfect-bound glossy magazine that is a quintessential English magazine founded in 1897, providing readers with a weekly dose of architecture, gardens and interiors. It was based in London at 110 Southwark Street until March 2016, when it became based in Farnborough, Hampshire. The frontispiece of each issue usually features a portrait photograph of a young woman of society, or, on occasion, a man of society.
********Georg Arthur Jensen was a Danish silversmith and founder of Georg Jensen A/S (also known as Georg Jensen Sølvsmedie). Jensen made his first piece of jewelry in 1899, a silver and silver and gilt "Adam and Eve" belt buckle. In 1901, Jensen abandoned ceramics and began again as a silversmith and designer with the master, Mogens Ballin. This led Jensen to make a landmark decision, when in 1904, he risked what small capital he had and opened his own little silversmithy at 36 Bredgade in Copenhagen. Jensen's training in metalsmithing along with his education in the fine arts allowed him to combine the two disciplines and revive the tradition of the artist craftsman. Soon, the beauty and quality of his Art Nouveau creations caught the eye of the public and his success was assured. The Copenhagen quarters were greatly expanded and before the end of the 1920s, Jensen had opened retail in Berlin (1909), London (1921), and New York City (1924). The New York retail store, Georg Jensen Inc. (New York, NY), was founded and operated independently as a family business by Frederik Lunning, a successful salesman of Georg Jensen products first in Odense, then in Copenhagen. The first store, 1924-1935, was incorporated as Georg Jensen Handmade Silver, followed in 1935-1978 by the large Fifth Avenue department store selling many goods aside from Jensen silver, incorporated as Georg Jensen Inc
*********Sugar tongs, also known as sugar nips, are small serving utensils used at the table to transfer sugar pieces from a sugar bowl to a teacup. The tongs appeared at the end of the Seventeenth Century, and were very popular by 1800, with half of the British households owning them.
**********The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August 1889. It was the first in the Savoy group of hotels and restaurants owned by Carte's family for over a century. The Savoy was the first hotel in Britain to introduce electric lights throughout the building, electric lifts, bathrooms in most of the lavishly furnished rooms, constant hot and cold running water and many other innovations. Carte hired César Ritz as manager and Auguste Escoffier as chef de cuisine; they established an unprecedented standard of quality in hotel service, entertainment and elegant dining, attracting royalty and other rich and powerful guests and diners. The hotel became Carte's most successful venture. Its bands, Savoy Orpheans and the Savoy Havana Band, became famous. Winston Churchill often took his cabinet to lunch at the hotel. The hotel is now managed by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. It has been called "London's most famous hotel". It has two hundred and sixty seven guest rooms and panoramic views of the River Thames across Savoy Place and the Thames Embankment. The hotel is a Grade II listed building.
***********Repoussé from the French, meaning “pushed back,” refers to any type of ornamentation in which the design is raised in relief on the reverse or interior side of the metal material at hand.
This very grand and imposing drawing room full of treasures may appear like something out of a historical stately country house, but it is in fact part of my 1:12 miniatures collection and includes items from my childhood, as well as those I have collected as an adult.
Fun things to look for in this tableau include:
The Victoria sponge (named after Queen Victoria) on the pedestal cake plate and its slices on the plates are made by Polly’s Pantry Miniatures in America. The silver tea service on its galleried tray are made by Warwick Miniatures in Ireland, who are well known for the quality and detail applied to their pieces.
The gilt Empire suite with its crem and gold striped upholstery, the gilt galleried central tea table, the Regency corner cabinet, the Regency gilt swan round side tables and matching swan pedestals are made by the high-end miniature furniture maker, Bespaq. The Palladian console tables at the back to the left and right of the photograph, with their golden caryatids and marble was commissioned by me from American miniature artisan Peter Cluff. Peter specialises in making authentic and very realistic high quality 1:12 miniatures that reflect his interest in Georgian interior design. His work is highly sought after by miniature collectors worldwide. This pair of tables are one-of-a-kind and very special to me.
The elegant ornaments that decorate the surfaces of Lady Zinnia’s palatial Cream Drawing Room very much reflect the Eighteenth Century and early Nineteenth Century spirit of the room.
