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The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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METROPOLITAN MUSEUM
JOURNAL Volume 22 / 1987

Trhe MetropolitanMuseumJournal is issued an-

nually by The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York, and serves as a forum for the publi-
cation of original research. Its focus is chiefly on
works in the collections of the Museum and on
topics related to them. Contributions, by mem-
bers of the curatorial and conservation staffs
and by other art historians and specialists, vary
in length from monographic studies to brief
notes. The wealth of the Museum's collections
and the scope of these essays make the Journal
essential reading for all scholars and amateurs
of the fine arts.

THE SUBJECTS discussed in Volume 22 range

from a previously unpublished fragment by the
Attic red-figure vase painter Euphronios to the
identification of a French nineteenth-century
printed cotton. A major study, based on the re-
cords of the German-born archaeologist Ernst
Herzfeld (I879-I948), is devoted to the archi-
tecture and wall paintings of Kuh-e Khwaja,
Iran-a site of unique importance to the his-
tory of art in the ancient Near East. The Chi-
nese tradition of flower painting and poetry is
explored in the context of a handscroll by the
thirteenth-century artist Ch'ien Hsuan. Other
articles relate to Burgundian sculpture and to
Italian-art of the seventeenth and early eigh-
teenth centuries. The volume concludes with a
group of studies prompted by works shown at
the Metropolitan Museum in 1985-86 as part
of the loan exhibition "Liechtenstein: The
Princely Collections."

Euphronios and Memnon?

Observations on a Red-figured Fragment
DIETRICH VON BOTHMER

Kuh-e Khwaja, Iran, and Its Wall Paintings:

The Records of Ernst Herzfeld
TRUDY S. KAWAMI

Ch'ien Hsuan's Pear Blossoms:The Tradition

of Flower Painting and Poetry
from Sung to Yuan
ROBERT E. HARRIST, JR.

continuedon backflap
Volume 22 / 1987

METRO
MUSEUM
JOURNAL
Editorial Board

KATHARINE BAETJER
Curator, European Paintings

JAMES DAVID DRAPER

Curator, European Sculpture and
Decorative Arts

JULIE JONES
Curator, Primitive Art

JOAN R. MERTENS
Curator, Greek and Roman Art

HELMUT NICKEL
Curator, Arms and Armor

Manuscripts submitted for the Journal and all

correspondence concerning them should be
addressed to James David Draper. Guidelines
for contributors are available on request.

The MetropolitanMuseumJournal is published annually by

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fifth Avenue and
82nd Street, New York, N.Y. 10028, and is distributed
by The University of Chicago Press, P.O. Box 37005,
Chicago, Ill. 60637.

Managing editor, M. E. D. Laing

ISSN 0077-8958
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 68-28799
Copyright ? 1987 The Metropolitan Museum of Art
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Designed by Peter Oldenburg

Composition by Graphic Composition, Inc.; printed by
Meriden-Stinehour Press; bound by Publishers Book Bindery
Contents

Euphronios and Memnon?

Observations on a Red-figured Fragment 5
DIETRICH VON BOTHMER

Kuh-e Khwaja, Iran, and Its Wall Paintings:

The Records of Ernst Herzfeld 13
TRUDY S. KAWAMI

Ch'ien Hsiian's Pear Blossoms:The Tradition of Flower

Painting and Poetry from Sung to Yfian 53
ROBERT E. HARRIST, JR.

Three Fifteenth-Century Sculptures from Poligny 71

WILLIAM H. FORSYTH

A Drawing of Fame by the Cavaliere d'Arpino 93

LAWRENCE TURCIC

A Terracotta Relief of the Agony in the Garden

by Massimiliano Soldani Benzi 97
KATE McCLUER

Five Scenes from a Romance: The Identification of a

Nineteenth-Century Printed Cotton 115
LOURDES M. FONT

Liechtenstein Studies
Five studies relatingto worksshown at the MetropolitanMuseumin 1985-
86 as part of the loan exhibition"Liechtenstein:The PrincelyCollections"

Schaufelein as Painter and Graphic Artist

in The Visitation 135
MARYAN WYNN AINSWORTH
 A Heraldic Note About the Portrait of Ladislaus,
Count of Haag, by Hans Mielich 141

HELMUT NICKEL

A Pair of Wheel-Lock Pistols Attributed to

Wolf Lucz of Mergenthal 149
STUART W. PYHRR

Prince Karl I of Liechtenstein's Pietre Dure Tabletop 157

CLARE VINCENT

Bodies by Rubens: Reflections of Flemish Painting

in the Work of South German Ivory Carvers 179
JOHANNA HECHT

ABBREVIATIONS

MMA-The Metropolitan Museum of Art

MMAB-The MetropolitanMuseum of Art Bulletin
MMJ-Metropolitan MuseumJournal

Height precedes width in dimensions cited.

Photographs, unless otherwise attributed,
are by the Photograph Studio,
The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
LIECHTENSTEIN STUDIES

Five studies relating to works shown at

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1985-86
as part of the loan exhibition "Liechtenstein:
The Princely Collections"
 Euphronios and Memnon?
Observations on a Red-figured Fragment

DIETRICH VONBOTHMER
Chairman, Department of Greek and Roman Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

IN 1946 JOHN D. BEAZLEY returned to America Beazley did not feel totally comfortable and which
for the first time since the summer of 1914 to give were therefore excluded from the printed book.
the Arthur Gillender lectures in the Metropolitan A fragment of a red-figured calyx krater in the
Museum. Arriving in Halifax on August 16, he went Museum (Figure i), acquired in 1911 from Paul
straight to New York, his home base for the three Hartwig, who said it came from Taranto, has never
months he stayed on the continent. His first visit had been published; it was, however, included as "frag-
been more hurried: he had sailed on the Cedricon ment of a red-figured vase" in the complete list of
July 30, 1914, just a few days before the outbreak of Museum accessions for the period September 20 to
World War I, and had to be back at Oxford by Sep- October 20, 1911, issued in the same year.' The cul
tember. This time the pace was more leisurely, and of the vase shows remnants of a complex palmette
he spent many weeks in New York, not only studying and lotus configuration; what is left of the figure rep-
all the accessions made since 1914 by the Museum's resentation gives us the toes of a left foot, a nearly
Greek and Roman Department but also looking vertical staff or spear, the right foot of a draped fig-
afresh at everything in the department. Beazley's ure striding to the right, and the feet of a fallen war-
prolonged stay led to many new attributions. Those rior. The shape of the fragment, the floral pattern,
relating to Attic red-figure were in due time typed and what remains of the figures clearly mark it as an
up for his manuscript paralipomena, which he had archaic work, close to 500 B.C.The drawing is excel-
begun shortly after his Attic Red-figure Vase-painters lent. Beazley included the fragment in an installment
(published in 1942) had reached the stage when no of his typed paralipomena received in March 1948
more additions to the book could be accepted by the (p. 384): "Pp. 15-8 and 948, Euphronios: perhaps
Clarendon Press. Copies of this manuscript in prog- late work by him, the fragment of a calyx-krater in
ress had been sent to New York regularly, and as the New York, 11.140.6, from Taranto (fight-gigan-
new information allowed us to keep abreast of Beaz- tomachy?)."
ley's scholarship, these installments were eagerly This entry, which was not incorporated in the sec-
awaited. ond edition of AtticRed-figureVase-painters, is a good
His manuscript paralipomena were continued for illustration of Beazley's language. "Perhaps" is less
fifteen years, until April 1957, when Beazley began strong than "probably,"and the question mark after
to work on the new edition of Attic Red-figureVase- "gigantomachy" implies a doubt as to the exact na-
painters.The three volumes of this edition were pub- ture of the fight; "late work" gives us a hint that if the
lished six years later, and it has sometimes been as-
sumed that they incorporated the material contained
in all 2,655 pages of the paralipomena. This brief A list of abbreviations is given at the end of this article.

note, however, may serve to illustrate that the manu- 1. Acc. no. 11.140.6; preserved H. 3'/16 in. (8.8 cm.). See
script, like the sketch or bozzettoof an artist, often "Complete List of Accessions: September 20 to October 20,
contains thoughts or tentative attributions with which 1911," MMAB 6 (1911) p. 221.

? The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1987

METROPOLITANMUSEUMJOURNAL 22

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Metropolitan Museum Journal ®
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fragment were by Euphronios it would be late in his ments in the Louvre, the calyx krater in Munich, and
career, and as Beazley did not in his published lists of the Sarpedon krater in New York-Beazley was to
works by Euphronios distinguish early, middle, and know the first two. The Munich banqueter's foot has
late periods, the qualification "late" almost explains lost its outer edge and four toes, though it preserves
the "perhaps." It is as if he meant: "I cannot be sure the tendon in dilute glaze above the big toe; the toes
that the fragment is by Euphronios, being later than of the right foot of the Louvre discobolus are more
the other works attributed to him and hence without separated than in the New York example, and the in-
a good parallel." ner markings for ankles and tendons are drawn in
The most conspicuous feature on the small frag- relief line, but its toenails are quite similar to those of
ment is the left foot of the fallen warrior. Drawn in the foot in New York, even though its big toe is some-
top view, it is rigidly extended and turned slightly what shorter. Lastly, Sarpedon's left foot on the New
outward. The contours of the lower leg, the ankles, York krater (Figures 2, 3): less everted than the foot
and the foot are drawn in relief lines, as are the toes,
the spatulate nails, the interstices of the toes, and
1. Fragment of an Attic red-figured calyx krater,late
short horizontal lines setting off the distal phalanxes.
6th century B.c.: standing male holding a staff or
Dilute glaze is employed for the greave (two thin ver-
spear; woman striding to the right; feet of a fallen
tical lines and two brushstrokes), the inner contour warrior. H. 8.8 cm. The MetropolitanMuseum of
of the ankle bone on the inside, three lines on the Art, Rogers Fund, 11.140.6
instep, and three paired hooks at the end of the ten-
dons. The other three feet are shown in profile: two
of them, a left foot (lost save for the toes) and the
fallen warrior's right foot, viewed from the inside;
the third, a right foot seen from the outside. In the
inside profiles the big toes are well'articulated, each
with the nail and the distal phalanx marked above by
two short transverse lines and below by an inter-
rupted curved line. The right foot of the fallen war-
rior has only a rather faint line in dilute glaze above
the arch and no marking of the ankle; the right foot
of the advancing draped figure, for the most part
overlapped by the fallen warrior's left foot, reveals
no dilute glaze.
When Beazley commented on the New York frag-
ment early in 1948, only three feet in top view by Eu-
phronios were known to him: those of the reclining
kottabos player on a neck amphora in the Louvre,2
and of the javelin thrower on the stamnos in Leipzig3
and his counterpart on the kalpis in Dresden.4 Not
yet known were the discobolus on a neck amphora in
the Louvre5 and Thoudemos of the Munich ban-
quet,6 let alone Sarpedon of the New York calyx kra-
ter,7 to which we shall return. The foot of the Dres- 2. ARV2, p. 15, no. 9.
den acontist is not drawn straight on but slightly 3. ARV2, p. 15, no. 8.
4. ARV2, p. 16, no. 13.
foreshortened, like the feet of the acontists by Phin- 5. ARV2, p. 15, no. 0o.
tias;8the toes of the acontist on the stamnos in Leip- 6. ARV2, pp. 1619 and 1705, no. 3 bis.
zig are missing. The left foot of the symposiast in the 7. Acc. no. 1972.11.10. D. von Bothmer, "Greek Vase Paint-
Louvre is roughly drawn, in outline resembling a loz- ing," MMAB 31:1 (1972) no. 15 (rev. ed., Greek Vase Painting
[New York: MMA, 1987] no. 19); idem, "Der Euphronioskrater
enge, without toenails, though with three tendons in New York,"ArchiologischerAnzeiger(1976) pp. 484-512; Greek
drawn in dilute glaze. Vase,pp. 63-80.
Of the three newcomers-the neck-amphora frag- 8. ARV2, p. 23, no. i, and p. 24, no. 11.

6
2. Detail of Figure 3: Leodamas standing by, Hypnos
lifting Sarpedon's legs

3. Attic red-figured calyx krater signed by Euphronios

as painter and Euxitheos as potter, ca. 515 B.C.:
Hypnos and Thanatos with the body of Sarpedon.
H. 45.7 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Be-
quest of Joseph H. Durkee, Gift of Darius Ogden
Mills, Gift of C. Ruxton Love, by exchange,
1972.11.10
 4. Detail of an Attic red-figured
cup signed by Pamphaiosas
,p"l(
potter and attributedto the
Lc' -...
-.':~i~ t~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"
. d,-'@;w
- - -
Nikosthenes Painter,late 6th
_. A.
century B.c.: Sleep and
Death lifting the body of a
dead hero. London, British
Museum E 12 (photo: British
Museum)

I/- I ,,

ilb"
' ':ll ?'

on the fragment, it shares nonetheless with the latter removal from the battlefield was not attended by a
the careful drawing of the spaces between the toes, woman; on the other hand, Eos witnessing the death
of the nails, and of the short tendons above the toes. of her son was there in person, ready to take care of
Of all the contemporary top views of feet, Sarpedon's Memnon's body.
is closest to that of the fallen warrior on the frag- In this context the puzzling question of a famous
ment. Once again we can only marvel at the pre- cup in London has to be reopened.9 When the cup
science of Beazley, who in spite of more limited com- was first published by Samuel Birch in 1841,10 the
parisons at hand grasped at once the Euphronian air subject of the obverse of the exterior was identified
conveyed by the fragment. as the removal of Memnon's body from the battle-
field (Figure 4). Two winged hoplites lift the naked
There remains the question of the precise subject: body, while a woman rushes up on either side. The
"fight-gigantomachy?" in Beazley's words. The woman on the left holds a caduceus and hence
greave of the fallen figure clearly marks him as a should be Iris; the one on the right, without attri-
warrior, and the long dress of the figure striding to butes, should be Eos. This interpretation receives
the right behind him may have prompted Beazley to partial support from the scene on the reverse, seven
think of Athena fighting a giant, but the figure on arming Amazons, since in the epic Aithiopisby Arkti-
the extreme left is hardly in a fighting pose; with his nos the battle of Achilles and Memnon followed the
spear or staff held upright, he is reminiscent of Leo- victory of Achilles over Penthesilea and her army of
damas on the Sarpedon krater. The fallen warrior Amazons. Birch called the winged hoplites who lift
must be dead, and the draped figure moving to the the body Boreas and Zephyros, Memnon's half-
right may be Eos, the mother of Memnon, bending brothers. Carl Robert, however, saw in them Hypnos
over his body. The hoplite on the left, in that case, and Thanatos, identified the dead warrior as Sarpe-
may well be a Trojan on the analogy of the Sarpedon don, and changed the scene from the Trojan battle-
krater, with another Trojan to be thought of as field to Sarpedon's return to Lycia, assuming the
standing guard on the right of the scene. In repre- woman on the right to be either Sarpedon's wife or
sentations of the duel between Achilles and Mem-
non, the immortal mothers Thetis and Eos are often
shown behind their heroic sons. Though the disposi-
tion of the feet of the fallen warrior is strikingly sim- 9. ARV2, p. 126, no. 24.
o1. "Explanation of the Myth upon a Fictile Vase Found at
ilar to that of Sarpedon's feet on the Euphronios kra- Canino, now in the British Museum," Archaeologia29 (1841) pp.
ter, the dead hero can hardly be Sarpedon, whose 139-144, pl. xvi.

8
 5. Obverse of an Attic red-
figured calyx krater attrib-
uted to the Eucharides
Painter, ca. 490 B.C.: Sleep
and Death with the body of
Sarpedon; a winged eidolon
flying downward. Paris, Mu-
see du Louvre G 163 (photo:
H. Giroux)

his mother."l Beazley, in 1918, followed Robert in For the interior, his inspiration, or his model, failed
calling the winged hoplites Hypnos and Thanatos, him." 16
but he retained Birch's Memnon, naming the painter The appearance of the Sarpedon krater in New
of the cup "The Painter of the London Sleep and York, with two armed winged creatures clearly la-
Death,"12as did Buschor some years later in publish- beled Hypnos and Thanatos lifting the body of a
ing Reichhold's drawing.13 By 1925 Beazley had de- dead warrior identified by the inscription as Sarpe-
tached the London cup from the other works that he don, gave unexpected confirmation to Carl Robert's
had given his painter of the London Sleep and interpretation of the London cup. At the same time
Death, named the artist the Nikosthenes Painter, and it reinforced Beazley's suspicion that the Nikosthenes
appended the London cup, the former name piece, painter was inspired by the work of a greater artist.
as "related."With his habitual caution he explained: Another famous vase, a calyx krater by the Eu-
"Diese Vasen habe ich friher um die schone Lon- charides Painter in the Louvre,'7 had undergone
doner Schale mit Schlaf und Tod gruppiert. Jetzt a similar change of interpretation. On the obverse
scheint es mir vorsichtiger einen anderen Mittel- (Figure 5) two winged youths, one of whom is in-
punkt zu wahlen und die Londoner Schale vorlaufig scribed "Hypnos," lift or deposit a fallen warrior
an die Peripherie zu stellen."'4 For the subject, how-
ever, he kept his old heading, a compromise between 11. "Thanatos," Berlin Winckelmannsprogramm 39 (1879) pp.
Birch and Robert: "Hypnos and Thanatos mit der gff.
Leiche Memnons." By 1942 Beazley had come to ac- 12. J. D. Beazley, Attic Red-figured Vasesin AmericanMuseums

cept Robert's interpretation of the cup in full, and (Cambridge, Mass., 1918) p. 25.
the entry then read "Hypnos and Thanatos with the 13. A. Furtwangler and K. Reichhold, GriechischeVasenmalerei
III (Munich, 1925) p. 244.
body of Sarpedon," though he still kept the cup 14. Attische Vasenmalerdes rotfigurigen Stils (Tibingen, 1924)
somewhat apart, saying that it "might also be by the p. 43 (Beazley's second book was written in German and pub-
Nikosthenes Painter, unusually good work of his lished in Germany).
15. ARV, p. o11.
prime."'1 This statement was further elaborated in 16. ARV2, p. 126, no. 24.
1963: "I think that this splendid cup cannot be de- 17. ARV2, p. 227, no. 12. Compare Sarpedon's red ankle-
nied to the Nikosthenes Painter, in spite of its being protectors with the ones on a fragmentary amphora by the Eu-
on an altogether different level from even the better charides Painter in Malibu (J. Paul Getty Museum 85 AE 499).
In shape they resemble spats and probably represent ankle-
pieces in the list of his works. The artist would for protectors made of leather, differing from the strips of cloth
once be doing his very best; perhaps copying work by discussed most recently by A. Greifenhagen (Neue Fragmentedes
another, although to affirm this would not be fair. Kleophradesmalers [Heidelberg, 1972] p. 20, n. 37).