On the centre of the mantlepiece stands a Rococo carriage clock that has been hand painted and gilded with incredible attention to detail by British 1:12 miniature artisan, Victoria Fasken. The clock is flanked by a porcelain pots of yellow, white and blue petunias which have been hand made and painted by 1:12 miniature ceramicist Ann Dalton.
Next to them stand two porcelain vases of pink and white asters which have been made by M.W. Reutter Porzellanfabrik in Germany, who specialise in making high quality porcelain miniatures. All the pieces in the corner cabinet in the background are also made by M.W. Reutter Porzellanfabrik. The pieces comprise two different 1:12 miniature dinner and tea sets. The vase containing the pink roses on the console table to the right of the photo is also a M.W. Reutter Porzellanfabrik piece, as is the vase closest to us on the round side table to the left of the photo, the two large lidded urns on the swan pedestals, the pedestal cake plate on which the Victoria sponge stands, and Lettice’s and the Duchess’ cups and plates.
Also standing on the mantlepiece are two miniature diecast lead Meissen figurines: the Lady with the Canary and the Gentleman with the Butterfly, hand painted and gilded by me.
The painted fruit bowl on the right-hand console table has been painted by miniature artisan Rachel Munday. Her pieces are highly valued by miniature collectors for their fine details.
The remaining vases you see around the room are all miniature Limoges vases from the 1950s and 1960s. They all feature small green Limoges marks to their bottoms.
The Regency style fireplace , the black painted hearth and fire surround I acquired from Kathleen Knight’s Doll’s House Shop in the United Kingdom.
The pink and yellow roses were made by hand by the team at Beautifully Handmade Miniatures in Kettering.
All the paintings around Lady Zinnia’s Cream Drawing Room in their gilded frames are 1:12 artisan pieces made by Amber’s Miniatures in the United States and Marie Makes Miniatures in the United Kingdom. The striped wallpaper is beautiful hand impressed paper given to me by a friend, which inspired the whole “Cavendish Mews – Lettice Chetwynd” series.
The Georgian style rug on the floor has been woven by Pike, Pike and Company in the United Kingdom.
Cumdach (book shrine) of the Cathach, 1062–94 and late 14th century with later additions and repairs, bronze, gilt silver, wood, crystal, and glass, 19 x 25 x 5.25 cm (National Museum of Ireland)
Upper and lower boards made of wood and covered with goatskin, with a rectangular goatskin flap attached to the lower board to protect the fore-edge; two silver plaques have been attached to the upper and lower boards and are joined across the spine through use of 3 sets of 5 silver chains; upper-board silver plaque depicts the Adoration of the Magi in a central, rectangular field, with the figures and decorative elements in repoussé and gilded, with carefully incised details and blue, green, and yellow enamel employed for spatial and decorative effects; outer border is filled with grape-cluster motifs within a green-enamel background and semi-precious gems in the shape of rosettes and crosses; lower-board silver plaque incorporates the same decorative elements and design as the upper-board, but the central scene depicts the Ascension of Christ, with the heavenly background filled in with a marbled white enamel and the earthly background below in blue; inner boards lined with blue linen.
This manuscript was executed in 1475 by a scribe identified as Aristakes, for a priest named Hakob. It contains a series of 16 images on the life of Christ preceding the text of the gospels, as well as the traditional evangelist portraits, and there are marginal illustrations throughout. The style of the miniatures, which employ brilliant colors and emphasize decorative patterns, is characteristic of manuscript production in the region around Lake Van during the 15th century. The style of Lake Van has often been described in relation to schools of Islamic arts of the book. Numerous inscriptions (on fols. 258-60) spanning a few centuries attest to the manuscript's long history of use and revered preservation. The codex's later history included a re-binding with silver covers from Kayseri that date to approximately 1700. This jeweled and enameled silver binding bears a composition of the Adoration of the Magi on the front and the Ascension on the back.
To explore fully digitized manuscripts with a virtual page-turning application, please visit Walters Ex Libris.
Imageneria de Ultramar
Opening Exhibition
Museo Arocena
Coahuila, Mexico
March 14, 2014
__________________________________________________________
Dolorosa / Sorrowful Mother
18th Century
GUATEMALA (Guatemalteca)
Silver repoussé body with face of ivory. I cannot see the rest of the body so I am unable to determine if any other parts are also made of ivory. The body is made of silver from Guatemala but the ivory parts were made from ivory pieces carved and imported from the Philippines. The heavy eyelids, the double line on the eyes and the orange-red tinge to the lips are telltale Philippine artistic conventions.
Gilded silver, rhinocerous horn and boar (?) tusk drinking cup with horned-monster mounts. 17th Century (?). Kunsthistorisches Museum. Vienna, Austria. Copyright 2016, James A. Glazier.
La peinture "Nighthawks" d'Edward Hopper me fascine depuis la première fois que je l'ai vue. L'ambiance est sublime, mais on sent aussi la solitude et l'anonymat. C'est ce mélange entre lumière et noirceur (extérieur-intérieur, lumière-solitude) qui me fascine et me repousse en même temps.
Nighthawks d'Edward Hopper (1942)
Edward Hopper's Nighthawks fascinates me ever since I first saw it. The atmosphere is wonderful, yet I feel loneliness and anonymity. It's this mix of light and darkness (the contrast between the exterior and the interior, between the brightness of the light and the loneliness of the customers and the waiter) that both fascinate and repulse me at the same time.
Edward Hopper's Nighthawks (1942)
Explore #352 (highest), July 17 2009
Cumdach (book shrine) of the Cathach, 1062–94 and late 14th century with later additions and repairs, bronze, gilt silver, wood, crystal, and glass, 19 x 25 x 5.25 cm (National Museum of Ireland)
This object is decorated with repoussé and filigree work.
Photographed at the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland.
The Philharmonic Dining Rooms, 36 Hope Street, Liverpool, L1 9BX
Grade I listed
List Entry Number: 1207638
Detail
History
The Philharmonic Dining Rooms was constructed in 1898 to the designs of Walter W Thomas for the Liverpool brewery Robert Cain & Sons. The interior decoration was carried out by a number of different craftsmen and artists, including the renowned sculptor Charles John Allen (1862-1956) and the architect and designer Henry Bloomfield Bare (1848-1912). Other designers and craftsmen were supervised by George Hall Neale and Arthur Stratton of University College's (later the University of Liverpool) School of Architecture and Applied Arts.
Walter W Thomas (1849-1912) was a Liverpool architect who is best known for his public house designs, but who also produced designs for Owen Owen's department store known as Audley House, and houses around Sefton Park. As well as the Philharmonic Dining Rooms, Thomas also designed The Vines (1907, Grade II*) for Robert Cain & Sons, and rebuilt The Crown (1905, Grade II) for Walkers Brewery of Warrington, both on Lime Street.
Robert Cain (1826-1907) was born in Ireland but grew up in Liverpool. As a teenager he became an apprentice to a cooper on board a ship carrying palm oil from West Africa and after returning to Liverpool in 1844 he established himself first as a cooper, and then subsequently as a brewer in 1848. Cain began brewing at a pub on Limekiln Lane, but soon moved to larger premises on Wilton Street, and finally to the Mersey Brewery on Stanhope Street in 1858, which Cain extended in the late C19 and early C20. As well as brewing Cain also invested in property, built pubs, and ran a hotel adjacent to the Mersey Brewery. As his brewery business grew (known as Robert Cain & Sons from 1896) it bought out smaller brewers and took control of their pubs, evolving into a company that owned over 200 pubs in Liverpool by the late 1880s. In 1921 Robert Cain & Sons merged with Walkers Brewery to become Walker Cains, and the Liverpool brewery at Stanhope Street was sold to Higsons in 1923. After a succession of owners from the 1980s onwards the brewery, which still remains in operation on site in 2019, is being converted for mixed use.
Charles John Allen was appointed as a lecturer at the Liverpool School of Architecture and Applied Arts (later known as Liverpool School of Art) in 1894 and was a leading figure in the New Sculpture movement, whilst Henry Bloomfield Bare was President of the Liverpool Architectural Society and also worked in the United States, editing an Arts and Crafts magazine there in the early 1890s.
Details
Public house, 1898-1900, by Walter W Thomas for Robert Cain & Sons. Exuberant Free Style.