9
 6. Detail of an Attic red-
figured cup signed by Eu-
phronios as painter,ca.
520 B.C.: Sleep and Death
with the body of Sarpe-
don. Dallas,Nelson
Bunker Hunt Collection
(photo: courtesyJ. Paul
Getty Museum)

whom Beazley, like others before him, first took to be nios created his masterly scene of the body of a
Memnon; he changed his mind sometime before beardless Sarpedon lifted by Hypnos and Thanatos.
1942, when he followed Robert in calling the warrior Moved by this work to paint a similar scene on the
Sarpedon. Robert had argued for this identification cup now in London, the Nikosthenes Painter sup-
on the grounds that only the transport of Sarpedon's pressed the wounds and omitted the greaves, but he
body by Sleep and Death was attested in ancient kept the hero's beard as on the Euphronios cup; at
Greek literature. It always puzzled me that the the same time he transformed the bearded Hypnos
painter had gone to the trouble of naming Hypnos and Thanatos of Euphronios into young winged
on this krater and yet appeared to have neglected to hoplites and substituted two women, Iris and the
label the dead hero. Cleaning of the vase (which is wife or mother of Sarpedon, for the flanking Trojan
quite fragmentary and had been hideously restored) soldiers of the calyx krater. Lastly,on the calyx krater
brought to light the missing inscription below the in the Louvre, the Eucharides Painter kept the
body of the fallen hero: in the summer of 1979 the youthful appearance of Sarpedon and Hypnos (the
faint letters were made out by me in a good raking face of Thanatos is lost), omitted their armor, and
light, and I was not overly surprised that they read added the winged eidolon,likewise unarmed. Instead
"Sarpedon"rather than "Memnon."18 of greaves as on the Euphronios cup and krater, Sar-
The genealogy of the iconography has hitherto pedon now only wears ankle guards, and both his
seemed to be reasonably clear. The young Euphro- legs and feet are in strict profile. The Nikosthenes
nios painted a cup, now in the Nelson Bunker Hunt Painter, on the other hand, kept the top view of one
collection in Dallas,19 on which wingless hoplites
inscribed "Hypnos" and "Thanatos" carry a dead
bearded warrior (Sarpedon, as we learn from the in-
18. GreekVase,p. 8o, fig. 74.
scription); the warrior is naked, save for his greaves, 19. Wealthof the Ancient World: The Nelson Bunker Hunt and
and still bleeding from two wounds (Figure 6). A few WilliamHerbertHunt Collections,exh. cat. (Fort Worth: Kimbell
years later, on the krater now in New York, Euphro- Art Museum, 1983) pp. 54-57.

10
of Sarpedon's feet with a careful, almost Euphronian conflation, though with luck one day more of the
drawing of the spaces between the toes and the ends calyx-krater fragment in New York will be found or
of the tendons. located, either confirming this tentative interpreta-
The fragment of a calyx krater in New York dis- tion or supplying us with a better one.20
turbs this straight line of logical iconographic succes-
sion, for we must now bear in mind the existence of
another scene by Euphronios, similar in overall com-
position to that on his Sarpedon krater, yet depicting
not Sarpedon but Memnon. Those who copied Eu- ABBREVIATIONS
phronios or were inspired by him, like the Nikos-
thenes Painter at his best, drew on more than one ABL-C. H. E. Haspels, Attic Black-figured Lekythoi
model, combining or even conflating two different (Paris, 1936)
ARV-J. D. Beazley, Attic Red-figure Vase-painters(Ox-
subjects. Such an artist may well have thought that he
was painting the removal or deposition of Memnon's ford, 1942)
ARV2-J. D. Beazley, Attic Red-figure Vase-painters,2nd
body, being unsure whether it had been carried away ed. (Oxford, 1963)
by Sleep and Death, like Sarpedon's, or by Eos. As GreekVase-D. von Bothmer, "The Death of Sarpe-
the Nikosthenes Painter did not add names to his fig- don," in The GreekVase,ed. Stephen L. Hyatt (Latham,
ures, perhaps we shall never know the extent of his N.Y., 1981)

20. A skyphosof Corinthiantype in the Louvre(G 66; ARV2,

p. 126, no. 25) attributedto the Nikosthenes Paintergives us
another instance of Euphronian influence on him. The chief
figureson the skyphos,Athena and Herakles,owe much to the
Kyknos krater by Euphronios in the N. B. Hunt collection
(Wealthof the Ancient World,cover, pp. 58-61), while the fallen
opponent of Herakles betraysin the dispositionof his legs an
unmistakabledependence on conventions establishedby Eu-
phronios for Sarpedon and Memnon on his kraterand krater
fragmentin New York.This conventionremainsalive as late as
7. Detail of an Attic lekythos in Six's technique attrib- the Eos and Memnon cup in the Louvre attributedto Douris
uted to the Diosphos Painter, ca. 490 B.C.: Eos in (G 115; ARV2,p. 434, no. 74) and can also be detected on the
flight with the body of Memnon. The Metropolitan Pythocleanglaux in Berlin (2318; ARV2,p. 36) with the same
Museum of Art, Fletcher Fund, 24.97.29 subject,savethat the painterof the Berlinvase has not bothered
or attemptedto draw the left foot of Memnon in top view,but
shows it in profile.
I have not seen the lost lekythoswith "Eoslifting the body of
Memnon from the battlefield"reported by C. H. E. Haspels
and attributedby her to the Sappho Painter(ABL,p. 226, no.
21). For black-figuredvases with Eos carryingthe dead Mem-
non from the battlefieldsee: the unattributedneck amphora
LouvreCA 4201 (ex Lord Elgin),now on loan in Beziers(Greek
Vase,pp. 76 and 157 n. 19, fig. 80); the small neck amphoraby
the DiosphosPainterin New York(GreekVase,pp. 74-75, p. 157
n. 16, fig. 79); and the Diosphos Painter'sfour lekythoiin Six's
technique (ABL,p. 236, nos. 80, 85, 86, and 92), of which the
one in The MetropolitanMuseumof Art (ABL,no. 92) is here
illustrated(Figure 7). I have not seen the black-figuredleky-
thos, whereaboutsunknown,attributedby MissHaspelsfrom a
photograph in the Palermo Museum to the Sappho Painter
(ABL,p. 226, no. 21), or the much broken lekythosin Nauplia
attributedby her to the EmporionPainter(ABL,p. 265, no. 41).
All of the above are to be added to F. Brommer,Vasenlisten zur
griechischen Heldensage,3rd ed. (Marburg, 1973) p. 402, sec-
tion A.

11
 Kuh-e Khwaja, Iran, and Its Wall Paintings:
The Records of Ernst Herzfeld

TRUDY S. KAWAMI
Department of Classics, New YorkUniversity

THE BLACK BASALT MOUNT of Kuh-e Khwaja, ris- nineteenth century,3 but the first thorough exami-
saing out of the marshes of Lake Hamun, is one of nation of the site, by the Hungarian-born British
the most striking landmarks of the province of Sistan archaeologist Sir Aurel Stein, did not occur until
in eastern Iran, a vivid exception in the desolate pan- December 1915. Stein mapped the large complex,
orama of the Helmand Basin. The eastern slope of photographed the painted decorations that remained
the dark outcropping is marked in its upper reaches in some rooms, and removed many of these paint-
by a large pale area, the weathered remains of ings. He was then working for the Archaeological
Ghaga-shahr, a complex structure consisting of a Survey of India and the wall paintings were sent to
maze of courts and rooms built of mud brick (Figure the National Museum in New Delhi, where they re-
i). The dramatic setting may be in part responsible main. Stein first published his discoveries in 1916,
for the construction of this enigmatic complex, which but full documentation had to wait until 1928, with
has been associated with Caspar (Gondophares), one the publication of his work InnermostAsia.4
of the Three Wise Men.' The numerous Moslem The second archaeologist to inspect Kuh-e Khwaja
tombs on top of the rocky ridge testify to the contin- was the eminent German scholar Ernst Emil Herz-
ued sanctity of the place, which was still the objective feld (1879-1948), who first came in February 1925,
of Now Ruz (New Year's) pilgrims into the twentieth and returned with a small crew in 1929 to spend Feb-
century.2 ruary and March measuring and mapping the rooms
Kuh-e Khwaja was visited by many travelers in the and removing the wall paintings he found. These

A list of frequently cited sources appears at the end of this ar- logical Papers of the AmericanMuseum of Natural History 48, pt. 1
ticle. (1961) pp. 14-21 and esp. fig. 3, where the distinctive igneous
character of the Kuh-e Khwaja outcropping is noted; and Klaus
1. Ernst Herzfeld, "Sakastan,"ArchiologischeMitteilungen aus Fischer, "Field Surveys in Afghan Sistan, 1969-1974," in "Pre-
Iran 4 (1931-32) pp. 115-116; and Herzfeld 1935, pp. 61-66. historic Sistan I," IsMEO Reportsand Memoirs 19 (1983) pp. 31,
For a summaryof the historyof Christianityin Sistansee C. E. 41, figs. 45, 46. For recent archaeological surveys of the entire
Bosworth, "Sistan Under the Arabs: From the Islamic Conquest Helmand Basin see Fischer, "Field Surveys," pp. 3-4; and Klaus
to the Rise of the Saffarids (30-250/651-864)," IsMEO Reports Fischer, "Types of Architectural Remains in the Northern Parts
and Memoirs 11 (1968) pp. 6-1o. of Afghan Seistan," Bulletin of the Asia Institute 2 (1971) pp.
2. Herzfeld 1935, pp. 59-60; Herzfeld 1941, p. 291; Stein, 40-72.
II, pp. 922-923; and George N. Curzon, Persia and the Persian 4. Stein, II, pp. 909-925; III, pl. 54. For an account of
Question(London, 1892; repr. London, 1966) I, p. 226. Illustra- Stein's life see Jeannette Mirsky, Sir Aurel Stein (Chicago, 1977),
tions of the festive pilgrims are found in the Herzfeld Archive, esp. pp. 390-391 for Kuh-e Khwaja. A few years after Stein's
Photo File 29, nos. 49-51. InnermostAsia was published, his friend and colleague Fred H.
3. Faccenna, pp. 83, 84, n. i. For the geology of the site see Andrews provided a fuller description of the paintings in Cata-
Walter A. Fairservis, Jr., "Archaeological Studies in the Sistan logue of WallPaintingsfrom Ancient Shrinesin CentralAsia and Seis-
Basin of South-West Afghanistan and Eastern Iran," Anthropo- tan (Delhi, 1933) pp. 57-59.

13

? The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1987

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 22

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve, and extend access to
Metropolitan Museum Journal ®
www.jstor.org
 1. View of Kuh-e Khwaja, looking south over the ruins
of Ghaga-Shahr, photograph taken by Herzfeld in number of unpublished photographs and forty-
spring, 1929; in the foreground to the left, the one Uvachrome color lantern slides taken at Kuh-e
North Gate (photo: Herzfeld Archive, neg. no.
Khwaja in 1929.8 Comparison of these photographs
4057) with the illustrations published by Herzfeld demon-
strates that the published pictures had been re-
touched. The photographs and sketches in the ar-
paintings were taken to Berlin for conservation.5 chive are a rich source of new information about the
Their subsequent history is unknown and they are site, and are particularly valuable in view of the
assumed to be lost. Only the two small fragments that thirty-two years that elapsed before the site was vis-
remain in Herzfeld's possession survived. These were ited again, by an Italian expedition, in 1961.9 By then
subsequently acquired by The Metropolitan Museum
of Art. Though Herzfeld published a historical study
of Kuh-e Khwaja in 1932,6 his actual description of
5. In a letter to Herzfeld dated Nov. 6, 1929, Stein mentions
the site did not appear until 1941 in Iran in the An-
havingseen the paintingsin Berlin in September(Bodleian,fol.
cient East, in which some of the paintings, includ- 176r).
6. Herzfeld, "Sakastan."
ing the two fragments in the Metropolitan Museum,
were illustrated for the first time.7 7. Herzfeld 1941, pp. 291-297, 301, pls. xcvII, CIV. MMA
acc. nos. 45.99.1, 45.99.2.
It has been assumed that Herzfeld published all 8. Herzfeld bequeathed most of his papers to the Freer Gal-
his information about Kuh-e Khwaja, but this is not lery. On the Herzfeld Archive in the Metropolitan Museum, ac-
the case. The Herzfeld Archive in the Freer Gallery quired on Herzfeld's retirement in 1944, see Margaret Cool
of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., Root, "The Herzfeld Archive of The Metropolitan Museum of
Art," MMJ 11 (1976) pp. 119-124.
contains not only Herzfeld's 1925 notebook and
9. The work of this Italian expedition was published by Gul-
sketchbook and his 1929 sketchbook, but also a large lini. (See the list of frequently cited sources.)

14
even more details had been lost to the weather. The Despite these examinations, the date of any partic-
chance discovery by an Italian restoration team of a ular segment of Kuh-e Khwaja is difficult to deter-
new painting fragment, during the winter of 1975- mine. The site was very "clean."Only potsherds have
76,10has made Herzfeld's records central to any at- been found, and our present ignorance of the east-
tempt to understand Kuh-e Khwaja and its place in ern Iranian ceramic sequence makes the fine red
the history of Iranian art and architecture. ribbed fragments difficult to analyze.'8 The absence
The date of the Ghaga-shahr ruins has never been of other datable material compounds the problem
clear and no two excavators have produced quite the and makes the actual, rather than theoretical, corre-
same chronology. Stein speculated that the site was lation of the various excavators' phases extremely un-
Parthian," but did not commit himself in print. He certain. This study will provide new evidence con-
merely called attention to Greek, Sasanian, and Cen- cerning the architecture and its paintings, including
tral Asian Buddhist parallels.12Like those of Stein, detailed documentation of the Ghaga-shahr remains
Herzfeld's first impressions regarding the date of the in 1929, and will underline the importance of this
ruins differed from his later published statements. In unique site to the history of art in the Near East.
a notebook and a letter recording his 1925 visit,
he clearly describes the building phases-an earlier
phase containing paintings and sculpture, and a THE ARCHITECTURE
later, simpler phase without paintings. He placed the
first in the Sasanian period and the second in the The main ruins of Kuh-e Khwaja, called Ghaga-
early Islamic.13 Herzfeld's 1929 sketchbook implies shahr as distinct from the other remains on the
the same dating. But almost immediately Herzfeld mount, are approached by a narrow path that zigzags
changed his mind, influenced by the Hellenic char- through the ruins of the lower slope'9 to reach the
acteristics he noted in buildings of the first phase and
by his identification of Kuh-e Khwaja as the site of
Zoroaster's preaching.'4 Thereafter he considered lo. Faccenna,pp. 85-87.
the initial phase, including the paintings and the 11. Mirsky,Stein,p. 391.
stucco sculpture, a Parthian development of the first 12. Stein, II, pp. 924-925. Stein modifieda 1916 suggestion
that the site had been a Buddhist monasteryin response to ob-
century, and the later phase a Sasanian alteration of jections expressed by Herzfeld in a letter (Bodleian,fol. 144r).
the third century.15In 1932, three years after his last 13. N-85, pp. 12a, 15; Bodleian, fol. 147.
visit to the site, he attributed the first phase to the 14. Bodleian, fols. 161, 163v.
15. Herzfeld 1935, pp. 67, 74; and Herzfeld 1941, pp. 292-
reign of Gundofarr-Rustam, a regional ruler he
293.
dated between A.D. 20 and 65 and identified with 16. Herzfeld, "Sakastan," pp. 115-116. For the dates of Gon-
Gondophares of Christian legend.'6 dophares see A. D. H. Bivar,"The Historyof EasternIran,"in
The Italian investigation of 1961, led by Giorgio E. Yarshater,ed., Cambridge Historyof Iran:III. TheSeleucid,Par-
thianand SasanianPeriods(Cambridge, 1983) p. 197. For the
Gullini, uncovered a sequence of six levels, ranging documentsand legends of early Christianityin eastern Iran see
from Achaemenid to Islamic date, based on a series also Stephen Neill, A Historyof Christianity in India(Cambridge,
of trenches sunk in the south side of the main court- 1984).
yard.'7 These levels not only paralleled the two 17. Gullini,p. 354, figs. 53-56. For a detailed reviewof Gul-
lini see G. Tucci, East and West16 (1966) pp. 143-147; I am
phases noted by Herzfeld (Herzfeld's first-century indebted to Mas'oud Azarnoush for this citation. For a sum-
phase the equivalent of Gullini's level IV, and Herz- maryof the excavationsee Faccenna,pp. 91-92. Regardingthe
feld's third-century phase Gullini's level III), but re- supposed Achaemenid level see R6my Boucharlat, "Monu-
fined the chronology. Gullini noted a second Sasa- ments religieux de la perse achemenide:Etatdes questions,"in
nian phase, level II, dated to the sixth century A.D., Templeset Sanctuaires,Travaux de la Maison de l'Orient VII
(Paris, 1984) pp. 129-130.
and uncovered evidence of earlier structures having 18. E. Haerinck,La Ceramique en Iranpendantla periodeparthe
a different orientation (level VI, Achaemenid; level (Ghent, 1983) pp. 221-223. The pottery that Herzfeld collected
V, early Parthian, mid-second Gullini was sent back to Tehran, but its location is no longer known.
century B.C.).
also described the most recent or top layer, level I, as Herzfeld'sdrawingsof the ceramicsare found in Sk. XV, pp.
39-43, 46; neg. nos. 1102, 11o6, 1111-1116, 423. Other ex-
Islamic with evidence of occupation as late as the
amples are shown in Gullini, pp. 223-250, figs. 168-175.
fifteenth century. 19. Neg. nos. 2066, 2069, 2070.

15
 2. Herzfeld's plan of Ghaga-Shahr, Kuh-e Khwaja: i. South Gate; 2. Central Court; 3. Painted Gallery;
4. Temple; 5. North Gate and Tower; 6. East Eivan; 7. West Eivan; 8. Tower A (photo: Herzfeld Archive)

16
 east side of an almost triangular terrace.20Supported any.29These rooms were interrupted on the east and
at least in part by vaults, this terrace once bore an west sides of the court by two huge eivans (rectangu-
arcade along its edge, but the eroding mud brick21 lar vaulted rooms left open on one of their shorter
made details of plan (Figure 2) and elevation difficult sides, in this case the side of the court), whose main
to determine. Near the northwest corner of the ter- supporting walls jutted into the court. When the
race, a sequence of two high-vaulted rooms, called by vaults, built by the pitched-brick method, were intact,
Herzfeld the South Gate, formed a passageway be- these eivanswould have been the dominant feature of
tween the terrace and the open court, one of the ma- the courtyard.30Their placement, slightly off center
jor features of the complex. The first room was in a to the south, and their projection into the courtyard
state of partial collapse, with only a thin arch remain- suggest that they were an addition to the original
ing over its entrance.22 Nonetheless, remnants of plan; Gullini's findings support this interpretation.3'
crenellations could be seen along the parapet at the The construction of the eivans altered the symmetry
top of this arch, and a thin rectangular opening re- of the court and diverted the viewer's eye from the
mained high on the east side of the gate. The exte- logical focal point, the north wall of the courtyard
rior of the South Gate was also notable because the with its terrace, stairs, and domed buildings. The
bricks had deteriorated at a more rapid rate than the north wall, some seven meters high, was the primary
mortar, leaving the horizontal lines of the courses in view as the observer moved through the South Gate
relief against the eroded brick. In an early phase, into the courtyard.32
one door jamb of this entrance bore a decorative The north face of the courtyard, like the east and
stucco panel with bands of geometric patterns.23 west sides, had been changed from its original ap-
The second room of the South Gate, rectangular pearance. At first it was a mud-brick wall articulated
in plan, retained more of its vaults. The central with applied "Doric"columns having bases and capi-
square was covered with a dome on hooded tals of baked brick.33These columns supported a
squinches and was lighted by four arched windows.24 simple architrave with a narrow scroll or volute pat-
The remaining space at each side was covered with a tern in white plaster,34fragments of which remained
tripartite vault constructed in the pitched tech- above the two center columns on the eastern half
nique.5 The upper story of each side was enhanced of the wall in 1929.35 Each intercolumniation was
by a continuous series of round niches framed by pierced by a window with an elliptical, offset arch
thick, applied colonnettes26 that supported a simple
molding around the arch of each niche. A string-
20. Gullini, figs. 44-50, 265.
course ran above the niches at some distance.27
21. According to Stein, the size of the bricks at Kuh-e Khwaja
Weathering subsequent to Herzfeld's visits has re- varied from 22 x 15 x 5 in. to 17 x 12 x 4 in. (Stein, II, p.
vealed that this ornament was added later, and in fact 910).
covered wall paintings in the upper story.28 22. Neg. nos. 2072, 3988, 3989, 3993. Gullini, fig. 99, shows
further weathering. The arch collapsed in the winter of 1974-
While the ground plans of the two rooms of the
75; see Faccenna, p. 85, n. 2.
South Gate show them to be rectangular, the domes 23. Sk. XV, p. 5; neg. nos. 3973, 3974. Kroger, pp. 226-227,
and vaults delineated spatial squares within the fig. 135 (a reconstruction sketch), pl. 103; and Herzfeld 1941,
rooms, and, at least in the structure's later phase, the pl. xcix.
colonnettes and niches in the upper story reinforced 24. Neg. nos. 2076, 2085.
25. Neg. nos. 2076, 2077.
the verticality of the spaces. The viewer, then, moved 26. Sks. XIII, p. 10; XV, p. 36; neg. no. 2078.
from the open, "external" space of the terrace, 27. Neg. no. 2075.
28. Faccenna, p. 84, fig. 11.
through the tall constricted entrance rooms, to the
29. Neg. nos. 2085 (south side), 8345. For a different inter-
open, "internal"space of the courtyard. pretation see Faccenna, p. 91. Stein's plan, Stein, III, pl. 54, is
This courtyard, originally some thirty meters long also unclear as to the extent of the surrounding chambers.
and twenty wide, was edged on all sides with small 30. Neg. no. 3992.
chambers, presumably vaulted, that had been worn 31. Gullini, pp. 187-193.
down to stubby mounds of disintegrated mud brick. 32. Neg. nos. 2080, 3969.
33. Neg. no. 1158.
No clear evidence remained to indicate the exact 34. Sk. XV, pp. 5a, 24.
height of these rooms, or their exterior ornament, if 35. Neg. nos. 1172, 4002.

17
 tions of the left shoulder, arm, torso, and leg, as well
'*'I* : ... ' *
'; '^ . *- -"".*"
*.
' as a mass of curly hair and several ribbons (Figure 3).
The plastic modeling of the figure, the thin clinging
clothing with its rippling edges, the vigorously mod-
i eled curls, and the animated flutter of the ribbons
;i?,-,Ch;r??;?
are all characteristics of Sasanian rather than Par-
thian style.39Since the ornamental straps crossing the
I.. =ejL'-J v--I-
torso are a royal Sasanian device, the figure may be
'"3
-- r
..14
identified as a Sasanian king. The chronological im-
7?- '1 2- ir
plications of this identification are crucial to the dat-
ing of the Painted Gallery and will be discussed later.
Directly to the east of the column against which
this figure stood was a section of flat, plastered wall
with a painting of rippling ribbons and a circle or
ring.40This painting was noticed by Stein,41though
other visitors have not mentioned it.
At some later time, the entire north wall was cov-
ered with a double arcade some five meters deep.
-
- I ' The vaulted chambers formed by this addition were
ste w. S~~~ is connected by small doorways in each pier. The new
Pt
facade was decorated-at least on the portion that
*
i X.
--
.
c
i
t%? still remained in the northwest corner of the court-
I

,; ,*8"',,..~ -* ' yard-with vertical moldings and a horizontal course

of thick, doughnutlike forms that marked the divi-
i-,w . I;
sion between the stories.42This frieze was still visible
_^ * ..k*K .-
I :
-
in 1961.43The arched windows of the earlier phase
*- * V.." .
. . I- .
. -'

were sealed and the stairs were modified into a single

"I.
. r* .
straight flight.44 Whatever the aesthetic reason for
this major change, there may have been a structural
one as well. The north side of the court supported a
.-
_lj?,
,
o.? terrace that was itself partially hollow. A vaulted gal-
3. North facade of the CentralCourt, with remainsof lery rather like a Roman cryptoporticus ran the
a stucco figure on the east side of the doorway(left) length of the north side.45Lit by the windows of the
and a painting (right); Herzfeld'sphotograph, 1929 first phase and ornamented with extensive wall paint-
(photo: Herzfeld Archive, neg. no. 1173) ings, the narrow Painted Gallery, about two and one-
half meters wide and three high (see Figure 9), was

only half as high as the columns. The wall above the

windows was slightly recessed. An opening or door in
36. Sk. XV, p. 26.
the center of the wall was reached by a staircase that 37. Ibid., pp. 24, 25.
Herzfeld described as having separate flights to the 38. Herzfeld 1941, p. 292, pl. XCVIbottom; and Kr6ger, pi.
east and west.36Unfortunately no trace of this stair 104.
can be seen in the Herzfeld Archive photographs, 39. For related stucco pieces see M. Azarnoush, "Excavations
at Hajiabad, 1977: First Preliminary Report," Iranica Antiqua 18
and all that remains as documentation is Herzfeld's (1983) pp. 171-175, pls. I, III.
sketches.37 40. Neg. no. 1173.
On each side of the door was a life-size stucco fig- 41. Stein, II, p. 913.
ure modeled in very high relief.38Only drapery frag- 42. Sk. XV, p. 5; neg. nos. 966, 2082.
43. Gullini, p. 389, fig. 219.
ments of the westernmost figure survived, but the 44. Sk. XV, p. 44. See also Stein, p. 912.
opposing image was better preserved, retaining por- 45. Neg. nos. 3970, 3991.

18
at some point reinforced internally with mud-brick however, are known in Iranian art as early as the sev-
walls whose bricks were narrower and thinner than enth century B.C., to judge from a carved ivory
usual.46These secondary walls covered not only the plaque said to have been found at Ziwiye.58While
paintings but also the simple two-step molding that stately processions are a major feature of the Achae-
marked the springing point of the vault.47 menid reliefs at Persepolis, no mounted figures ap-
On the terrace, Herzfeld recorded another set of pear there. A procession of female riders does occur
buildings whose state of extreme disintegration ob- on an Achaemenid relief from Eregli in Anatolia,59
scured their plans. The best-preserved structure, its male figures in line ride around the edge of a knot-
main entrance directly in line with the stairs and the ted carpet from the tombs at Pazyryk,60and it is likely
South Gate, featured a square central room once cov- that other Achaemenid examples once existed. Curi-
ered with a dome. Both the domed room and the ously, no Parthian processions are known, though a
chamber behind it were encircled by a corridor or Sasanian parallel has been excavated at Bishapur.61
ambulatory that also connected with a small domed Thus, both of the equestrian reliefs are traditional in
structure on the western edge of the terrace and, their content; the weathering-away of details has re-
through a series of doors and small rooms, with the moved other possible indications of date.
east side of the terrace. Herzfeld and most subse- The east facade of the Temple was totally worn
quent writers have considered the set of rooms in down, but presumably also had reliefs.
line with the South Gate to be a fire temple.48 This
domed Temple with its reliefs, elevated above the
north wall of the courtyard, was the ultimate goal of
any progress through the complex from the outer 46. Neg. no. 2100. The bricks averaged 24 x 13 X 3 in.; see
terrace. Stein, II, p. 919.
The entry to the Temple was framed by a pair 47. Sk. XV, p. 5.
48. Herzfeld 1941, p. 301; Klaus Schippmann, Die iranischen
of buttresses decorated with shallow semicircular Feuerheiligtiimer(Berlin, 1971) pp. 62-63, 399-402; and Mary
niches. Each niche had a simple three-step profile Boyce, "On the ZoroastrianTemple Cult of Fire,"Journalof the
modeled into the surface coat of clay.49 The western AmericanOriental Society95 (1975) pp. 461-462.
wall of the Temple facade bore blurred remnants of 49. Sk. XV, p. 13; neg. nos. 1172, 1173, 2090.
5o. Sk. XV, p. 29. Herzfeld 1941, pl. xcvI middle; and Kro-
a stucco relief showing a horseman meeting the at- ger,p. 7,figs. 1, 2.
tack of a rearing feline.50The horseman faced away 51. British Museum 89009. D.J. Wiseman, CylinderSeals of
from the entrance to the Temple. The motif of a WesternAsia (London, 1959) no. 107. For a slightly earlier ver-
sion see M. Noveck, The Mark of Ancient Man (New York, 1976)
horseman facing an attacking lion was popular in
p. 63, no. 47; and Pierre Amiet, Elam(Auvers-sur-Oise,1966)
Iran and neighboring regions during the first millen- p. 569.
nium B.C. The scene appears on such disparate ob- 52. 0. M. Dalton, The Oxus Treasure(London, 1926) pp. 9-
jects as the chalcedony cylinder seal of the Elamite 11, pl. ix. For other Achaemenid examples see A. Farkas,
"Horse and Rider in Achaemenid Art,"Persica4 (1969) pp.
Ayanakka (seventh century B.C.),51the Oxus scabbard 65-74.
(sixth century B.C.),52 and an amphora now in the 53. Ark. Muz. 26067. M. Mellinck et al., Art Treasuresof Turkey
Archaeological Museum, Ankara (fourth century (Washington,D.C., 1966) no. 143.
Later painted versions are known from tombs
B.C.).?3 54. J. P. Peters and H. Thiersch, The Painted Tombsof Marissa
at Marissa near Jerusalem (first century B.C.)54 and at (London, 1905) pp. 23-24, pl. Iv.
55. M. I. Rostovtzeff, "Dura and the Problem of Parthian
Kertsch (ancient Pantikapaeon, first century A.D.) on Art," YaleClassical Studies 5 (1935) fig. 66:1,2.
the north coast of the Black Sea.55Seal impressions 56. M. E. Massonand G. A. Pugachenkova,"Ottiskiparfian-
from the Arsacid capital at Nisa56and rock reliefs in skikh pechatei is Nisi" [Impressions of Parthian Seals from
Xuzestan57show that the scene continued to be pop- Nisa], VestnikDrevnyeiIstorii [Bulletin of Ancient History] 4
(1954) p. 167, nos. 2-6, 8.
ular during the second and third centuries A.D. 57. Kawami, pp. 95-96, 104-105.
An adjoining wall farther west had an equally 58. A. Godard, Le Tresorde Ziwiye (Haarlem, 1950) p. 102,
worn relief of three horsemen facing in the same di- fig. 87.
59. Roman Ghirshman, The Arts of Ancient Iran (New York,
rection as the equestrian hunter. One wonders if
1964) p. 348, fig. 441.
these three figures are responsible for the association 6o. Ibid., p. 360, fig. 466.
of the site with the Magi. Equestrian processions, 61. Ghirshman 1971, pl. xxxv: 1-3.

19
The special setting of Kuh-e Khwaja, the marshes laiman focus on a seemingly bottomless lake that
and the mountain, makes comparison with other dominates the complex enclosing it.68 Here the goal
sites difficult. Because the architecture of Ghaga- of the pious pilgrim was not a temple or altar, but a
shahr is a specific response to a unique location, par- natural phenomenon.
allels with other structures will be sought on a some- The three basic elements of the first phase at
what wider scale than might be expected. The typical Ghaga-shahr-an entrance suite, a central court bor-
is easy to understand; the unique, by its very exis- dered by small rooms, and a raised terrace contain-
tence, poses problems. ing a vaulted gallery, all arranged along a single
No Near Eastern site has a generally comparable axis-find few Iranian parallels. Only two such par-
situation, and none such a subtly modulated ap- allels present themselves: the central court at early
proach. The Athenian Acropolis is one of the other Sasanian Firuzabad,69which is about the same size as
rare sanctuaries in which the main focus of the ap- that of Ghaga-shahr, and the late Sasanian ruins at
proach, the Parthenon, is visible at a distance, dis- Qasr-e Shirin near the Iraqi border.70Neither site,
appears as one climbs upward, and then suddenly however, corresponds closely in other ways to Kuh-e
reappears as the viewer passes through a clearly de- Khwaja. A symmetrical central space around which
fined gate.62 The complex at Ghaga-shahr is further other architectural elements are arranged appears in
distinguished by the fact that, once inside the court, the "Great Hall" at Sasanian Bishapur71and earlier
the viewer continues to ascend, from the court to the in the "Treasury" at Parthian Nisa.72 But both the
terrace and from the terrace to the Temple. This Bishapur and Nisa examples are only single build-
rhythmic progression, alternately forward and up- ings and do not dominate the complexes of which
ward, from open spaces to enclosed transitional
zones, stands in contrast to the simple, direct ap-
62. WilliamBell Dinsmoor,TheArchitecture of AncientGreece
proach more common in Near Eastern religious ar-
chitecture. (New York,1950; repr.New York,1975) pp. 197-198; and Vin-
cent Scully,TheEarth,theTemple and theGods(New York, 1969)
The Parthian period in Iran (ca. 250 B.C.-A.D. 224) pp. 179-181.
provides little for comparison because, for the most 63. For a surveysee Colledge, pp. 21-79; and TrudyS. Ka-
part, only single buildings or parts of buildings are wami,reviewof Colledge,ArtBulletin61 (1979) pp. 471-472.
known at various sites.63 The Parthian capital of Nisa, 64. Pugachenkova 1958, pp. 60-117; and Pugachenkova
1967, pp. 34-41, 208, pls. 12-16. Moreaccessibleplans may be
in what is now Soviet Turkmenistan, preserves no found in Herrmann,pp. 34-35; and Colledge, pp. 23, 38, 53.
evidence that its monumental structures followed 65. DavidStronach,Pasargadae(Oxford, 1977) p. 144.
a carefully organized arrangement.64 The terrace 66. Roman Ghirshman,Les Terraces sacreesde Bard-eNechan-
dehet deMasjid-iSolaiman,Memoiresde la delegationarch6olo-
shrine, an Iranian development of the Achaemenid
gique en Perse XLV(Paris,1976).
period, is clearly an antecedent of the Ghaga-shahr 67. Gerard Fussman,SurkhKotal,Materialienzur allgemei-
plan, but neither the late Achaemenid example at Pa- nen und vergleichendenArchaologieXIX (Munich, 1983) pp.
sargadae (fourth century B.C.)65 nor the later Par- 14, 15; Burchard Brentjes,Das altePersien(Vienna, 1978) pp.
thian versions at Masjid-e Sulaiman and Bard-e 196-198, pls. 102-105; Daniel Schlumberger,"Le Temple de
SurkhKotalen Bactriane,"JournalAsiatique 240 (1952) pp. 435-
Neshandeh66 have the dramatic setting and spatial so- 436, pl. ii; and idem, "LeTemplede SurkhKotalen Bactriane,"
phistication of the ruins at Kuh-e Khwaja. JournalAsiatique243 (1955) p. 272, pl. I.
Farther to the east, the Kushan shrine at Surkh 68. For color photographs of the site see Herrmann, pp.
Kotal in northern Afghanistan (first-second century) 113-118. For the excavationssee R. Naumann,D. Huff, and R.
Schnyder,"Takht-iSuleiman:Bericht uber die Ausgrabungen
has a hillside setting, though it lacks the rocky peak 1965-1973,"Archiologischer Anzeiger(1975) pp. 109-204.
and surrounding marshes.67 Its approach is along a 69. Herrmann, p. 84; and Lionel Bier, "SasanianPalacesin
single axis up the terraces, without any counterpoint Perspective," 35:1 (1982) pp. 31, 33-35.
Archaeology
of open and closed spaces to modify the steady up- 70. Gertrude Bell, Palaceand Mosqueat Ukhaidir(Oxford,
1914) pp. 45-51, pls. 54, 59, 62, 63:1; and OscarReuther,"Sa-
ward progression. The Sasanian period in Iran (224- sanianArchitecture:History,"SPAI, pp. 540-541, fig. 153.
647), likewise, has few comparable sites. Only the 71. Ghirshman 1971, pl. II; and Roman Ghirshman,"Les
Fouillesde Chapour,deuxieme campagne,"Revuedesartsasia-
sanctuary of Takht-e Sulaiman in northwestern Iran
has a striking mountaintop setting in any way com- tiques12 (1938) pp. 15-17, pls. x, xII, XIII.See also Herrmann,
pp. 102-103.
parable to Kuh-e Khwaja. But, unlike Kuh-e Khwaja, 72. Colledge,p. 53, fig. 24; and Pugachenkova1958, pp. 69-
the site itself is level and the buildings of Takht-e Su- 78.

20
they are a part. The large court in the Parthian pal- found at another Bactrian site, the Buddhist shrine
ace at Assur in Mesopotamia might at first seem a at Kara Tepe, also on the upper Amu Darya. At Kara
parallel, but that structure was formed over a period Tepe, the two courts have rectangular subterranean
of time, the addition of one element after another ambulatories cut into the living rock that rises above
transforming an open space into an articulated, if the court. These two courts plus a third are arranged
somewhat asymmetrical, central court.73 along a central axis that ends in a square, constructed
Shifting the search for parallels to the east is some- ambulatory. Dated between the second and fourth
what more productive, for comparable features ap- centuries A.D.,82 Kara Tepe is one of a number of
pear in eastern Iranian and Central Asian buildings shrines or viharasof similar organization in the area.
before the Parthian period. A geographically closer The Buddhist complexes of Takht-i Bahi in Gan-
parallel to the spatial configuration of the first phase dhara and Gul Dara near Kabul present other paral-
of Ghaga-shahr may be the "Sacred Building" (build- lels to Ghaga-shahr even farther east.83
ing no. 3) at Dahan-e Ghulaman, some thirty-five The first phase of Ghaga-shahr thus finds its near-
kilometers southeast of Kuh-e Khwaja.74The ruined est parallels not in Parthian and Sasanian buildings
mud-brick structure consists of a large court contain-
ing three altars surrounded by a walled portico. The 73. Oscar Reuther, "Parthian Architecture: History," SPA I,
building is entered through a single narrow door, p. 434; Trudy S. Kawami, "Parthian Brick Vaults in Mesopota-
suggesting that the interior space was not generally mia, Their Antecedents and Descendants," Journal of the Ancient
accessible to casual visitors. Dahan-e Ghulaman has Near East Society 14 (1982) p. 62; and Walter Andrae and Heinz
been called Achaemenid and its plan compared to Lenzen, Die PartherstadtAssur (Leipzig, 1933) pp. 25-54, pls. 9-
11.
portions of Persepolis,75but it is an inversion of the 74. U. Scerrato, "Excavations at Dahan-i Ghulaman (Seistan,
usual Achaemenid building form, with an open space Iran), First Preliminary Report (1962-63)," East and West 16
where the densely columned hall would be. (1966); and Sylvia Matheson, Persia: An Archaeological Guide
The monumental complex of Altyn- lo in northern (London, 1976) pp. 284-286.
75. Matheson, Persia, p. 285.
Afghanistan presents larger, more complicated ver- 76. Viktor Sarianidi, "Bactrian Centre of Ancient Art," Mes-
sions of the Dahan-e Ghulaman type. Building I at opotamia 12 (1977) p. 101, figs. 46-50.
Altyn-lo is a large double court with porticoes.76 77. Ibid., p. 102, fig. 45.
78. Viktor Sarianidi, Drevnie Zemledel'chiAfganistana [Ancient
Building II, an apparently palatial structure with a Agriculturalists of Afghanistan] (Moscow, 1977) pp. 122-126,
well-marked entrance, a central court with pool, and 165.
an ambulatory corridor,7 also echoes the plan of 79. Architectural centrality based on an open square is a
Kuh-e Khwaja. Dated to the early Achaemenid pe- characteristic of Central Asian architecture in general. It is also
manifested in the solid symmetry of Buddhist stupas. The large
riod (late sixth-fifth century B.C.),78Altyn-io shows
square court with circumambulatory corridor at the Dashli Oa-
the Central Asian preference for centralized courts sis (site 3) in northern Afghanistan dates this architectural fea-
as early as the middle of the first millennium B.c.79 ture as early as the late second millennium B.c. The site also
This regional preference continues in later centu- reveals the use of pitched brick vaulting. See Sarianidi, "Bac-
trian Centre," pp. 97, 100-101, figs. 35, 42, 43; idem, Afganis-
ries, to judge by the ruins of Saksanakhyr (Sak-
tana, pp. 42-45,161; and G. A. Pugachenkova, "K Tipologii Mo-
sanokur) on the upper reaches of the Amu Darya numentalnogo Zodchestva Drevnikh Stran Sredneaziatskogo
(ancient Oxus) in Bactria. Located about forty Regiona" [Towards a Typology of Monumental Architecture in
kilometers from the Seleucid site of Ai Khanum on the Ancient Countries of the Central Asian Region], Iranica
the Russian-Afghan border, Saksanakhyr contains, Antiqua 17 (1982) p. 40.
80. Herrmann, p. 35; and G. Frumkin, "L'Art ancien de
among other structures, a palace/temple complex l'Asie Centrale sovietique," Arts Asiatiques 39 (1977) pp. 185-
with an open court approximately the same size as 186.
that of Ghaga-shahr. Dated either to the post- 81. Vadim M. Masson, Das Land der tausend Sttidte(Munich,
Alexandrine period (third-first century B.C.)80 or to 1982) p. 86.
82. Stawiski, pp. 106-107, fig. 101; Frumkin, "L'Art ancien
the Kushan period (first-third century A.D.),81 Sak- de l'Asie Centrale sovietique," p. 188; and Rehka Morris, "Some
sanakhyr displays both the central court and the axial Observations on Recent Soviet Excavations in Soviet Central
Asia and the Problem of Gandharan Art,"Journal of theAmerican
organization seen at Kuh-e Khwaja.
Oriental Society 103 (1983) pp. 562-564.
The combination of the central court, a subterra-
83. W. Zwalf, The Shrines of Gandhara (London, 1979) p. 13;
nean gallery at one end of the court, and subsidiary and H. G. Franz, "Stupa and Umgangstempel in Zentralasien,"
rooms symmetrically placed on a unified axis is Das Altertum27 (1981) p. 159.