MATERIALS: mainly ashlar with a pink and grey polished-granite plinth, slate roof coverings.
PLAN: the Philharmonic Dining Rooms has a rectangular plan and occupies a corner plot at the junction of Hope Street and Hardman Street with principal elevations onto both streets. It is bounded by Hope Street to the east, Hardman Street to the south, and adjoining buildings to the north and west.
EXTERIOR: externally the Philharmonic is of three-storeys plus an attic at the southern end, and has an asymmetrical composition with stepped and shaped gables with obelisk finials, tall chimneystacks, turrets with copper ogee domes, and a corbelled balustraded balcony that wraps around the second floor. The two principal elevations are of sandstone ashlar set upon a grey polished-granite plinth with a pink-granite band above that forms a deep sill band to the ground-floor windows. The windows, which are mostly mullioned and have shaped surrounds and heads, contain a mixture of etched, leaded and stained glass to the ground floor, and leaded glazing to the upper floors.
HOPE STREET ELEVATION: the eight-bay front elevation faces east onto Hope Street and incorporates the main entrance, which lies within four-bays to the right of centre, the first floor of which projects forward with slender, corbelled two-storey octagonal turrets to the outer bays and a two-bay balustraded serpentine balcony to the centre. The main entrance itself consists of a wide round-arched opening with highly ornate Art Nouveau gates of wrought iron and beaten copper by the architect and designer Henry Bloomfield Bare (1848-1912). The gates are ornamented with female heads and garlands and to the centre is a cartouche depicting a Liver bird flanked by gazelles (the emblem of the Cain's Brewery) with a banner below with relief lettering that reads: 'PACEM AMO' ('I love peace'), the motto of the Cain's Brewery. To the right is a large stained-glass lunette window, with the lower part of the window projecting out in the form of a canted bay. The two-bay first-floor serpentine balcony above is supported by grey polished-granite Ionic and Tuscan columns sat atop the building's pink-granite plinth band. The central Tuscan column is shorter as it also supports a substantial pink-granite paired corbel that incorporates a recessed licensing plaque on the south face. The balcony incorporates two segmental-headed bays with short, paired, polished-granite Tuscan columns separating the bays and doorways flanked by single lights. To the roof is a five-light dormer window. The two bays to the far right of the elevation are set underneath a shaped gable and have two massive nine-light windows to the ground floor with eared surrounds and round-headed upper lights, plain three-light mullioned windows to the first floor, and doorways onto the second-floor balcony with glazed double doors with an exaggerated triple keystone above. To the gable apex is the monogram 'R C S' (Robert Cain & Sons) in stylised relief lettering set within a keyed surround. On the left of the elevation is a wide bay with a stepped gable incorporating a shallow bow-shaped attic oriel window. On the ground floor is a large six-light window with an eared surround and round-headed upper lights, and to the first floor is a three-light mullioned window with an elaborate surround, including flanking engaged columns. Leading out onto the second-floor balcony are doorways in the same style as those to the shaped-gabled bay. At the southern end of the elevation is a large six-light window in the same style as its neighbour. Occupying the two floors above is a two-storey canted bay oriel window with carved frieze decoration that is mirrored on the building's south elevation facing Hardman Street. The two windows on each elevation almost touch each other at the south-east corner, forming an un-roofed turret or a giant polygonal oriel window. HARDMAN STREET ELEVATION: the shorter three-bay south side elevation onto Hardman Street has a tall ground-floor entrance doorway underneath the two-storey oriel window with a panelled and etched-glass door (no longer used), paired square overlights, and floating dentilled segmental cornice above set around a carved roundel displaying a man in profile (musician or composer) and musical instruments. The two bays to the left are set underneath a stepped gable and have similarly styled windows to the corresponding stepped gable on the east elevation, and a further doorway that is a wider version of its neighbour to the right.
INTERIOR: internally the interior decoration and styling was completed by designers and craftsmen supervised by George Hall Neale and Arthur Stratton of University College's (later the University of Liverpool) School of Architecture and Applied Arts, and it incorporates Arts & Crafts elements throughout the ground floor. Jacobean-style ceiling plasterwork exists to most areas of the ground floor, along with heavily moulded cornices, mahogany woodwork, and mahogany fireplaces with marble inserts.