21
of central and western Iran, but in the palaces and pitched construction is based on vaulting techniques
sanctuaries of Central Asia-and particularly of used in Mesopotamia from the late third millennium
northern Bactria-in the early centuries of the B.C. and widespread by the Parthian period.87
Christian Era. The only site that, like Kuh-e Khwaja, The Painted Gallery on the north side of the court
combines a central court with a subterranean gallery was also constructed of pitched rather than radial
on a unified axis is a Buddhist shrine of, at the earli- courses and thus can be distinguished technically
est, late Parthian date. from the dome of the South Gate and related to the
Apart from site and general plan, the individual tripartite vaults of the side rooms. The windows of
buildings of Ghaga-shahr present many problems of the Painted Gallery, closed by the additions of the
interpretation and analysis, not the least of which is second phase, have a distinctive inset or keyhole
the lack of differentiation between the various build- form: the arch does not spring smoothly from the
ing phases that remain above ground. All who have top of the jamb but cuts into the wall above the jamb,
considered the site agree that there are two main which as a consequence projects into the opening.
phases, the earlier one encompassing the South Gate, This window shape, unknown in the Parthian period,
the Central Court, and the north terrace and Tem- occurs in the early Sasanian buildings (third century)
ple, and the later one the addition of eivans to the at Firuzabad and in the temple at Takht-e Sulaiman88
court, the reinforcement and alteration of the ter- and continues throughout the Sasanian period. The
race, and the remodeling of the South Gate. But hu- vaulting of the Painted Gallery and of its windows
man and seismic activity, not to mention the innate suggests construction at the earliest in the Sasanian
vulnerability of mud brick, must have necessitated period.
numerous repairs, reinforcements, and additions at The applied architectural elements of the north
each phase; when a specific detail is examined, it can wall are not so secure a guide to the date of the
be difficult to determine to which phase it belonged. building, for they are not structural and could, theo-
With this in mind, aspects and details of the architec- retically, have been added later. But since the entire
ture will be considered individually, in an attempt to north wall was covered by the buttresses of phase
unravel a few of the tangled elements that made up two, the engaged columns and the running scroll
the complicated structure. must antedate that later construction.
The vaults of Ghaga-shahr are distinctive for their The "Doric"capitals on the columns raise the pos-
high degree of preservation. Although brick vaults sibility of Greek influence in eastern Iran and are
were widely used throughout the ancient Near East, one of the reasons that Herzfeld dated the first phase
specific details of construction and use can serve as of Ghaga-shahr as early as the late Parthian period
chronological markers and so help to establish a date (first-third century). The general scheme of engaged
for the first phase of the site. The domed entrance brick columns alternating with smaller arched win-
chamber of the South Gate is an architectural feature dows was in use in Mesopotamia before A.D.1 1o, and
without parallel in Parthian times, either in Iran,
Mesopotamia, or Central Asia. Domed entrance 84. John D. Hoag, WesternIslamic Architecture(New York,
suites appear primarily in Islamic architecture,84the 1963) pp. 16-17, pis. 22, 24, 26; Aptullah Kuran, "Thirteenth
and Fourteenth Century Mosques in Turkey," Archaeology24
only Sasanian example being the very late structure
at Qasr-e Shirin.85 Furthermore, the dome on (1971) pp. 236, 241, 244, 250; and Reuther, SPA I, p. 503.
85. Arthur Upham Pope, Persian Architecture (New York,
hooded squinches, a specific device for accommodat- 1965) pp. 64-65; and Reuther, SPA I, pp. 540-542, figs. 153,
ing the round dome on the square chamber, is also 154. The Sasanian date of Qasr-i Shirin is questioned by Lionel
common in Islamic structures, the best-known ex- Bier, Sarvistan: A Study in Early Iranian Architecture(University
Park, Pa., 1986) p. 70.
amples in Iran being those in the post-Sasanian pal- 86. Bier, Sarvistan, esp. pp. 48-53, where numerous parallels
ace at Sarvistan.86It appears that the dome of the to the Islamic palace at Ukhaidir are noted. See also Herrmann,
South Gate was a replacement, reflecting the build- pp. 108-109, where it is dated to the reign of Khosro II (591-
ing practices of a period later than that in which the 628); and Bier, "Sasanian Palaces," p. 36. I am indebted to Dr.
Bier for his helpful comments.
basic plan of the entrance suite was determined. The
87. Kawami, "Parthian Brick Vaults in Mesopotamia," pp.
tripartite vaults of the side chambers of the South 61-67.
Gate may be earlier, however, for their simple 88. Herrmann, pp. 86, 114, 116--117.

22
the production of terracotta capitals and bases there riod (third-fourth century), not the late Parthian.
can now be documented.89 "Doric," "Ionic," and While the architectural details link the structure to
"Corinthian" architectural elements in terracotta Sasanian buildings in central and western Iran, the
have also been excavated at the Parthian royal capital
of Nisa.90
Classical influence in architecture was not limited 89. For instance, the facade of the Gareus Temple at Uruk
to the Parthian period in Iran, but continued into the (Warka).See Colledge, p. 36, fig. gc, pp. 74-76, fig. 37; and
Antonio Invernizzi, "Trench on the South Side Archive
Sasanian. Hellenic architectural elements appear as Square," Mesopotamia12 (1977) pp. 9, 10, figs. 1, 2.
decoration in early Sasanian buildings at Bishapur,91 go. Pugachenkova 1958, pp. 82-83, 96-97, 101-102; Pu-
Hajiabad,92 and Qasr-i Abu Nasr,93 and "Corinthian" gachenkova 1967, pp. 38-39, pls. 12-13, 15-16, col. pl. in; and
Herrmann, p. 36.
capitals of stone are found at Istakhr near Per- 91. Ghirshman 1971, pl. XL:3.
sepolis94 and at Takht-e Sulaiman.95 92. M. Azarnoush,"Excavations at Hajiabad" pp. 172-173.
The use-and misuse-of the classical orders 93. Joseph M. Upton in Richard N. Frye, ed., SasanianRe-
mainsfrom Qasr-iAbu Nasr (Cambridge, 1973) p. 15, fig. 1i; and
spread from Iran through Parthia and Central Asia, Donald S. Whitcomb, Before the Roses and Nightingales: Excava-
as Ionic-style bases from Nisa (first-second cen- tions at Qasr-i Abu Nasr, Old Shiraz (New York: MMA, 1985) pp.
tury),9 Khalchayan (first century B.c.-first century 44-45.
A.D.),97 and the Buddhist shrine of Kara Tepe,98 94. Paul Bernard, "Les Chapiteaux corinthiens d'Istakhr,"
Journal Asiatique 262 (1974) pp. 254-258, figs. 1-6.
among other sites, show. The "Doric" columns of
95. Dietrich Huff, "Takht-i Sulaiman, 1965-1973," Archio-
Ghaga-shahr are just one example of the widespread logischeAnzeiger (1975) pp. 171-172, figs. 63, 64.
use of imperfectly understood Greek architectural 96. Pugachenkova 1958, pp. 86-91, 99-100.
elements that persisted throughout the Near East 97. Ibid., p. 99, figs. 22, 25; and G. A. Pugachenkova,Khal-
and Central Asia well into the Sasanian period. chayan (Tashkent, 1966) pp. 44, 48, 61-62, 132.
The volute or scroll pattern on the architrave of 98. Stawiski, pl. lo. See also Fussman, Surkh Kotal, pp. 26,
28, 49; Schlumberger,"Le Temple de Surkh Kotal,"pp. 439-
the north wall is a Greek decorative motif known in 440, pls. 111:2, Iv:2; Mortimer Wheeler, Flames over Persepolis
Hellenistic mosaics,99vase painting,'00and textiles,'0' (New York, 1968) p. 118; and G. A. Pugachenkova,"Novie
but very rare in architecture. Its association with Dannieo KhudozhestvennoiKultureBaktrii"[New Dataon the
Artistic Culture of Bactria], Iz Istorii Antichnoi Kul'turi Uzbekist-
water, in fact, would have made it less suitable in ana [Towardsa History of the Ancient Culture of Uzbekistan]
Greek eyes as an architectural ornament.102 At pres- (Tashkent, 1973) pp. 88-89.
ent, we do not know when the running volute was 99. D. S. Robertson, Greek and Roman Architecture (Cam-
introduced into Iran, but it does occur in the pavilion bridge, 1971) p. 300, pl. xxxii:a; T. B. L. Webster, The Art of
Greece:The Age of Hellenism (New York, 1967) p. 156, pl. 47; and
at Kaleh Zohak, whose date, Parthian or Sasanian, is Gisela M. A. Richter, A Handbookof GreekArt (London, 1963) p.
uncertain.103The motif ultimately spread into Cen- 276.
tral Asia, where it remained in use, at least on ceram- loo. Pierre Devambez, GreekPainting (New York, 1962) pp.
ics, as late as the sixth century.'04Its occurrence at 156-157; Richter, Handbook, pp. 350, 353; and Rodney S.
Young, "Early Iron Age, Classical and Roman Empire,"in
Ghaga-shahr is another sign that the artisans respon- Thomas C. Witherspoon,ed., Art Treasures
of Turkey(Washing-
sible for the structure were already far removed ton, D.C., 1966) pp. 33, 93, pl. 143.
from the Hellenic world. Taken together, the applied lo1. ManolisAndronikos,"The RoyalTombsat Vergina,"in
"Doric"columns and the running scroll in the archi- The Searchfor Alexander(Boston, 1980) pp. 36-37, fig. 19.
102. On the choragic monument of Lysikrates,the running
trave point to no precise date of construction. They wave refers directly to the myth illustratedin the frieze. See
merely suggest a time in the late Parthian or early Dinsmoor, Architectureof Ancient Greece,p. 238.
Sasanian periods and link the complex at Kuh-e 103. Wolfram Kleiss, "Berichtiiber Erkundungsfahrtenin
Iran im Jahr 1971," ArchtiologischeMitteilungenaus Iran 5 (1972)
Khwaja to numerous other structures in Mesopota-
p. 164, pl. 442. See also Reinhard Pohanka,"ZumBautyp des
mia, Iran, and Bactria. Pavillonsvon Qal'eh Zohak,Nordost-Aserbeidschan,Iran,"Ar-
The general plan of Ghaga-shahr, the simple chiiologischeMitteilungen aus Iran 16 (1983) pp. 237-254.
vaulting of the side chambers of the South Gate, the 104. MarthaL. Carter,"RoyalFestalThemes in SasanianSil-
verwork and Their Central Asian Parallels,"Acta Iranica i
keyhole windows of the Painted Gallery, and the ap-
(1974) pl. xi; Boris Stawiski, IskusstvoSredneiAzii [Art of Central
plied ornament of the north wall, particularly the Asia] (Moscow, 1974) pp. 176-177; and Pugachenkova 1967, pl.
stucco figure, indicate that the initial construction, 67. For its architecturaluse in Mauryan India see Wheeler,
the first phase, took place in the early Sasanian pe- Flames, p. 130.

23
 overall plan shows the strong influence of the north at Nippur and Assur during the Parthian period in
and east, especially of Buddhist Central Asia.105 Mesopotamia."' They were used in both public and
Within the first phase of Ghaga-shahr, changes domestic architecture in the Sasanian period and
and additions were made. Alterations to the South spread to the Iranian plateau, where they became a
Gate included an elaborate stucco panel, recently common architectural feature.12 Neither Parthian
dated to the late Sasanian period,'06that was covered nor Sasanian eivans extend into the courts they face
in the second phase. The windows of the North as do the eivans at Ghaga-shahr. The T-shaped con-
Tower and North Gate and other windows near figuration of the Kuh-e Khwaja eivans, with domed
Tower A on the east side of the complex are offset back room, is also unusual; the closest parallels are at
rather than inset, a late Sasanian characteristic.107 Khirbat Minyah (early eighth century) and especially
These later elements do not undercut the evidence at Ukhaidir, a complex with strong Iranian connec-
that the first phase of construction at Ghaga-shahr tions."3 These comparisons reinforce the probability
occurred in the early Sasanian period. They only that the Kuh-e Khwaja eivans were added to the
show the normal repairs and alterations one would court after the Sasanian period.
expect in a large and much-used complex. Only the foundation vaults remain for the but-
In the second building phase at Ghaga-shahr, the tresses added to the north wall of the court, with the
South Gate was extensively replastered and the size exception of a small segment in the northwest cor-
of the court was diminished by the addition of the ner. There, some plain vertical molding and a short
large eivans on the east and west and by the row of section of the stringcourse remain. The stringcourse
deep buttresses forming vaulted rooms against the with its single row of thick circles is without parallel
north wall of the court. Vaulted space became more in Sasanian architecture, though the form plays a
important both in appearance and in actual area. In prominent role in the decorative vocabulary of Sa-
the main chamber of the South Gate, whose upper manid (ninth-tenth century) and Ghaznavid (tenth-
walls were articulated by a continuous series of deep, twelfth century) architecture of Central Asia and
rounded niches framed by thick colonnettes, the base Afghanistan. The Samanid Tomb of Ismail at Bu-
of the vault became a continuously undulating sur- khara'14 and the remarkable minaret at Jam, Af-
face alternately protruding and receding. The flat ghanistan,'15 are two important structures having a
wall of the earlier phase had been covered with plas-
ter moldings and the architectural emphasis shifted
from the flat horizontal panel at the base of the vault
to the plasticity of the vault itself. 105. Indo-Buddhist influence was suggested as early as 1938
by Reuther, SPA I, p. 512.
Single round niches with simple two-step moldings 106. Kroger, p. 257.
are known in the early Sasanian palace at Firuza- 107. Gullini, p. 416, fig. 277, also noted the late Sasanian
bad,'08and rows of shallow niches with flanking col- characteristics of the North Tower.
108. Dietrich Huff, "Zur Rekonstruktion des Turmes von Fi-
onnettes are found in the late Sasanian Taq-e Khusro
ruzabad," IstanbulerMitteilungen 19/20 (1969/70) pp. 336-338,
at Ctesiphon in Mesopotamia.109In both buildings,
pl. 64:2; and Reuther, SPA IV, pl. 147B.
however, the niches are flat or very shallow and the 109. Pope, Persian Architecture,p. 57, pls. 43, 44.
slender columns do not project strongly from the 11o. G. Lankester Harding, The Antiquities of Jordan (New

wall. The contrast between the plump colonnettes York, 1967) pp. 160-161, pi. 22B; and Bell, Ukhaidir, pi. 8, fig.
3; pl. 16, fig. 1; pl. 31, fig. 1.
and deeply hollowed niches at Kuh-e Khwajaand the 111. Edward Keall, "Some Thoughts on the Early Eyvan," in
flat mortar-and-rubble surfaces of most Sasanian Dickran K. Konymjian, ed., Near Eastern Numismatics,Iconogra-
buildings in Iran suggests a post-Sasanian architec- phy,Epigraphyand History:Studiesin Honor of GeorgeC. Miles (Bei-
tural aesthetic. Closely spaced niches or windows al- rut, 1974) pp. 123-130. See also Kawami, "Parthian Brick
Vaults in Mesopotamia," pp. 61-67.
ternating with pairs of short, thick colonnettes occur 112. Keall, "Eyvan," pp. 126, 129, fig. 3.
in early Islamic structures such as the eighth-century 113. Bell, Ukhaidir, pp. 84-86, pl. 2; and Oleg Grabar, The
Qasr-al-Kharanahin Jordan and Ukhaidir in Iraq.10 Formationof Islamic Art (New Haven, 1973) pp. 147-148, figs.
The eivans that project into the court also point to 58, 63.
114. Pope, Persian Architecture,p. 83, fig. 77.
a date for the second phase after the Sasanian pe-
115. G. A. Pugachenkova, IskusstvoAfganistana [Art of Af-
riod. Eivans covered with pitched-brick vaults appear ghanistan] (Moscow, 1963) p. 1 11.