MAIN ENTRANCE: the main-entrance vestibule has a mosaic floor and contains an inner doorway comprised of a classical doorcase with a swan-necked pediment set within a glazed arched screen with paired etched-glass side lights.
MAIN DRINKING LOBBY: the main entrance leads into a large drinking lobby with an elaborate Jacobean-style ceiling with pendant drops, a decorative patterned mosaic floor, and a wide horseshoe-shaped bar servery/counter with a mosaic-clad front, a brass foot rail, and an island bar back behind. Rising from the bar counter and supporting the ceiling are fluted Corinthian columns incorporating carved bands. On the east side of the lobby is a high, patterned glazed-tile dado that continues into and around the southern part of the ground floor, which is separated from the main drinking lobby by a full-height panelled screen with arcaded leaded-glazed clerestory lights with stained-glass shield motifs. A doorway in the south-east corner of the drinking lobby leads into a public bar at the south end, whilst doorways in the south-west corner lead to the gentlemen's toilets, a smaller drinking lobby and the Hardman Street entrance, and a stair accessing the first floor. On the west side of the main drinking lobby is a large inglenook lined with wall panelling and repoussé copper panels by Henry Bloomfield Bare depicting musicians. Curved bench seating flanks a central fireplace with a pink-marble insert and an elaborate mahogany chimneypiece incorporating a round mirror. Two stained-glass panels above depict Lord Baden-Powell and Field Marshal Earl Roberts KG VC who were commanding officers fighting in the Second Boer War, which was taking place at the time of the pub's construction.
SNUGS: a short corridor leads northwards from the main drinking lobby to the former billiards room (now known as the Grande Lounge) and continues the lobby's mosaic flooring. The corridor is flanked on either side by two square snugs (now humorously recorded as 'Brahms' and 'Liszt' above their entrances) with panelled walls onto the corridor and drinking lobby, geometric patterned clerestory windows, and canted corners facing into the drinking lobby with classical doorcases with segmental pediments and six-panel doors with trefoil-arched glazed upper panels with etched glass. The former smoke room ('Brahms') on the west side has wall panelling up to just above half-height in dark and light veneers with diamond, cross and quatrefoil patterns and built-in bell pushes. To the top of the west wall is a Gothic-style clerestory arcade with stained-glass panels behind and on the north wall is a fireplace with an overmantle incorporating a broken pediment and a mirror. The former news room ('Liszt') on the east side of the corridor also has wall panelling up to just above half-height, which incorporates carved relief panels with various imagery, including porpoises, and built-in bell pushes, and a fireplace with a swan-necked pediment, fluted Ionic pilasters, and an overmantle incorporating a mirror. Lighting the room on the east side, and overlooking Hope Street, is a large stained-glass lunette window depicting musical instruments and St Cecilia, the patroness of music, and words that read: 'Music is the Universal Language of Mankind'.
FORMER BILLIARDS ROOM: at the end of the corridor running off the main drinking lobby is a wide segmental-pedimented doorcase with modern gilded lettering that reads 'Grande Lounge' and a four-panel door with glazed upper lights. The Grande Lounge is a vast room at the north end of the ground floor that is one-and-a-half storeys in height and occupies the full depth of the building, and is believed to have originally been a billiards room. The ceiling is coffered and is sprung from corbelled arches with two of the largest coffers containing skylights with floriated stained glass; a third large coffer at the east end of the room is solid with Jacobean-style applied timberwork due to the presence of rooms above. The room is lit by two massive nine-light windows at the east end with stained and leaded glazing, crystal chandeliers, and twin-arm wall lights, and has wall panelling up to picture-rail height. The panelling incorporates vertical and horizontal repoussé copper panels by Henry Bloomfield Bare and Thomas Huson (1844-1920); the horizontal copper panels form a band around the room and include depictions of maritime landscapes, plants, animal and bird life, and fish, whilst the vertical panels depict stylised thistles. Above the panelling is decorative plasterwork by Charles John Allen (1862-1956), including elaborate, and tall, gilded thistles that run around the entire room in the style of a frieze. Above the room's entrance door the plasterwork depicts the crowning of Apollo and above the main fireplace on the north wall is 'The Murmur of the Sea'; both are flanked by corbelled male and female herms supporting the ceiling. The main fireplace has an overmantle incorporating a large later etched mirror and on the west wall is a further fireplace set within a shallow inglenook. A doorway in the south-west corner of the room with a classical doorcase integral to the wall panelling leads into a pot-washing area and fire exit.