24
stringcourse or banding of circular brick ornament sealed by later construction.'28Only faint colors and
exactly comparable to that at Kuh-e Khwaja. the general contours were visible. Nonetheless, the
Considered together, the colonnettes and niches of garments, jewelry, and poses strongly evoked Central
the South Gate, the eivans of the court, and the plas- Asian Buddhist parallels for Stein, and led him to
ter ornament of the north wall suggest that the sec- speculate on the possibility of a Buddhist foundation
ond phase of Ghaga-shahr was constructed in Islamic at Kuh-e Khwaja.'29As we have seen, the architec-
times. Indeed, a comparison of this later state of tural antecedents of the early phase support Stein's
Kuh-e Khwaja with Islamic structures such as those observations, and additional documentation of Bud-
at Bost (eleventh-century Samanid)"16and Lashkari dhism in Iran has since appeared.'30
Bazar (eleventh-century Ghaznavid) and the fortress Herzfeld may have seen this Buddhist painting
of Shahr-i Gholghola (A.D. 1222)"7 yields many during his 1925 visit to the site.'31 In the absence of a
points of similarity in the treatment of wall surface, clear photograph (Stein was well aware of the inade-
arrangement of internal spaces, and details of vault- quacy of his illustration'32),it is difficult to compare
ing. Sistan prospered under the Ghaznavids,18 and a the image with other works.
major rebuilding at Ghaga-shahr during that period The second painting occupied a later, adjacent
appears likely. Thus, we have come full circle in our wall.133Damaged at top and bottom and ultimately
dating of the second phase, for Herzfeld initially walled up, this painting showed two registers of
proposed an early Islamic date to Stein.19 standing figures in belted tunics, trousers, and high
boots. The static frontal pose of the figures, with feet
turned out to each side, was mitigated somewhat by
THE PAINTINGS the slight angle of their heads to the viewer's right.
In the lower register, a partly obliterated seated fig-
The walls of Ghaga-shahr were once extensively dec- ure faced the standing ones. In spite of the pitted
orated with paintings,120 but by 1929 most of the
ornamentation had vanished. The extant paintings
were concentrated in two main areas, the South Gate 116. B. Brentjes, "Vorislamisch-mittelasiatische
Traditionen
and the Painted Gallery under the terrace on the in der Architekturdes Islam,"DasAltertum23 (1977) pp. 101-
103.
north side of the courtyard. A few small fragments
117. Jeanine Auboyer, The Art of Afghanistan (Prague, 1968)
could also be seen in little rooms on the northern and p. 57, pls. 101, 103-107.
eastern walls. 118. Curzon, Persia, pp. 228-229. On the literary impor-
tanceof Sistanin this period see Bosworth,Sistan,pp. 122-123.
Figured wall paintings are documented in Iran 119. Bodleian, fol. 147.
from at least the fourth century B.C.,121but few wall 120. Herzfeld 1935, p. 67.
paintings of the Parthian and Sasanian periods have 121. Athenaeus, XIII, 35, 575. See also L. Pearson,TheLost
survived. Those that remain from Parthian Assur122 Histories of Alexander the Great, American Philosophical Associa-
and Sasanian Ctesiphon,'23Susa,'24Damghan,'25and tion, PhilologicalMonographXX (New York,1960) p. 39.
122. Andrae and Lenzen, Assur, pp. 111-114, pls. 61, 62.
Hajiabad126 are badly fragmented, with the total 123. Kroger, pp. 88-89, pl. 29.
compositions now lost. The study of painting in the 124. Ghirshman 1962, p. 183, fig. 224.
ancient Near East has therefore focused on later pe- 125. Erich F. Schmidt, Excavations at Tepe Hissar, Damghan
riods and the more distant regions of Central Asia.'27 (Philadelphia, 1937) pp. 337-338, figs. 174, 175.
126. Azarnoush, "Excavations at Hajiabad," pp. 173-174.
The paintings of Kuh-e Khwaja are a precious addi-
127. Mario Bussagli, CentralAsian Painting (New York, 1979);
tion to a very small corpus. and Azarpay.
128. Faccenna, pp. 92-93, fig. 3.
129. Stein, II, pp. 917-918, fig. 467.
The South Gate 130. RichardBulliet,"NawBaharand the Survivalof Iranian
Buddhism,' Iran 14 (1976) pp. 140-145; and Warwick Bell,
Sir Aurel Stein, the earliest explorer of Kuh-e "SomeRock-CutMonumentsin Southern Iran,"Iran 24 (1986)
Khwaja, uncovered near the western facade of the PP. 95-116.
South Gate paintings in two distinct styles. The first 131. Sk. XIII, p. lo.
132. Stein, II, pp. 917-918. I have thus far been unable to
painting-of a tall robed figure, almost life-size, and locate the originalphotographor its negative.
adjacent fragmentary figures-was found on a wall 133. Ibid., pp. 913-918, fig. 468.

25
surface, many colors retained their intensity, and nu- the flat and patterned paintings discovered by Stein.
merous details of dress, fabric, and ornament were The first century has been proposed as a date for this
clearly visible. The style of the painting was charac- painting, on the basis of its location (Gullini's level
terized by the use of flat areas of strong color articu- IV) and classical style,139but the architecture upon
lated by sharp lines of contrasting tones. Modeling, which the painting was executed points to a later, at
shading, and other attempts to render three- least third-century, date. Classical architectural ele-
dimensional surfaces were not used. The light- ments were used well into the fourth century in the
colored halos of the figures in the lower register Near East, and it is likely that classical images and
nearly covered the dark ground, creating the appear- techniques continued in painting as well. A classiciz-
ance of an arcade. ing head from third-century Toprak Kala, already
Among the distinctive images that caught Stein's linked to Kuh-e Khwaja,'40and the head of a bow-
eye were a three-headed figure suggesting Central man from Koi-Krylgan-Kala'14 may be compared
Asian Buddhist connections and an ox-headed mace with the new South Gate fragment. Even closer are
held by the seated figure. This unusual weapon re- the Kushan (second-fourth century) Buddhist paint-
called the famous mace of Rustam, the legendary ings of Fayaz Tepe near Termez, also featuring natu-
hero of eastern Iran whose deeds were celebrated in ralistically rendered male heads in profile.'42Thus,
the Iranian national epic, the Shahnameh. this newest fragment also points to artistic activity at
Rows of standing figures occur frequently in both Kuh-e Khwaja in the Sasanian period.
Parthian and Sasanian art, as well as in Kushan art of Herzfeld, too, noted paintings on the south wall of
Afghanistan and Pakistan.'34One figure in the South the domed chamber in 1925,143 though he did not
Gate painting had diadem ribbons that flew straight mention them in his publications. Since he made no
up on either side of the head, a detail that appears further reference to the paintings in 1929, when a
most frequently in late Sasanian art.135The style of part of the South Gate served as his camp kitchen,
the painting is closer to that of a row of donor figures the painted mud plaster may have already fallen
from Qizil, produced in the early seventh century,'36 from the vaults.
than to naturalistic representations of an earlier date. In summary, the paintings of the South Gate in its
This painting, like the patterned stucco panel men- first phase displayed three different styles in both
tioned above, points to a redecoration of the South painting and composition: Buddhist, modeled (Hel-
Gate in the late Sasanian period. Whether the Bud- lenic), and flat, patterned (Sasanian). All these paint-
dhist paintings remained visible over a long period of ings were eventually covered by later walls, though it
time is impossible to say. is not possible to know if all were obscured at the
The main chamber of the South Gate was also same time. The variations in style as well as imagery
painted. In 1974, a painting fragment was uncovered suggest that the painted decoration of the South
on the western corner of the south entrance to this Gate at Kuh-e Khwaja was not the result of a single
room.'37This painting, like those noted by Stein out- program; just as the architecture of the South Gate
side the South Gate, had been covered by later re- was altered during the first phase, so, too, were the
modeling that included the plaster colonnettes. This paintings.
new example shows two overlapping male heads in
134. W. Zwalf, Buddhism,Art and Faith (London, 1985) no. 9,
profile to the left, and below them, to the right, four pp. 13, 29; Colledge, pls. 17-19, 24b, 3ib, 47a, 48c; and
male heads compressed into the same amount of Ghirshman 1962, pp. 158, 171, 176-184.
space. The heads are placed against a dark ground in 135. Ghirshman 1962, pp. 192, 205, 2o6, 240-241; and
a setting of light-colored walls, battlements, and tow- Reuther, SPA I, pp. 526, 528.
ers. The painting, described as a fresco,'38 showed 136. Bussagli, CentralAsian Painting, pp. 80, 83.
137. Faccenna, pp. 84-86.
extensive use of light pigments to model the features 138. Ibid., p. 85, n. 3.
of the face, as well as dark outlines to distinguish fig- 139. Ibid., p. 93.
ure from figure and figure from ground. The clean- 140. Azarpay, p. 84, pi. 2.
shaven images, the repeated use of profile faces, and 141. S. P. Tolstov and B. I. Vainberg, Koi-Krylgan-Kala(Mos-
cow, 1967) p. 215.
the sophisticated internal modeling produced a clas- 142. Stawiski, p. 141, pi. 102. See below and note 244.
sical-that is, Hellenic-appearance in contrast to 143. Sk. XIII, p. 1o.

26
 The placement of at least one coffer can be de-
termined from the Herzfeld photographs,155 which
The Painted Gallery
show the little Eros on a feline in the second row
The best-preserved paintings of Ghaga-shahr, above the cornice, on what appears to be the back or
noted by both Stein and Herzfeld, covered the north wall of the Painted Gallery. The first row of
vaulted underground gallery on the north side of the coffers directly above the cornice was already totally
Central Court. Herzfeld photographed and drew destroyed, and the oblique angle of the camera to the
these paintings, but never fully published his find- surface of the vault obscured the other squares.
ings; his photographs and sketches in the Herzfeld Similar decorative schemes, applied to either flat
Archive allow us to reconstruct this now lost cycle. or curved ceilings, are known throughout the classi-
The decoration of the Painted Gallery was divid- cal world, occurring not only in Italy156and Egypt'57
ed into two major zones-the vaulted ceiling and but also in south Russia'58 in the first century A.D. Ac-
the walls-by a simple two-step cornice marking the tual carved stone coffering appears in the Near East
springing point of the vault.44 The barrel vault, at the same time, in Anatolia159and Syria.160Rosettes
where it still existed, bore a pattern of painted cof- with folded leaves and petals are common on Hellen-
fers arranged in three rows ascending from the cor- istic and Parthian metalwork from the first century
nice to the apex of the vault. This uppermost point B.C. through the first century A.D.'16 The absolute
was further defined by small rosettelike forms at
the juncture of the coffers.145The painted squares
144. Neg. no. 4036; color slide 5100.
evoked, by painterly means, the three-dimensional 145. Sk. XV, p. 9; neg. nos. 4039, 4048.
qualities of an actual coffered ceiling. The broad red- 146. Sk. XV,pp. 8, lo, 32; neg. nos. 4031, 4042-4044,4047,
brown frames of the squares had a lighter inner 4050.
band whose edge, where it was well preserved, was 147. Sk. XV, pp. 7, 8; neg. nos. 4027, 4032; D-356.
148. Sk. XV, p. 6.
delineated by a thin light or dark line. At the corner 149. Sk. XV, p. 7; neg. no. 4028; color slide 5098.
of each square, fine contrasting lines showed the 150. Sk. XV, p. 6; neg. no. 4031.
oblique junction of the horizontal and vertical ele- 151. Sk. XV,p. 12; neg. no. 4043; color slide 5195.
ments of each frame, recalling the classical trompe- 152. Neg. no. 4029.
153. Neg. no. 4026.
l'oeil painting technique of the Mediterranean world. 154. Neg. nos. 4038, 4050.
From the various photographs in the Herzfeld Ar- 155. Neg. no. 4036; color slide 5100.
chive, it appears that alternating squares were filled 156. A. BoethiusandJ. B. Ward-Perkins,EtruscanandRoman
Architecture(London, 1970) pp. 118- 19; and H. Mielsch,Rom-
with floral rosettes of varying designs and styles. ischeStuckreliefs(Heidelberg, 1975) pp. 122, 133, pls. 18, 19, 32.
Some rosettes had a solid circular form much like a 157. B. Brown, PtolemaicPaintingand Mosaicsin theAlexan-
dense sunflower or lotus;'46 others had long, curling drianStyle(Cambridge,Mass., 1957) p. 54; and Irving Lavin,
leaves that unfurled into the corners of the square.147 "The Ceiling Frescoesin Trierand Illusionismin Constantinian
Some of these long leaves or petals folded back on Painting,"Dumbarton OaksPapers21 (1967) fig. 20.
158. Mikhail Rostovtzeff, "Ancient Decorative Wall Paint-
themselves.'48
ings,"Journalof HellenicStudies39 (1919) p. 152, pl. IX.
The remaining squares held single figures or sim- 159. G. M. A. Hanfmann, FromCroesusto Constantine (Ann
ple groups that also varied in painting and composi- Arbor, 1975) pp. 37-38.
160. M. A. R. Colledge, TheArt of Palmyra(Boulder, 1976)
tional style. Some figures, such as the seated one with
pp. 83-84, fig. 47, pi. 113; and Lavin, "CeilingFrescoes,"pp.
a cushion (Figures 4, 5)149or the acrobats (Figures 6, 108-109, fig. 20. Similar painted ceiling schemes remained
7),150relied on dark outlines for clarity. Other im- popular not only in post-ClassicalEurope, but also in the Near
East well after the Parthianperiod. For an 8th-centuryIslamic
ages, such as Eros riding a horse'15 or a feline,'52
achieved their impact with solid areas of strong color example in Jordan see F. Zayadine,"The UmayyadFrescoesof
Quseir 'Amra,"Archaeology 31:3 (1978) p. 27; and J. M. Blaz-
and some modeling. Still other coffers contained par- quez, "Lapintura helenisticade Qusayr 'Amra II,"ArchivoEs-
tial figures153or images too fragmentary for analy- pafol de Arqueologia 56 (1983) pp. 169-196. I am indebted to
sis.154 All the images, however, had more subtle de- Prudence0. Harper for this last reference.
161. L. Byvanck-Quarlesvan Ufford, "LesBols megariens,"
tails and greater elegance of execution than was BulletinAntiekeBeschaving28 (1953) pp. 1-21; H. Kuthmann,
apparent in the retouched photographs published by "Beitragezur hellenistisch-romischenToreutik,I,"Jahrbuchdes
Herzfeld. Romisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums 5 (1958) pp. 94-127, pls.

27
I *N

_fr
I

( t

4, 5. Seated figure from the ceiling of the Painted Gal-

lery; Herzfeld's sketch and photograph, 1929 (pho-
tos: Herzfeld Archive, Sk. XV, p. 7 and neg. no.
4028) Rulers and aristocrats of the late Parthian and the
Sasanian periods also assumed the recumbent pose
of Herakles.'66 The painting at Kuh-e Khwaja may il-
regularity of the Kuh-e Khwaja designs suggests a lustrate one stage in the secularization of the image
date in the first century A.D. or later. in Iran.
The figured squares also depend on Hellenistic The most unusual panel, however, depicts a pair of
sources. Erotes riding horses or felines relate to the acrobats, one doing a handstand; only the feet and
late Hellenistic house decorations on Delos and to
Ptolemaic sculptures in Egypt,'62 but are unknown
in Iran until they appear at Kuh-e Khwaja.163 The
charging equestrian, however, is a common theme in 6-13; H. Jucker, Das Bildnisim Blatterkelch(Olten, 1961); L.
Near Eastern art.64 Although the Kuh-e Khwaja ex- Byvanck-Quarlesvan Ufford, "LesBols hellenistiquesen verre
dore,"BulletinAntiekeBeschaving45 (1970) pp. 129-141; and
ample is painted in a classical style, the dark trousers AndrewOliver,Jr., Silverfor theGods(Toledo, 1977) pp. 71, 75.
of the rider are Iranian rather than Greek garb. The 162.J. P. Lauer,Saqqara:TheRoyalCemetery of Memphis(New
local adaptation of classical imagery was already well York, 1976) pp. 23-24, pls. 3, 8, 9; and P. Bruneau, Delos:
XXIX. Les Mosaiques(Paris, 1972) pp. 290-292, pl. c.
under way.
163. Erotesplayingwith felines do occur in the late Parthian
One ceiling panel shows a male figure seated, rest- period in western Iran at Qal'eh-eYazdigird.See J. E. Vollmer,
ing his left elbow on a cushion; one leg is tucked be- E.J. Keall,and E. Nagai-Berthrong,SilkRoads,ChinaShips(To-
neath him, the other hangs down, crossing the frame ronto, 1983) p. 42.
of the panel (Figures 4, 5). Versions of this pose ap- 164. For a discussionof this image see Kawami,pp. 37-40.
165. For instance, the Bisotun Herakles dated 148 B.c. (see
pear in Iranian art as early as the second century Herrmann,p. 31) and a stone plaque from Masjid-eSulaiman.
B.C., but only in representations of Herakles.'65 Un- For a discussionof these images see Kawami,pp. 111-117.
like the Herakles images though, the Kuh-e Khwaja 166. Herrmann, p. 83; Tolstov and Vainberg,Koi-Krilgan-
Kala, p. 204, figs. 76, 77; Ghirshman 1962, pp. 218, 242, figs.
figure is beardless and exhibits none of the attributes 259, 296, 297; Harper 1978, pp. 74-76, 148; and Pugachen-
of the Greek hero-the lion-skin, club, bow, or cup. kova 1967, pl. 67.

28
legs, with bent knees, of the other had survived (Fig- The first element at the top of the frieze was a row of
ures 6, 7). Both figures slightly overlapped the panel red and white dentils, painted in an illusionistic man-
frame. This representation is without parallel in ner and framed by a red band at top and bottom. Be-
Iran, though much earlier images of acrobats are low this was a pale two-step molding followed by
found in Egypt'67 and Mesopotamia.'68 More relevant
to the Kuh-e Khwaja pair, however, are the scenes of
acrobats doing handstands painted on vases from 167. M. A. Murray, Egyptian Sculpture (London, 1930) pl.
xxI:2; and C. Vandersleyen,Das alteAgypten,PropylaenKunst-
southern Italy in the fifth through the third century
geschichte XV (Berlin, 1975) pp. 314, 345, pls. 282b, 333b.
B.C.'69 The only known Parthian acrobat doing a 168. B. Buchanan,"ASnakeGoddessand Her Companions,"
handstand is carved on a bone rhyton excavated at Iraq 33 (1971) pp- 1-18.
Olbia on the north coast of the Black Sea.170Neither 169. G. Prudhommeau, La Danse grecqueantique (Paris, 1965)
the posture nor the style of the Olbia acrobat is close figs. 469, 471, 474-476; G. M. A. Richter, Ancient Furniture,
Greek,Etruscan, and Roman (Oxford, 1926) fig. 366; and A. D.
to the painted example from Kuh-e Khwaja. Chinese Trendall,PhylaxVases,Bulletinof the Instituteof ClassicalStud-
records of the Han dynasty refer to acrobats from ies, suppl. 19, 2nd ed. (London, 1967) no. 80, pl. 6b.
Rome and Parthia,'71 so perhaps the Kuh-e Khwaja 170. Ghirshman 1962, p. 268, fig. 348; and Lukonin, pl. 4.
For the date of this piece see E. Belin de Ballu, Olbia(Leiden,
painting illustrates a pair of these far-traveling enter- 1972) p. 181. The geographical gap between the Greek ex-
tainers. amplesand the Parthianones maybe filled in partby a scene of
The springing point of the Painted Gallery vault gymnastics painted at Gordion ca. 500 B.c. and reported by R.
was marked by a simple molding and an elaborate Young, "Gordion: Preliminary Report, 1958," AmericanJournal
of Archaeology59 (1955) pl. 5, fig. 19.
painted frieze (Figures 8, 17).172 Both the molding 171. J. I. Miller, The Spice Tradeof the Roman Empire(Oxford,
and the frieze ran the length of the window wall, that 1969) pp. 133-135.
is, the outside or south wall of the Painted Gallery. 172. Sk. XV, p. 10; neg. nos. 4035, 4036, 4049.

zz I-Z

6, 7. Pair of acrobats from the ceiling of the Painted

Gallery; Herzfeld's sketch and photograph, 1929
(photos: Herzfeld Archive, Sk. XV, p. 6 and neg.
no. 4031)
.~jj;#K=e.,g 1~~
_L~?dj~J;???,~q~.~~; T-~`J~%Z'.;~8.
g Detail of the painted cornice from the back (north)
wall of the Painted Gallery;Herzfeld'sphotograph,
1929 (photo: Herzfeld Archive,neg. no. 4035)

9. Schematic elevation of the window (south) wall of

the Painted Gallery(D. Kawamiafter Herzfeld, Sk.
XV, pp. 29, 30)
.*l .A

._.,,_?
...i. ,,o. .

E234 56I f8
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

a broad yellowish frieze featuring white (formerly purplish background.'77 The figure on the left, a
green?) laurel leaves wrapped with a dark red rib- youth with short curly brown hair shown in three-
bon. This festoon was in turn bordered at the bottom quarter frontal view,'78supported an upright trident
by a wide, dark red band with a floral pattern in red with his left hand (Figures lo, 11). The right arm
and green based on the Greek Lesbian cyma. was probably held at his side, but the painting was
Ornate painted cornices, including some with Les- very damaged here and the exact disposition of the
bian cymas, are known from the Hellenistic houses of lower arm and hand is lost. The trident bearer wore
Olynthos and Delos,'73 though fewer examples have a long yellow tunic decorated with a red band with
survived in the Near East. A Lesbian cyma painted yellow and green roundels about the neck.179A simi-
on a mud-brick wall at Ai Khanum in northern Af- lar decorative strip, perhaps indicating embroidery,
ghanistan shows the spread of such illusionistic de-
vices well to the east of Kuh-e Khwaja,'74 and a stiff-
ened version from Dalverzhin Tepe documents the 173. P. Bruneau, "LesPeintureset mosaiquesde Delos,"Mo-
continued representation of laurel festoons in Cen- numentPiot 14 (1908) figs. 39, 42, 43, pls. vI, VIA, and esp. vii;
Marcel Bulard, Delos: IX. Descriptiondes revetementspeints a sujets
tral Asia.'75
religieux(Paris,1926) fig. 49; D. M. Robinson,Olynthos
II (Balti-
The function of the elaborate painted cornice was more, 1932) pp. 19-21, pl. II, fig. 86; and idem, "Olynthos,"
to set off a series of figures, somewhat over life-size, Annals of the British Schoolat Athens 22 (1918-19) pl. XII:3.
arranged in groups of two or three between the eight 174. Paul Bernard, "Chapiteaux corinthiens hellenistiques
d'Asie Centrale decouverts," Syria 45 (1968) pp. 140-141, figs.
windows that pierced the wall at regular intervals
15, 16.
(Figures 9, 17). Herzfeld's sketches'76recorded the 175. G. A. Pugachenkova, Iskusstvo Baktrii Epokhi Kushan
arrangement of the images and this description will [Bactrian Art of the Kushan Period] (Moscow, 1979) pp. 176-
follow his order, proceeding westward from the east- 177, figs. 210, 212.
176. Sk. XV, pp. 29-30.
ern end of the gallery.
177. Ibid., p. 34.
The first preserved painting showed a pair of 178. Ibid., p. 35; neg. no. 6338.
beardless figures painted in pale tones against a dark 179. Neg. no. 4024; color slide 5107.

30
ran down the front. A mantle was wrapped around cution than could have been deduced from the re-
the waist and fell over the left shoulder in a triangu- touched photographs.
lar fold. The mantle was edged with a red strip bear- In contrast to the naturalistic style in which both
ing a symmetrical leaf pattern in yellow between figures were painted, the soft, broad fingers of the
green borders. Black outlines once sharpened the ba- woman's right hand are not well articulated or care-
sic shape of the figure and the folds of the garment, fully modeled. Rather than evoking Greek or Roman
but most of the pigment had flaked off by the time style, the rubbery,jointless fingers are typical of Sasa-
Herzfeld photographed the paintings. nian hands.185 The combination of a characteristically
The light brown hair of the youth was rendered Sasanian manner of rendering fingers with lifelike
with loose, curling brushstrokes, the whole being set classical modeling indicates the stylistic complexity of
off by a few black lines. Vigorous modeling, later ob- painting in the Sasanian period.
literated in the retouched photographs, emphasized The two figures must have been impressive when
the solidity of the face around the eyes, on the bridge viewed within the confines of the narrow chamber,
of the nose, and on the left cheek.180The eyes were for they were over life-size and completely filled the
gouged out, though adjacent areas were not dam- space allotted to them. The left elbow of the mace-
aged. At first glance, the figure appears bareheaded, bearing woman virtually leaned against the upper
but a long, dark, vertical strip between the left eye arch of the window,'86and the trident of the beard-
and the ear suggests that some sort of ornament or less youth protruded slightly into the painted cornice
device was on the head. The naturalism of the figure at the top of the wall.187This overlapping, like that of
gives few clues to its date. Even the classical three- some of the coffer figures, showed a disregard for
quarter view had spread into Central Asia by the the classical relationship of picture to frame, and in-
third century A.D.'18 dicated that the painters of Kuh-e Khwaja were al-
Standing to the right of the trident bearer was a ready at some remove from their classical source.
female figure resting a long rod with a rounded The identity of these two figures is not easy to de-
head, called a mace by Herzfeld,'82 against her left termine, despite their attributes and gestures. Herz-
shoulder (Figure 12).183 She wore a yellow sleeveless feld called them deities,'88 and in general the avail-
gown gathered above her right breast by a roun- able comparisons support him. The trident was the
del or brooch, whose greenish center simulated a identifying attribute of the Greek sea god Poseidon,
mounted stone. A horizontal dark band at the base who appeared on the coins of Antimachos of Bactria
of the throat implied the edge of an undergarment, (ca. 190 B.C.)'89 and on the carved ivory rhyta from
though the pattern of interlocking half circles, paint- Nisa, the Arsacid dynastic capital.190The trident was
erly shorthand for a guilloche or braid, and the skin- also carried by the Sogdian god Veshparker'91and by
pink area beneath the line raise the possibility that it
represented a gold chain instead. The actual neckline
180. Neg. no. 4019.
of the gown, pulled straight by the brooch, had a
181. Benjamin Rowland, The Art of Central Asia (New York,
pearled or beaded border indicated by a row of 1974) p. 44; and Bussagli, CentralAsian Painting, pp. 18, 22, 23.
greenish dots set within thick yellow circles. 182. Sk. XV, pp. 29-30.
With her raised right hand, the mace bearer 183. Color slide 5112.
184. Neg. no. 4023.
pulled the white mantle already covering her left 185. I am grateful to Mas'oud Azarnoush for calling this to
shoulder over her right. The dull bluish border of my attention. For a discussion of the representation of female
the mantle was visible only where it draped over the hands in Sasanian art see Lionel Bier, "A Sculptured Building
left shoulder. The right arm, its thin round bracelets, Block from Istakhr," Archiologische Mitteilungen aus Iran 16
and the shoulder were still well preserved, retaining (1983) pp. 308-309, pl. 27.
186. Color slide 5112.
in their original modeling not only the darker shad- 187. Neg. no. 2097.
ings on the edges of the forms but also the fine, 188. Herzfeld 1941, p. 296.
supple zigzags of very light paint that created high- 189. Stawiski, pl. 28.
190. M. E. Masson and G. A. Pugachenkova, The Parthian
lights on the arm and the shoulder (Figure 13).184 Rhytonsof Nisa (Florence, 1982) pp. 40, 8o, 102-103, nos. 2, 65,
Likewise, the folds in the gown gathered above the pls. 22:1, 71:1.
breast were far more plastic and naturalistic in exe- 191. Azarpay, p. 29, fig. 5.

31
the Indian god Shiva on Kushan coins, seals, and has no classical parallel, and there are no antecedents
even sculpture.'92But the trident was not exclusively in earlier Iranian art, where armed female figures
a divine attribute; in their numismatic portraits, Ku- are extremely rare. Athena appears occasionally in
shan rulers such as Vima Kadphises and Vasudeva, Arsacid art, her weapon always a spear,'95and the
who ruled in the second and third centuries, held
tridents with their left hands,'93as did the Kushano-
Sasanian rulers of eastern Iran in the fourth cen- 192. Herzfeld 1941, p. 296; and Rosenfield, pp. 22-24, 93-
tury. 94Thus, the beardless trident bearer of Ghaga- 94, pl. II:19-27; pl. XVI:6,7; fig. 126.
shahr cannot be assumed to be divine merely on the 193. Stawiski, p. 62; Lukonin, pl. 50; and Rosenfield, pl. xI:
basis of his weapon. .218,222-229.
194. Harper 1981, pp. 43-44, fig 13.
The identity of the woman accompanying him is 195. For numismatic examples see David Sellwood, An Intro-
also hard to establish. The macelike object she holds duction to the Coinage of Parthia (London, 1971) Type 52/25, p.

10. Trident bearer in the Painted Gallery; Herzfeld's 11. Head of the trident bearer; Herzfeld'sphotograph,
sketches, 1929 (photo: Herzfeld Archive,Sk. XV, p. 1929 (photo: Herzfeld Archive, neg. no. 4019)
35)

6.r -

17 r r4

I L

i-1

S5
.

j ,
4r
t

~~~~b
~~~~~~_~*
12. Herzfeld's photo-
graph, 1929, showing
(from left to right)
the trident bearer's
left arm and part of
the trident, the upper
body of the female
mace bearer, and part
of the arch of the sec-
ond window in the
Painted Gallery
(photo: Herzfeld Ar-
chive, neg. no. 4022)

w . -MH 1 , .
* ^
t' i . ;.

,
, .' .. .- '. .' ,'_,.~ .'

:-f8lte1 :
aL- . .^f-YI
? ,. ^,t

13. Detail of the female

mace bearer's right
arm, hand, and
shoulder; Herzfeld's
photograph, 1929 ~^^^\^t-'.^-^^B^^1^ ..I
(photo: Herzfeld Ar- D*
;-T^^* -^'' --' ^--
chive, neg. no. 4023) -'T'1 ~'-' ?'
ar. ."
Ssai!:^ ^ ^7
33
few images of Artemis show only a bow.196Farther vertical strip. The strip on the right was marked by
east, Kushan kings, on their coins, hold maces with several tall thin lines that Herzfeld, in his reconstruc-
elongated oval heads,'97 and at Khalchayan a male tion drawing,205interpreted as corners of towers.
figure, identified by the excavator as a ruler, also The three figures-visible only from the waist up,
holds a mace.'98In all of these representations, the like all the figures in the Painted Gallery-stood in
mace, which does not match the Ghaga-shahr ex- three-quarter view, turning to the viewer's left. They
ample with its narrow shaft and broad, apparently el- were grouped very closely, so that one shoulder of
liptical head, is carried in the right hand; in contrast, each outside figure overlapped a significant part of
the painted figure at Kuh-e Khwaja holds her mace the man between them; all three were alike in having
on the left side. A Kushan(?) plaque from Afrasiab, broad, sloping shoulders, a thick neck, and a small
which shows an enthroned female with a mace rest- head. The two on the left had dark hair and rounded
ing against her left shoulder,'99 suggests that the beards. They wore tunics and mantles over their left
manner in which the mace is carried may depend on shoulders in the manner of the mace carrier. The
the bearer's gender; unfortunately, however, the white mantle of the man on the far left had a broad
plaque gives us no indication as to whether the per- black or purple border that contrasted with his blue
son depicted is mortal or divine. Her jewelry is of no tunic and its dark yellow central panel. The yellow
help, either, in the search for an identification, for mantle of the central figure, who was clad in a dark
the bracelet and roundel can be duplicated from Pal- green tunic, had a dark border.
myra to India from the first through at least the sixth The third figure, the most damaged of the group,
century A.D. was also the most unusual. Unlike the other two, he
The distinctive gesture of the female figure, draw- was beardless and wore on his head a round, light-
ing a mantle or veil over her right shoulder, is colored cap or helmet with a thin rim and a winglike
equally ambiguous. This gesture, related to that of feature rising at each side. The wing on the left still
the bride removing her veil in the presence of her retained the round attachment by which it was fixed
husband, is known in Greek art from at least the
early fifth century B.C.,200 but does not appear in Ira-
nian art. It does appear in a Buddhist relief from
158, Type 52/11, p. 155, Type 63/18, p. 195, Types 78/10, 78/
Takht-i Bahi, a site that also has architectural paral- 18, p. 247; and W.Wroth,Catalogueof theCoinsof Parthia(Lon-
lels with Kuh-e Khwaja.20'By Roman times, the ges- don, 1903) pls. xix:9, xxi. For the rock relief at Tang-e Sarvak
ture did not always indicate marriage or sexual inti- see Herrmann,p. 83; and Kawami,pp. 88-1 lo, for the dating.
See also OlivierGuillaume,"NouvellesTesseresde Suse,"Syria
macy.202Nonetheless, the pairing of the male and 59 (1982) pp. 251-252, fig. 6, no. 2669.2. I am grateful to Edith
female figures between the windows at Kuh-e Porada for calling this to my attention. For new Bactrian ex-
Khwaja,and the use of the hand nearest the male fig- amples see Viktor Sarianidi, The Golden Hoard of Bactria (New
ure to adjust or open the mantle, indicate that the York, 1985) pp. 124, 168-196, 230-231, 246, nos. 2.1, 2.2, 3.78.
196. Sellwood, Introductionto the Coinage of Parthia, Types 30/
figures are meant to be seen as a pair. Furthermore, 25, 30/26, p. 81, Type 34/6, p. 94, Type 63/16, p. 194; and
the uncertainty over the possible divinity of the pair Wroth, Parthia, pl. xxvII:9.
is significant. Kushan rulers regularly took on divine 197. Rosenfield, pp. 179-181, pls. III:47-60, v:95-99.
attributes and epithets, including "God-King" (bego- 198. G. A. Pugachenkova, Skulptura Khalchayana (Moscow,
1971) p. 51
shao),203and it is possible that this couple in the 199. Ibid., pl. 49.
Painted Gallery were not strictly gods but rulers, or 200. Martin Robertson, A Short History of GreekArt (Cam-

perhaps heroized or divinized ancestors. bridge, 1981) pp. 59, 61, 84, 104, 173, figs. 85, 124, 144, 236;
The wall between the second and third windows and John Boardman, Greek Gems and Finger Rings (New York,
was filled with three standing figures, all apparently 1970) p. 299, no 733.
201. Colledge, pl. 24b.
male (Figures 14, 15).204More damaged than the first 202. John Ward-Perkins and Amanda Claridge, PompeiiA.D.
section, this part of the wall also suffered from a 79: Treasuresfrom the National ArchaeologicalMuseum, Naples, with
broad crack that cut through the central figure. The Contributionsfrom the PompeiiAntiquariumand the Museum of Fine
Arts, Boston (Boston, 1978) II, pp. 166-167, fig. 133.
collapse of the vault at this point further exposed the 203. Rosenfield, pp. 202-206.
gallery to the weather. In this section, the dark 204. Neg. no. 4045.
ground was framed at each side by a light-colored 205. Sk. XV, p. 31.

34
14, 15. Three male figures between the second and third windows of the Painted Gallery
(photos: Herzfeld Archive)

14. Herzfeld's watercolor sketch, date unknown (color slide 8225, neg. no. 6336)

-* ~F
* tLi!r~~~W& -

~A~b~P~si~ct
.c?~ ~~- ? -
- -' L-

- 't
-a..

Ic91
1L-I

15. Herzfeld's photograph, 1929 (neg. no. 4045)

35
to the headgear. Herzfeld's retouched photographs book for the space between the seventh and eighth
and sketch (Figure 14) of this group show an addi- windows is illegible.
tional wing on top of the head, but the actual plaster The painting between the eighth window and the
was damaged and no clear indication of such a wing western end of the gallery was very damaged; all one
can be seen in the original photograph (Figure 15). can see is a pale form against the dark ground.24
All that remained was a small ferrule like that of the Herzfeld drew this as a beardless male framed by a
wing on the left. The dark ground retained no rem- yellow nimbus and bearing a red and yellow crescent
nant of a central wing, and whatever the missing ele- on his head (Figure 16).215 For obvious reasons,
ment was, it must have been small and perhaps verti- Herzfeld identified him as a moon god. Few of the
cal.206This third figure wore a white tunic bearing a details of Herzfeld's sketches, such as the arrange-
red band with a yellow floral pattern down the front ment of the robe or the red and yellow vine-scroll
and two geometrically patterned bands on the upper pattern on the neckline, can be verified from the
right sleeve.207His left side was partly covered by a photographs. Only the general outline of the face,
large reddish-brown and yellow shield, whose con- which turned slightly to the left, the dark hair or
centric rings retained a suggestion of modeling. head covering, the faint suggestion of the halo, and
Unlike the mace and trident bearers, these figures the edge of the painted cornice above can be seen.
have little in the way of distinctive weapons, attri- The line defining the lower jaw was the sole surviving
butes, or gestures. The winged headgear of the detail.
right-hand man recalls the Greek messenger-god Crescent-crowned moon gods appear in the art of
Hermes, but the shield is not consonant with this ancient Mesopotamia as early as the twentieth cen-
identification.208Alternatively, he may be a mortal, tury B.C. and as late as the third century A.D.216Only
for elaborate crowns with wings shown in profile are one example, a Sasanian stamp seal, is known from
worn by Sasanian kings in the late third and early
fourth century.209 By the fifth and sixth centuries the
wings appear frontally, rising as a symmetrical pair 206. The plumelike ornament rising from the helmet of
from the top of the head.20 Wings do not appear on Athena on one of the rhyta from Nisa may be the type of ele-
ment indicated. See Pugachenkova 1958, p. 165, nos. 9, 22. An-
Parthian, Kushan, or Kushano-Sasanian crowns, sug- other example occurs on the helmet of a defeated horseman
gesting that the source for this distinctive headgear is identified as a Georgian in the relief of Hormuzd II (302-309)
western Iran rather than India or Central Asia.21 at Naqsh-i Rustam. See Georgina Herrmann, Naqsh-i Rustam 5
The large shield, typical of Greek or Roman rather and 8: Sasanian Reliefs Attributedto HormuzdII and Narseh, Iran-
ische Denkmaler (Berlin, 1977) pp. 7-9, pl. 7.
than Iranian military equipment, underlines the
207. Sk. XV, p. 32.
western influence. Other details of dress, unfortu- 208. A female figure with winged headgear on an ivory rhy-
nately, are of little help in identifying the other two ton from Nisa was identified as Hera by the excavators. See
Masson and Pugachenkova, Parthian Rhytons, p. 69, no. 30, pl.
figures or in ascertaining whether they represented
mortal or divine characters. 32. It is unlikely that Athena is the deity represented, as her
standard headgear is quite different.
The painting that would have occupied the space 209. Lukonin, pls. 113, 114, 118, 151, 207; and Harper
between the third and fourth windows in the Painted 1981, pp. 25, 30, 37, pl. 2.
210. Lukonin, pls. 123, 143; and Hubertus von Gall, "Globus
Gallery was already destroyed when Herzfeld visited oder Diskus auf der Krone Hosrows II," in OrientaliaJ. Dus-
Kuh-e Khwaja. Similarly, the space in the western chesne-GuilleminEmeritoOblata (Leiden, 1984) p. 182, fig. 1, pls.
half of the gallery, between windows five and six, was XXIV-XXVI.
devoid of paintings. Between the sixth and seventh 211. Winged headgear for mortal rulers did penetrate for-

windows, however, Herzfeld recorded "two heads, mer Kushan areas by the 5th century, tojudge from the remains
at Kuev-Kurgan in Uzbekistan. See Vadim M. Masson, "The
the left with a red helmet, yellow dotted; the right
Forgotten Kushan Empire: New Discoveries at Zar-tepe," Ar-
[figure] in a red robe with yellow."212No sketches or chaeology37:1 (1984) p. 37.
photographs of these figures are known, though one 212. Sk. XV, p. 30.
very dark photograph may be tentatively assigned to 213. Neg. no. 4046.
this place.213The photograph shows traces of black 214. Neg. no. 4025; color slide 4025.
215. Sk. XV, p. 30.
and white lines as well as areas of skin tone, but noth- 216. Anton Moortgat, The Art of Ancient Mesopotamia(Lon-
ing more definite. The notation in Herzfeld's note- don, 1969) pp. 72, 73, pl. 194; and Colledge, pl. 1 ic.