GENTLEMEN'S TOILETS: the gentlemen's toilets, located off the main drinking lobby, has a decorative patterned mosaic floor and patterned glazed-tiled walls incorporating Art Nouveau mosaic panels and frieze, and retains its original sanitary ware, which consists of pink-marble basins and pink imitation-marble urinal surrounds.
PUBLIC BAR: the public bar at the south end of the ground floor has a doorway straight off Hardman Street, which is no longer in use. Off to the north-east corner access through to the main drinking lobby has been opened up through the removal of two doorways so that two linking spaces now flow into one another. The bar's ceiling is a continuation of that in the drinking lobby and is again supported by Corinthian columns rising from the bar counter, and a high, patterned glazed-tile dado continues around the room, although the lower part is panelled over in places. The floor is carpeted, although it is possible that the mosaic-work visible in neighbouring spaces continues underneath, and modern flame lamps carried on brass rails sit across the window sills. Projecting out from the centre of the screen dividing the public bar from the main drinking lobby is an L-shaped bar counter/servery that continues the line of the main drinking lobby bar, but here it is plainer with a panelled front and a brass countertop. An etched-glass and mahogany bar back incorporates swan-neck pediments and glazed arches that echo those of the main entrance screen. On the west side of the bar is a panelled screen with etched-glass upper panels that separates the bar from a vestibule and corridor off Hardman Street with a patterned mosaic floor and decorative glazed-tile dado. The screen has two doorways into the public bar, one of which forms part of a lobby providing access to the service areas behind the bar counter. Off to the west side of the corridor is a room in the south-west corner of the ground floor that has been converted into ladies' toilets. The corridor from the Hardman Street entrance leads to a small former drinking lobby with a bow-shaped counter on the east side with a crested mahogany screen sat atop that incorporates etched-glass sashes. A doorway in the glazed screen separating the public bar from the rest of the ground floor leads through to the first-floor stair and main drinking lobby.
UPPER FLOORS: the stair to the first floor is narrow with turned newel posts and balusters, and a ramped handrail. The upper floors retain moulded door architraves and four-panel doors, although some later doors have been inserted on the first floor. At the southern end of the first floor is a large and simply detailed dining room with plain moulded cornicing and a later inserted bar counter and bar back that now conceals a small space in the southern Hope Street turret. A chimneybreast survives, but the room's fireplace has been removed and an adjacent doorway has been inserted to create access into a neighbouring room, which has access out onto the first-floor balcony overlooking Hope Street and contains a timber and painted cast-iron fireplace. The rest of the first floor is comprised of modern commercial kitchens and former domestic rooms at the north end that are now used as offices and storage; at least one of which retains an original fireplace. The rooms are accessed by a short stair from one of the kitchen areas due to the greater height of the former billiards room below them. A now boxed-in stair flight leads up to the second floor, which has a corresponding large room above the first-floor dining room that is now disused, but was probably also originally another dining room. The room retains access to its turret space and also retains its chimneybreast, but has lost its fireplace. Three other rooms occupy the floor at this end, including former toilets. The second-floor rooms at the north end of the building, which are now a staff flat, were not available for inspection. The attic at the southern end has a series of plain rooms and a disused water tank.
CELLAR: the beer cellar, which lies underneath the southern end of the building, has concrete flooring and retains its original barrel chute.
historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1207638
——————————————————————————————————————
Philharmonic Dining Rooms
36 Hope Street, Liverpool
Built: 1898.
Grade II* listed
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 is commonly known as The Phil. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.
History
The public house was built in about 1898–1900 for the brewer Robert Cain. It was designed by Walter W. Thomas (not to be confused with Walter Aubrey Thomas the designer of the Royal Liver Building) and craftsmen from the School of Architecture and Applied Arts at University College (now the University of Liverpool), supervised by G. Hall Neale and Arthur Stratton.
Paul McCartney performed at the Philharmonic when he was a young musician, and during an impromptu concert in 2018.
Architecture
Exterior
The building is constructed in ashlar stone with a slate roof in an "exuberant free style" of architecture. It has a combination of two and three storeys, with attics and cellar. There are ten bays along Hope Street and three along Hardman Street. Its external features include a variety of windows, most with mullions, and some with elaborate architraves, a two-storey oriel window at the junction of the streets, stepped gables, turrets with ogee domes, a balustraded parapet above the second storey, a serpentine balcony (also balustraded) above the main entrance in Hope Street, and a low relief sculpture of musicians and musical instruments. The main entrance contains metal gates in Art Nouveau style, their design being attributed to H. Bloomfield Bare.
Interior
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 rose-coloured marble.
Appraisal
Pollard and Pevsner, in the Buildings of England series, state that it is the most richly decorated of Liverpool's Victorian public houses, and that "it is of exceptional quality in national terms". The Grade II* listing means that it is included among "particularly important buildings of more than special interest". Pye describes it as one of Liverpool's "architectural gems".
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)
Copper sculpture completed for the City of Fullerton, California. 24"h x 14"w x 10"d
Chased & repousse on 3 dimensional polyester resin form.
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.
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
The repoussé frame has vine-scroll foliate ornamentation with inserted holy images. The central part of the upper frame contains a depiction of the Preparation of the Throne, (Hetoimasia) accompanied by half-figures of frontal Archangels depicted in the corners.
Source:
View Large On Black - Click Here
The beautiful Lady 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
6" x 8" 22 gauge copper panel, caused by seeing a big Cooper's Hawk trying to bathe in our (too small) birdbath.
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.
Monstrance
Binondo, Manila and Bacaycay (Bacacay), Albay
dated 1789 (under the base)
80% Mexican solid silver (“dorado de fuego”/fire–gilded)
H: 19 3/4" (49 cm)
D: 8" (20 cm)
Opening bid: PHP 200,000
PROPERTY OF A DISTINGUISHED COLLECTOR
ABOUT THE WORK
REMARKABLE ROCOCO MASTERPIECE
From the 18th Century
by AUGUSTO MARCELINO REYES GONZALEZ III
This spectacular monstrance of fire–gilded silver in fullblown Filipino rococo style from 1783 features a round glass luna surrounded by a sunburst (a Latin American style of monstrance which sought to replace indigenous sun worship with that of Jesus Christ symbolized by the sun) supported by a multitiered baluster mounted on a round base surrounded by ogee curves. The luna is surmounted by a cross and its frame is embellished with trademark Filipino rococo cartouches, curves and counter–curves, C–shaped volutes, seashells, festoons, garlands, leaves, and flowers; the entire frame is surrounded by stylized shells. The luna and the sunburst are supported by a cartouche with the face of a cherub surrounded by stylized leaves. The sphere of the baluster is adorned with four flanges of C–scrolls and counter C– scrolls. Underneath the sphere is an urn and its plinth terminating in the round base. The sphere, urn, plinth, and round base are all decorated with an extravagance of trademark Filipino rococo exuberance, sinuous curves, twisting and winding undulations, curves and counter– curves, C–shaped volutes, vegetal forms, palmettes, fleurettes in whimsical yet sophisticated asymmetry and dissymmetry. As an austere counterpoint, the base is surrounded by molded and grooved ogee curves. It is a visual feast: it is the highly–skilled Filipino (Sangley and indio) silversmith’s mastery of casting, soldering, riveting, punchwork, chasework (sinking), repousse work (raising), incising, and engraving on full display. The luna of glass and its round silvergilt frame at the center contains the Blessed Sacrament, the lunette (the crescent moon below) secures it.
The monstrance comes in two parts: the lunette and the sunburst are attached to a metal tube that slides with precision into the ornate base. The underside of the base is inscribed: “de la Yglecia del Pueblo de Bacaycay ano de 1783.” Bacaycay, presently Bacacay, is a town in Albay in the Bicol peninsula. The churches in the Franciscan territory of Bicol, Arzobispado de Caceres, waxed rich from the region’s trade in shipbuilding, abaca/hemp production, coffee, and coconuts and were able to afford luxurious wares such as this monstrance for their religious ceremonies.