36
Iran, however.217Male lunar deities are known far-
ther east, the most important being the Indian Shi-
va218and the Kushan Mao (Mah).2' A few, rare re- -*
C:.,4
presentations use the Greek-based name Salene to
identify the figure.220Many of the Kushan represen-
tations also have a crescent rising from their shoul-
ders, an attribute that appears as late as the sixth
century in the Buddhist frescoes of Fondukistan in
.~.?~;,.i '"
Afghanistan.221The fact that the Kuh-e Khwaja fig-
ure is male underscores that it is indigenous. The
Greco-Roman lunar deity Artemis or Selene is fe-
male.
;
Stein, the first to explore the Painted Gallery, re-
moved a section of painting from the window wall, .. . . .
f.f.
. ~
noting that the plaster was harder and finer than that Painted Gallery, 1929 (photo: Herzfeld Archive, k. .I.
of the South Gate paintings.222This fragment, now in XV, 30- .
the National Museum of India, New Delhi, depicts a
scene of two life-size beardless males shown in pro-
file. Clad only in light-colored drapery about the ? -. ? "

waist, both figures hold long lances. The man on the

left bends forward, grasping his leveled lance with
both hands as if to drive it into the figure on the _ , :

right, who leans back as if anticipating the thrust, his

f

weapon remaining upright, supported by his left

hand. The legs are missing, but from the fragmen- .1 Ill
tary remains both men seem to be seated on or
astride dark, slightly curving forms. 7., p. 1

Above the scene runs a section of painted cornice 16. Herzfeld'ssketchof the crescent-crownedfigure be-
with its dentils, beribboned laurels, and dark red
and that these were witnessed by the row of
ground,
bands, indicating that the fragment was clearly part
of the series of paintings revealed and described by
Herzfeld. Unfortunately, Stein did not record the ex-
act location of the section he took, but it appears to The classically beardless heads in profile and the
have been somewhere near the center of the gallery,
in the area of the head of the stairs. The space be- two) significant scenes of action set off by a white
tween the windows nearest this opening was "empty" ground and
, that these were witnessed by the row of
when Herzfeld visited Kuh-e Khwaja, and it is prob- standing figures painted between the other windows.
able that Stein's fragment came from either the east- The classically beardless heads in profile and the
ern or western side of the opening. Indeed, Herzfeld bare torsos
bare torsos of the men in the
the men the Stein
Stein fragment
fragment suggest
suggest
labeled the space directly to the east of the stair that
that the
the event
event depicted
depicted occurred prior to
occurred prior to the time of
the time of
opening "destroyed" ("Zerstiirt"),223and it is tempting
to place the Stein piece between windows three and
four (Figure 17). 217. Harper 1978, p. 149.
218. A. L. Basham, The WonderThat Was Indta India (New York,
While Stein's example matches the Herzfeld paint- pp. 310,
1963) PP. 315.
310, 315?
ings in scale, style, and upper borders, it differs from 219. Rosenfield, pp. 72, 80-81, pls. 111:59,vI: 103-112.
them in two major ways: first, the figures are active- 220. Ibid., pp.
220. 72, 98.
PP. 72,
221. J. Hackin,"Travauxen Afghanistan,"Revuedesartsasia-
particularly the male on the left, who lunges for- tiques 12 (1938) p. 9, pl. VII:23.
ward; second, the ground is white, unlike the dark 222. Stein, II, pp. 919-920.
purplish ground of the Herzfeld paintings. These 223. Sk. XV, p. 30.

37
 I I UMiILI

17. Reconstruction of the eastern half of the window

(south) wall of the Painted Gallery (drawing: au-
thor) The walls and vaults of the window recesses were
also decorated, and at least two windows still retained
some of their painted ornament. The second window
Herzfeld's paintings. It is probable that a combat from the east end of the gallery was described by
scene was intended, though the type of combat is not Herzfeld as having "coffers and pictures."230 A few
clear. If both figures rode horses, the distinctive pages later, his notebook contains a sketch of the
equine heads and necks should appear between the elevation of "the painted window, eastern part of
figures; and the dark sloping form behind the right the gallery."23' Herzfeld's use of the definite article
figure does not resemble a horse's back or hindquar- (das) implies that this was the elevation for the only
ters. Camels, with their easily identifiable silhouettes, painted window on the east side. This window is
are even less likely mounts here. Elephants, however, probably the same one as was observed by the Italian
fit the two dark shapes between the combatants, the restorers in the mid-1970s. Certainly their descrip-
sloping form on the right having the characteristic tion of a rosette set in a geometric panel is congruent
slant of an elephant's back. with Herzfeld's brief notation.232
Elephants appear on the coins and metalwork of
Central Asia, especially in Bactria, whose early Greek
rulers were displayed with elephant-scalp helmets.224 224. For example, MMA acc. nos. 26.7.1430, 55.11.11,
55.11.12. See also Colledge, pp. 107, 115, pls. 39i,k,l, 46a; Lu-
Seleucid coins bear images of elephants and elephant konin, p. 215, pls. 38, 40; Masson and Pugachenkova, Parthian
combat,225 and the Sasanian rulers Shapur I (241- Rhytons,pp. 131-132; and Herrmann, p. 46.
272/3) and Khusro II (591-628), who had elephants 225. Herrmann, p. 26; G. Hafner, The Art of Crete,Mycenae
in their armies,226included them in their triumphal and Greece(New York, 1969) p. 213; and George F. Hill, Cata-
logue of the GreekCoins of Arabia,Mesopotamiaand Persia (London,
sculpture and hunting reliefs.227At least one small- 1922) pp. cxlv-cxlvi, 191, pl. xxI: 18.
scale Sasanian sculpture of an elephant is also 226. Ammianus Marcellinus, XXV. 1.14.
known.228Thus, a surprisingly long tradition of ele- 227. Herrmann, p. 134; Ghirshman 1962, pp. 184, 194, 196,
199; Ghirshman 1971, pp. 70, 89, pls. 15, 19-21, fig. 10; and
phant representation in Iran and Central Asia can be
documented. Georgina Herrmann, The Sasanian Rock Reliefs at Bishapur,
Iranische Denkmaler (Berlin, 1980-83) I, pp. 14-15, 43, pls. 9,
The laurel festoon that runs along the painted cor- 14, 15; II, pp. 31-32, fig. 3, pl. 29. For a summary of Sasanian
nice supports an interpretation of the Stein painting Iran's relations with India see Jens Kroger, "Sasanian Iran and
as triumph through combat or contest. The front of India: Questions of Interaction," in Herbert Hartel, ed., South
Asian Archaeology1979 (Berlin, 1981) pp. 441-448.
a painted altar from the domestic quarter of Hellen- 228. Harper 1978, pp. 172-173.
istic Delos features two boxers or wrestlers struggling 229. Bulard, Delos: IX. Descriptiondes revetementspeints, pls.
beneath a laurel festoon, while the sides of the altar 111:2, v:1d, e,2, viII, xvI.
show spectators or witnesses with palm branches.229 230. "Im Fenster Kasetten u. Bilder erhalten," Sk. XV, pp.
29-30.
However, both the location of the Stein piece and its 231. "Das bemalte Fenster, Ostteil d. Gallerie," Sk. XV, p. 43,
interpretation remain hypothetical, of course, in the left.
absence of more specific documentation. 232. Faccenna, p. 87, n. 5.

38
 Two pages after he mentioned the painted win- dish ball-like object that could be interpreted as the
dow, Herzfeld made an annotated sketch of a row of hilt of a sword.234His face had been vandalized, but
five standing figures on the wall of a window recess sufficient detail remained for one to appreciate the
in the eastern half of the Painted Gallery (Figure subtle dark line of the profile with its aquiline nose,
18).23 Since he referred specifically to no other win- and to note the naturalistic modeling of the cheek
dow in the intervening pages, we may assume that and nostrils in contrast to the superficially painted
Herzfeld meant the second window as the location of ear.235The hair was short and fluffy, with small curls
the five figures. falling over the forehead. The beard, which is diffi-
All five figures were shown frontally, with their cult to discern in Herzfeld's photographs, seems to
heads in profile to the viewer's right. Each figure had have been fairly small and perhaps tapered.
the right hand raised to chest level, while the left arm Behind the flower bearer stood another white-clad
was held to the side and bent across the waist. All the figure, carrying in his extended right hand an oval
figures had short dark hair and wore sleeved tunics ring.236This ring was decorated with spirals or linked
of undetermined length. Four of the five, slightly circles on a dark background. The man's face was
overlapping, were roughly the same height and badly damaged, though his pointed nose and sharp
bearded. At the head of this static procession on the chin with its very short beard could still be seen.237A
right was a figure half the size of the others. Substan- line running obliquely downward from the base of
tial damage to the painting made it impossible to de- the nose defined the contour of the cheek, and an
termine whether this was another bearded male or a adjacent horizontal line suggested the mouth. Above
beardless child. the head were two small flowers, one with four petals
This smaller figure carried an indistinct vertical
item in the raised right hand. The man behind, clad
in white, held in his right hand an almost white tulip- 233. Sk, XV, p. 45; "Festerwand, Westseit in ostl. Halfte d.
Gallerie."
like flower with two green leaves and in his left a red-
234. Neg. no. 4016.
235. Neg. no. 4041; color slide 5117.
236. Herzfeld described all the figures as carrying flowers
18. Herzfeld'ssketch, 1929, of the five figuresin the sec- (Herzfeld 1941, p. 297), but this is not the case.
237. Color slide 511o.
ond window recess of the Painted Gallery (photo:
Herzfeld Archive, Sk. XV, p. 45)

'V .

. ' f .. .'i)?
j I: .

_. -> ,, a - lr

. -4
. I?,

.
e^ .
;

1
i?

N 4r

31iI
i3a

39
and one with five, and behind it rose a pale yellow lels most frequently in the reliefs of the third cen-
leafy branch, rather like a stylized laurel.238The man tury, particularly those of Ardashir I (224-241) and
may have worn some sort of headband or coronet to Shapur I at Firuzabad and Naqsh-e Rajab.243
which these elements were attached. This figure was Similar rows of male figures also appear in the wall
also distinguished from the others by his thin belt paintings of Fayaz Tepe, a Buddhist shrine near
and his inverted sword, held by the hilt in the left Kara Tepe in northern Bactria, active between the
hand. second and fourth centuries.244The donors of Fayaz
Behind the ring bearer stood a man in a dark red Tepe have small heads shown in profile with short
robe, which was decorated on the upper part with hair, and the same thick necks and broad shoulders
yellow circles; other ornament appeared faintly as the Kuh-e Khwaja figures. Thus, the composition
along the robe's neckline.239Herzfeld had drawn the of the Kuh-e Khwaja painting, and the proportions
yellow circles separately as roundels with smaller of its figures, may indicate Bactrian rather than Sasa-
circles inside them, but these details and several oth- nian influence.
ers are not visible in the photographs. The face and The royal Sasanian reliefs do not offer many par-
the top of the man's head were obliterated, but in the allels to the short hair and short tapered beards of
photograph a dark outline clearly indicated the hair, the painted figures. A few attendants of Shapur I at
which fell with a gentle curve down the neck, and Naqsh-e Rajab and of Bahram II (276-293) at
continued from the neck along the top of the shoul- Naqsh-e Rustam affect the same hair style.245 Com-
der. A second line marked the top of the beard but parable heads on Sasanian royal silver are also un-
there was no indication of its extent or shape. Herz- common, and all date to the late third and early
feld's sketch shows part of an eye and more of the fourth century.246 Engraved seal stones provide some
beard, elements that cannot be confirmed in the pho- representations of individuals with short hair and
tographs. short tapered beards, though these two characteris-
The figure at the extreme left was the most dam- tics are not always found together.247
aged of the five, and only traces of his shoulder,
torso, and upper head remained.240His white robe,
where it still existed, contrasted with the reddish
238. Tracesof leafy branchescan be seen near the heads of
ground and with the dark red of his neighbor's gar- the Sasanianknightson relief III at Bishapur,left side, register
ment. The sure, supple lines of the nose, eyebrow, 3, figures4 and 5. The relief is dated to the reign of ShapurI.
and forehead recall the features of the flower bearer, See Herrmann, Sasanian Rock Reliefs, I, pp. 15-16, pls. 17,
21, 22.
as does the modeling at the bridge of the nose. It
239. Neg. nos. 4015, 4018.
seems from these details that one hand was respon- 240. Neg. no. 4037; color slide 5108.
sible for all five figures. 241. For a surveyof the art of this period see Kawami.
These figures have been considered Parthian, but 242. For examples of these swords see Harper 1978, pp.
it is readily apparent that their faces in profile, their 83-84.
243. Louis Vanden Berghe, Reliefs rupestresde l'Iran ancien
posture, and their dress are typically Sasanian. Paral- (Brussels, 1983) pp. 62-66, 126-127, pls. 17, 20.
lels are not found in the figural arts of the Parthian 244. Stawiski,pp. 137, 141, pl. 102; and TokyoNationalMu-
B.C.-A.D. 224), with its emphasis on seum, Cultural ContactsBetweenEast and Westin Antiquityand the
period (ca. 250
Middle Agesfrom the USSR (Tokyo, 1985) no. 66 (color photo).
frontality.241 245. Vanden Berghe, Reliefs,pp. 128, 134, pls. 20, 26; and
Rows of male attendants, shown frontally with Lukonin,pl. 124.
heads in profile, appear in royal reliefs throughout 246. Harper 1981, pp. 25-31, 36-37, pls. 3, 6. Attendants
the Sasanian period. They may stand with arms on the late Sasanianplate from Strelka(ibid.,pp. ioo, 110-111,
folded, or with the right hand raised before them. pl. 19) have very short hair and short pointed beards, though
their smooth,domed headgearcreatesquite a differentappear-
Frequently they hold the long Sasanian sword before ance overall.
their bodies.242The arrangement of the Ghaga-shahr 247. Lukonin,pls. 100oo,102, and esp. 103; Ghirshman1962,
figures, with the shoulder of one figure slightly over- p. 241, fig. 294F; ChristopherJ. Brunner,SasanianStampSeals
in TheMetropolitan Museumof Art (New York, 1982) pp. 54, 57;
lapping the man behind, the broad and simple forms and A. D. H. Bivar, Catalogueof WesternAsiatic Seals in theBritish
of the neck and upper torso, and the placement of Museum. Stamp Seals: II. The Sassanian Dynasties(London, 1969)
the left arm across the front of the body find paral- pls. 1-3.

40
 The objects held by at least two of the figures-the of and behind the figures. One source would have
tuliplike flower and the ring-appear not only in the been the collapsed roof of the Painted Gallery; the
royal reliefs but also in the less monumental and other would have been the courtyard itself, after the
often nonroyal arts of the Sasanian period. Both buttresses of the second stage had been removed,
male and female figures hold a single flower in the opening the original windows. Herzfeld's published
reliefs of Bahram II;248the flower also appears on sil- description implies that the figures faced inward,255
ver plates and bowls, primarily from the late third and his sketch may be interpreted in the same way by
and early fourth century, and on seals.249The form assuming that the vertical line before the figures is
of the flower varies from a round lotuslike bud to a the inner edge of the window. This edge would have
small foliate sprig. The tuliplike flower from the been clear and easy to record, whereas the faint line
Painted Gallery, with its petals and pair of slender behind the figures would have been the less visible
framing leaves, is found by itself on engraved seal outer corner of the window that was damaged and/
stones, perhaps as a symbol of growth and pros- or obscured by the construction of the buttresses of
perity.250 the second phase. One photograph256shows the edge
Pairs of figures holding or passing a ring appear in
scenes of investiture and marriage.251More unusual
are scenes in which a single figure holds a ring as an
attribute. This occurs in two royal reliefs from the 248. Vanden Berghe, Reliefs, pp. 80-81, 135-136, pl. 27;
and Leo Trumpelmann, Das Sasanidische Felsrelief von Ddrdb,
reign of Bahram II, in which the ring bearer is iden- Iranische Denkmaler (Berlin, 1975) pp. 1, 2, 4, 20, pl. 5, where
tified as the crown prince, later Bahram III. The it is dated to the reign of Shapur I (241-272/3).
single figure with a ring also occurs on a few seal 249. For the flower on silver plates and bowls see Harper
stones and on a third-century bone plaque from 1981, pp. 24-25, 27, 37, 108-109, pls. 1, 2, 7 (all 3rd and early
Olbia.252 4th century);and Harper 1978, p. 74 (late Sasanianat the ear-
liest). For the flower on seals see Harper 1978, pp. 143, 145;
When compared with other Sasanian art, the Prudence 0. Harper in Frye, ed., Qasr-i Abu Nasr, pp. 69-70,
Painted Gallery figures appear to reflect the style of no. D.48; Brunner, Sasanian Stamp Seals, pp. 60-61; and Bivar,
royal art in the late third and early fourth century. Sassanian Dynasties,p. 25, pls. 7, 8.
There is nothing specifically royal about the Painted 250. ChristopherJ. Brunner in M. Noveck, TheMarkof An-
cient Man (New York, 1975) p. 89, no. 89. For the identification
Gallery composition or iconography, however, and of the floweras a pomegranateblossomsee Harperin Frye,ed.,
indeed the hair and beard styles of the figures indi- Qasr-i Abu Nasr, p. 80. See also Brunner, Sasanian Stamp Seals,
cate associations outside Sasanian court circles. pp. 116-118; and Bivar, Sassanian Dynasties,p. 106-108, pl. 25.
Four white rectangles more or less adjacent to the 251. The ring as a symbolof delegated authorityhas its ori-
gins in the late 3rd millenniumB.C.in Mesopotamia.The motif
heads of the figures stood out clearly from the dark seems to have spread to Iran only in the Parthianperiod (see
ground. Though these rectangles were blank when Kawami,pp. 50, 165) and appears in the royal reliefs of the
Herzfeld photographed them, they may have held, early Sasanian period. See Lukonin, p. lo, pls. 126, 127; and
or been designed to hold, painted inscriptions iden- Herrmann, pp. 90-91. For the ring in scenes of marriagesee
Harper 1978, pp. 74-75, 148.
tifying the five people depicted. Similarly placed 252. Lukonin, pl. 103; Brunner, Sasanian StampSeals, pp. 60,
identifying inscriptions are carved on rock reliefs 64, 65; and Ghirshman 1962, pp. 270, 271. For the date of the
in Iran,253and painted inscriptions have also sur- Olbia plaque see E. Belin de Ballu, Olbia (Leiden, 1972) p. 181.
vived.254 253. For instance,the Parthianreliefs at Shimbarand Tang-
e Sarvak, and the Sasanian reliefs at Naqsh-e Rustam and
Herzfeld's notes place the five-figure painting in
Naqsh-eRajab.See A. D. H. Bivarand S. Shaked,"The Inscrip-
the second window from the east end of the Painted tions at Shimbar," Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African
Studies 27 (1964) pp. 269-290; W. B. Henning, "The Monu-
Gallery, but Herzfeld did not indicate on which side
of the window he found it. The exact placement of ments and Inscriptions of Tang-i Sarvak,"Asia Major n.s. 2
(1951) pp. 151-178; and Erich F. Schmidt, Persepolis III (Chi-
the painting is significant, for it determines the ori-
cago, 1970) p. 131, pls. 83, 85, 98. See also Richard N. Frye, The
entation of the figures. Did they face outward to the Heritage of Persia (Cleveland/New York, 1963) p. 185, pl. 42.
Central Court or inward to the Painted Gallery? Did 254. ChristopherJ. Brunner, "The Iranian EpigraphicRe-
mains from Dura-Europos," Journal of the AmericanOriental So-
they turn their backs on the figures in the gallery, or
ciety92 (1972) pp. 492-497.
did they raise their hands in salute to them? Herz-
255. He called them "spectators" (Herzfeld 1941, p. 297).
feld's photographs show a light source both in front 256. Neg. no. 4016.