In Roman Catholic religious ceremonies, a monstrance was used for the exposition and veneration of the Blessed Sacrament (The Body of Christ) and less frequently relics relating to Jesus Christ (True Cross, Crown of Thorns, True Likeness/Veil of Veronica, Three Nails, Holy Blood, Shroud, etc), the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. It was one piece in a panoply of magnificent ecclesiastical silver used for religious ceremonies in affluent churches/ parishes throughout Las Islas Filipinas, from the Spanish colonization in 1571 to its end in 1898 and even beyond to the misinterpretations of Vatican II in 1965, when many of them were deconsecrated and decommissioned and landed in private collections and later museums, and worse, in the hands of gold and silver recyclers at the crucibles of Meycauayan, Bulacan --- chalices, ciboriums, patens, communion cups, cruets, trays, sacras (prayer cards), salvers, incense boats, thuribulums (censers), aspersoriums & aspergillums (holy water buckets & sprinklers), ramilletes (silver bouquets), vases, candlesticks, candelabra, processional crucifix, guidons (processional banners), etc.
Notable among those churches/parishes were: the seven churches of Intramuros --- La Inmaculada Concepcion (Catedral de Manila), San Agustin de Hipona (Agustinos), Santo Domingo de Guzman (Dominicanos), San Francisco de Asis (Franciscanos), San Nicolas de Tolentino (Recoletos), San Ignacio de Loyola (Jesuitas), Nuestra Senora de Lourdes (Capuchinos); Nuestra Senora del Santisimo Rosario/San Gabriel Arcangel (Binondo); Nuestra Senora del Pilar (Santa Cruz, Manila); San Juan Bautista (Quiapo); Santo Nino (Tondo); San Bartolome Apostol (Malabon); Nuestra Senora de Guia (Ermita); Nuestra Senora de la Paz y Buen Viaje (Antipolo); San Gregorio Magno (Majayjay, Laguna); San Martin de Torres (Taal, Batangas); San Sebastian Martir (Lipa, Batangas); Santo Nino (Cebu); Nuestra Senora de la Candelaria/Santa Isabel de Ungria (Jaro, Iloilo).
The high point of excellence in Filipino ecclesiastical silver was during the 150 years spanning 1700– 1850. Of course, beautiful, even exquisite, pieces of silverware had been produced from 80% Mexican and Latin American silver coins by Sangley and indio artisans from 1571 onwards (Las Islas Filipinas had no silver mines and no silver, but the islands yielded bountiful gold), but it was from 1700 that Filipino pieces became comparable in design, craftsmanship, and sophistication to the best French, English, and German models as the Sangley and indio artisans wholeheartedly engaged and interpreted the European baroque, rococo, and neoclassical styles. The Chinese were longtime experts at fire–gilding or mercury–gilding, and so were the Europeans (French, British, Germans, Spanish) with the equivalent “dorado de fuego.” They taught the wondrous but dangerous technique to the indio artisans. Fire–gilding or mercury– gilding was a technique frequently used by the ancient Greeks, Romans, Persians, and Chinese. It involved mixing gold with mercury into a paste to coat an object, usually silver (“vermeil”) or bronze (“ormolu”), then heating it to a high temperature in a furnace where the mercury would evaporate, leaving a beautiful and extremely durable gold surface on the object. The downside of “dorado de fuego” was that the mercury heavy metal was easily inhaled by the artisan, causing mercury poisoning --- severe neurological symptoms and eventually death.
This magnificent silvergilt monstrance from 1783 is an example and a tribute to the excellence of eighteenth– century Filipino ecclesiastical silver. Pieces of this highest quality are usually found in the collections of the San Agustin Church and Convent, Intramuros Administration, Arzobispado de Nueva Segovia (Vigan), Arzobispado de San Fernando (San Fernando, Pampanga), Arzobispado del Santisimo Nombre de Jesus (Cebu), Paulino and Hetty Que Collection, Richard and Sandra Lopez Collection, Atty Jose Maria Trenas Collection.
Lot 143 of the Leon Gallery auction on June 17, 2023. Please see leon-gallery.com/auctions/The-Spectacular-Mid-Year-Auctio... for more information.
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