41
of the window against a very bright, virtually over- the male figure. Herzfeld called this group "King
exposed background. This bright light, which does and Queen."260His detailed watercolor renderings
not fall into the window, is from the late winter sun. and reconstructions of the scene (Figure 2o)261 illus-
Its southern slant, observable in all Herzfeld's 1929 trate royal headgear, hair styles, jewelry, and textile
photos, fell on the exposed northern wall of the patterns, but none of these specifics can be con-
Painted Gallery, providing only indirect, reflected firmed in the photographs.
light on the paintings Herzfeld photographed. Thus, The "royal"couple were set within a frame of light
the five standing figures were painted on the western and dark vertical bands. To the viewer's right, the
wall of the window and faced inward, becoming a end of a broad, light-colored ribbon fluttered across
part, if only by their orientation, of the pictorial some of the vertical bands. The vague shape of a
scheme of the Painted Gallery. standing figure to the viewer's left was not included
We may assume that all the windows of the Painted in all Herzfeld's sketches. Herzfeld's photographs
Gallery once bore painted coffering, for Herzfeld ob- show little of this figure except for the vertical strips
served traces of painted coffers in the vault of the of contrasting color on the lower portion of the gar-
eighth and last window in the western end of the gal- ment.
lery, adjacent to the painting of the moon god.257 Damaged as it was, the painting on the north wall
The back or north wall of the Painted Gallery was showed clear differences in style from the paintings
windowless and bore along its upper edge remnants of the window wall. The human forms were willowy
of the same painted cornice noted on the window and far more slender than the broad-shouldered fig-
wall.258However, only one section of the wall paint- ures on the window wall. The degree of overlapping
ing itself survived, directly opposite the trident was much greater, too, and the background far more
bearer in the eastern half of the gallery. The plaster ornate than the simple dark ground of the window-
here was far more damaged than that of the window wall paintings. Without additional photographic evi-
wall and fewer details survived. The collapse of the dence it is impossible to say whether the paintings of
vault had exposed the surface not only to the rare the north wall showed the same concern for model-
rains but also to the fierce sunlight and to abrasion ing of form and the same use of shaded edges and
by wind-borne sand. bright highlights seen in the better-preserved por-
The only extant painting on the back wall showed tions of the window-wall paintings.
three standing figures, one overlapping pair and a These differences raise the possibility that the two
single figure barely visible on the left (Figure 19).259 walls of the Painted Gallery were not painted at the
The slender figures of the pair undulated in a sort same time. This would not be surprising in a struc-
of contrapposto, the slight curve implying a three- ture with as long and complicated a history as Ghaga-
quarter stance with the figures looking to the viewer's shahr, but without clearer documentation the chro-
right. The heads, hands, and indeed all details of the nology remains a matter of speculation. One can say,
pair were obliterated, leaving only general shapes however, that before the addition of the buttresses in
and areas of color. The darker of the two figures was the second phase and before the reinforcement walls
clad in a long tunic that seems to have had a deeply were erected within the gallery, the long corridor, its
cut V-shaped neckline edged by an even darker ceiling, and its windows were decorated with a com-
band. The figure's right hand may have been held plex scheme that featured figures in several types of
across the chest, for a dark band appeared to mark dress framed by painted architectural details.
the end of the sleeve. This figure is identifiable as Given the Sasanian and Kushan parallels for the
male by the sword hanging from a thin belt worn low figures in the Painted Gallery, these paintings would
over the hips. The light, fluttering ties of the belt are
one of the few details of dress that can be verified
from the photograph. 257. "In diesem Fenster Rest d. Gewolbe-Kasetten"; Sk. XV,
The second figure, presumed to have been female, p. 30.
258. Stein, II, p. 921.
also wore a long V-necked tunic with a dark border
259. Neg. nos. 4010, 4017, 4020.
at the neckline and the sleeve. Her left arm hung at 260. Herzfeld 1941, p. 295, pl. CIVtop.
the side while her right arm was concealed behind 261. Sk. XV, pp. 37, 38; D-354, neg. no. 4021.

42
19, 20. The so-called King and Queen figures on the back (north) wall of the Painted
Gallery (photos: Herzfeld Archive)

19. Herzfeld's photograph, 1929 (neg. no. 4017)

I o

\ j
!
;( .,

..

I
/ it

/i . t

I I .

20. Herzfeld's watercolor sketch, date unknown (D-354)

43
 est point of Ghaga-shahr and would have caught any
breeze, retained traces of wall paintings (Figure 21).
Two fragments of these paintings, now in The Met-
ropolitan Museum of Art, are the only surviving ex-
amples of all the paintings Herzfeld recorded.265
Additional paintings may have been visible in or
near the North Gate, for Stein refers to faded paint-
ings in a small vaulted "cella vii" in the north corner
of the defensive walls.266In Stein's plan, however,
"room vii" is not in the north corner but in the North
Gate, presumably on the upper story. Stein's "cham-
ber vi," which in his plan adjoined the North Gate,
corresponds to Herzfeld's "upper tower room near
the North Gate," the original location of the Metro-
politan Museum's paintings.
The east side of the north terrace also had a tower
room that jutted out and above the other remains.267
21. View of the upper chamberof the North Tower,the On his first trip to Kuh-e Khwaja in 1925, Herzfeld
site of the two paintings now in The Metropolitan recorded wall paintings in or near this tower.268In
Museum of Art (see Figures 24-27); Herzfeld's
1929 he made no mention of them, however; appar-
photograph, 1929 (photo: Herzfeld Archive, neg.
no. 2097) ently they had deteriorated in the intervening years.
The Metropolitan Museum fragments have been
associated with the ceiling coffers of the Painted Gal-
lery,269but Herzfeld clearly recorded that one of
seem to date to the late third or early fourth century. them came from a niche in the north wall of a small
Their iconography reflects a rich melding of classical, room in the tower on the west side of the North Gate
Iranian, and Indian influences. The classical and (Figures 22, 23).270
Indian influences, however, arrived by complicated The fragments consist of two heads. The larger of
routes that are very difficult to trace to their origins. the two shows a beardless male in profile to the left
It is not even evident what the purpose of the (Figures 24, 25).271 His black hair is short and curly,
Painted Gallery was. In these ways the gallery points with the remains of a fillet or band of twisted white
to the uncertainties of the political history of Sistan. cloth near the top of the head. The nose is aquiline,
Sasanians and Kushans were at various times allies the lips are full, and the jaw is rounded and heavy.
and enemies, and it is not always easy to separate the The skin is a rich red brown, the color that tradition-
ruling elite of both groups. In view of the late third-
century rebellion of Kushanshah Hormizd I, brother 262. A. D. H. Bivar, "Sasanians and Turks in Central Asia,"
of Sasanian King Bahram II, it is tempting to see the in G. Hambly, ed., Central Asia, Delacorte World History XVI
figures of the Painted Gallery as reflecting Kushan (New York, 1969) pp. 51-52.
influence and the stucco sculpture as evidence of 263. Sk. XV, p. 16 (partial elevation); neg. nos. 2099 (inside),
2062, 2101 (outside).
royal Sasanian activity.262 264. Sk. XV, pp. 13-14; neg. nos. 2097, 2098. See also Gul-
lini, p. 416, fig. 277.
265. MMA acc. nos. 45.99.1, 45.99.2. Sk. XV, p. 9, records
The North Gate their original location (see Figure 23): "1/2 n. Gr. weiper Grund
aus d. oberes Turm-Kammer neben N Tor in Fensterlaibung
The north terrace with its Temple and subsidiary links 22.1I."
buildings was contained within a thick defensive wall. 266. Stein, II, pp. 912-913, pl. 53.
The only entrance, Herzfeld's North Gate, was a two- 267. Neg. no. 3986.
268. Sk. XV, p. 7 (right).
story vaulted structure with a dogleg plan.263Fitted 269. Faccenna, p. 89, n. 7.
into the angle of the North Gate on its west side was 270. Sk. XV, pp. 9, 13, 14, 20.
a small tower;264its upper room, which was the high- 271. MMA acc. no. 45.99.2; neg. no. 4033.

44
ally denotes a male. The black lines defining the back tionally mutilated by a carefully placed gouge in the
of the neck and the edge of the garment at the base center. Nonetheless, enough pigment remains to
of the neck have largely disappeared, though Herz- show that the configuration of pupil and iris touched
feld's photograph shows these lines quite clearly. The only the upper lid, giving the face an uplifted gaze.
figure's white eye, with its black outline, was inten- On the left side of the fragment, opposite the eye
and the shoulder, are two bright pink oval forms par-
tially outlined in black. The upper oval has a broad
22. Herzfeld's sketches, 1929, of the plan and elevation black band diagonally across it. The pink of these
of the North Tower chamber and of remains of
shapes is different in tone from the ruddy skin, so it
painted flowers (photo: Herzfeld Archive, Sk. XV, is unlikely that they were the man's raised hands. In
D.
r- 1A)
--
their much-reduced state they can only remind us
that the figure was part of a larger and more com-
plex scene.
2.
The band of twisted white cloth on the head is the
5 ..

only distinctive attribute that survives. Similar head-

gear, based on the thick, ribbon-bound wreath of
classicalantiquity, appears in Iran in the Parthian pe-
riod, crowning the heads of a few apparently immor-
tal figures.272A Greco-Indian Nike from Tillya Tepe
in northern Afghanistan273wears related headgear
that recalls the narrow turbans of early Buddhist fig-
ures from Afghanistan.274Although these parallels
-O place the head in an eastern Iranian and Central
Asian context, they offer little help in identifying the
person represented.
The second fragment shows a beardless head in
profile to the right (Figures 26, 27).275 Herzfeld iden-
7-
-. .-5 O
tified it as female, and later as a flute player,276
-_
~f 3-? .. though we shall see that the first description is uncer-
?*..M
I,
tain and the second incorrect. The fragment shows
the same flat, linear style and limited color range as
the other head, but it is smaller and painted by a dif-
> ferent hand. The curve of the jaw is stiff and me-
i It AI
7 chanical, produced in three separate strokes rather
- than in one smooth, continuous line as in the first
head. Each of the three strokes is also thicker than
- the line of the first head, with abrupt and arbitrary
changes in width. The short dark hair is smooth, un-
like that of the first head, and its sleek shape is accen-
tuated by the long lock falling in front of the ear.
The eye has been scraped so that the pupil is totally

272. Ghirshman, Bard-e Nechandeh et Masjid-i Solaiman, pls.

xxxII: 1-4, cxxv:4-6.
273. Sarianidi, GoldenHoard, p. 157, no. 6.3, pl. 99.
274. Colledge, pl. 25c.
275. MMA acc. no. 45.99.1; neg. no. 4030.
",- 276. For identification as female, Sk. XV, p. 14; for identifi-
Ic cation as a flute player, Herzfeld 1941, caption to pl. cIII (top
left).

45
 24, 25. Head of a man in profile to the left, from the
North Tower chamber

*A,
I
*L Lv -

. .-I=

t-

_ i ,

23. Herzfeld's sketches, 1929, of two paintings found in

the North Tower chamber and of part of the deco-
ration of the ceiling in the Painted Gallery (photo: u- " l-r*i RCC L4 IIJIF
Herzfeld Archive, Sk. XV, p. 9)
.r rs ;-?a 4Lic?1?2,.'
J1.'"` A
:tr?' ;It- ?"
-u?
L
??: .. ?-Zi- --:?iit
IC.'4t-L';CC';L.
'
".;?

?. '
46 ?:
1 ?c*.
( ?FiLp
?,r.
4' r
??-, ,aLac-:
.y' .c. ??.
ii - ui ;?-?
ii
S
 26, 27. Head of a person wearing a padam, from the
North Tower chamber

LEFT:

24. Reproduced from Herzfeld's color

slide, 1929; the blurring of some
sections is due to the shifting of the
color layers in the original film
(photo: Herzfeld Archive, color
slide 17, neg. no. 4033)

26. Herzfeld's photograph, 1929 (photo: Herzfeld Ar-

chive, neg. no. 4030)

27. The fragment in its present state. Overall, 8/4 x

95/8 in. (21 x 24.4 cm.). The Metropolitan Museum
of Art, Rogers Fund, 45.99.1

LEFT:
I
25. The fragment in its present state. aa
Overall, 135/s x 91/2in. (34 x 24
cm.). The Metropolitan Museum of 4; As1
+C' S
Art, Rogers Fund, 45.99.2
4-.? 1:s~S'
'"
j~4 .
"F
i?- '
erased; nonetheless, the upper and lower lids and ments used in the Achaemenid period (late sixth
the eyebrow can still be discerned. A long, thin band through fourth century B.C.),285of the roughly con-
cuts diagonally across the head and cheek, terminat- temporary Kushan paintings from Bactria,286and
ing in a broad rectangular shape in front of the of the seventh- to eighth-century wall paintings at
mouth. This element, which Herzfeld interpreted Pianjikent287only underlines these chromatic restric-
as a flutist's mouth-binding, is in fact a padam, a tions. They may have had more to do with the rela-
ceremonial mouth-covering mentioned in Iranian tive unimportance of the room than with the general
texts,277and illustrated in Sasanian and post-Sasanian availabilityof additional pigments.
works.278Four white ribbons fall at the back of the The pigments, dissolved in water with perhaps
figure's neck, and these may be the ties of the padam, some organic binders, were applied with a thin brush
which would have been fastened on top of the head.
The figure wears a white necklace composed of 277. Carter,"RoyalFestalThemes" (cited in note 104), pp.
two bands and secured at the back by a large roun- 180, 191. For the use of the padamin Indian Zoroastrianismsee
del. The lower, broader band of this collarlike orna- JivanjiJ. Modi,ReligiousCeremonies andCustoms of theParsis,2nd
ed. (Bombay,1922) pp. 152-153. For Iranianpracticesee Mary
ment has a row of semicircular tabs pendent from it. I. TheEarlyPeriod,Handbuch
Boyce,A Historyof Zoroastrianism:
The figure's right shoulder is missing, though Herz- der Orientalistik(Leiden, 1975) pp. 189, 309, 322-323; and
feld supplies it in his sketch;279 a portion of the left idem, A PersianStrongholdof Zoroastrianism (Oxford, 1977) p.
arm, bent upward at the elbow, suggests that the 231. The padammay be the paragnathiades of the "firepriests"
seen by Strabo (Geography, XV.3.15)and is perhaps illustrated
missing hand was held before the face. in an Achaemenidstone relief from Anatolia(Ghirshman,An-
Both fragments have a smooth ground of fine cientIran, p. 347, fig. 440). For an apparentlynonreligiousde-
reddish-brown clay laid over a base or scratch coat of piction of a related mouth-coveringfrom Susa see Ghirshman,
coarse clay mixed with chopped straw. This differs AncientIran, p. 144, fig. 194. I would like to acknowledgemy
debt to James Russell, Columbia University, for his help with
from the prepared plaster in the South Gate.280The
questions of Zoroastrian belief and practice through the ages.
heads were first sketched with brown iron oxide pig- 278. Carter, "Royal Festal Themes," pls. v, vi, xi; Harper
ment,281 then the skin areas were painted with vari- 1978, pp. 74-76; and Tokyo National Museum, Cultural Con-
ous iron oxide and gypsum mixtures. Finally, the tacts, no. 86.
black hair and details of eyes, ears, and costume were 279. Sk. XV, p. 9.
280. Faccenna, p. 85, n. 3.
added with a carbon-based paint.282The image was 281. Kurt Wehlte, The Materials and Techniquesof Painting
finished with a thin black outline, and a whitewash of (New York, 1975) pp. 98-99. Interestingly, among the strongest
red earth (iron oxide) pigments mentioned by Wehlte was "Per-
gypsum was applied to the ground. This method of sian Gulf oxide."
painting and the sequence in which each element was 282. Ibid., pp. 167-168. See also Appendix.
laid down can be seen when the surface of either 283. Millard Meiss, The GreatAge of Fresco (New York, 1970)
piece is examined under magnification. The gypsum p. 16. For a late medieval account of how to execute a sinopia
see Cennino Cennini's II libro dell'artein E. G. Holt, A Documen-
ground consistently overlaps the black outline, which
in turn is painted over the skin tone. The gypsum is tary History of Art I (New York, 1957) p. 142. The use of sinopia
antedates the Renaissance by millennia, however. For an Assyr-
never found beneath the brown underdrawing; this, ian example see A. Parrot, The Arts of Assyria(New York, 1961)
in a Renaissance fresco, would be called a sinopia.283 p. xv.
The black lines were added late in the painting pro- 284. Faccenna, pp. 85-86.
285. Judith Lerner, "A Painted Relief from Persepolis," Ar-
cess, when the surface was fairly dry. The carbon-
chaeology26 (1973) pp. 116-122 and corrigenda, p. 305; A. B.
based pigment did not bond well with the other Tilia, "Color in Persepolis," IsMEO Reports and Memoirs 18
layers and has flaked off in many places. Under mag- (1976) pp. 31-32, 68-69, pls. A, B; Stronach, Pasargadae, pp.
nification, however, sufficient traces of it can be seen 85-86; J. Perrot, A. LeBrunt, and A. Labrousse, "Recherches
to follow the nearly lost lines. archeologiques a Suse et en Susiane en 1969 et en 1970," Syria
48 (1971) p. 40; and Audran Labrousse and R6my Boucharlat,
The palette of the Metropolitan Museum heads "La Fouille du palais du Chaour a Suse en 1970 et 1971," Cahiers
seems limited in view of the use of yellow, green, de la delegationarcheologiquefrancaise en Iran 2 (1972) p. 83. For
even earlier wall paintings see Yoko Tomabechi, "WallPaintings
purple, and blue in the South Gate paintings284 and from Till Barsip," Archivfur Orientforschungen29/30 (1983-84)
in the Painted Gallery. It is possible, however, that
pp. 63-74 and esp. n. 33.
the clothing of the North Gate figures was more col- 286. Azarpay, p. 35, n. 70.
orful. Consideration of the varied and vivid pig- 287. Ibid., pp. 161-165.

48
whose softness and flexibility can be seen in the stands in contrast to the first, with its fluid line and
better-preserved lines. The brush was made of hair ease of execution. One is tempted to see the second
rather than vegetable fiber, to judge from the bristles head as the work of an apprentice or inattentivejour-
stuck in the plaster of the second fragment. This is neyman assigned to a back room under the eye of a
rare physical evidence of painters' tools in the an- more experienced artist. This same painter used the
cient Near East. disintegrating brush that left its hairs embedded in
The second head, with its unusual headgear, is of the painting.
particular interest, because it was altered at the very In this second fragment the form of the padam-a
time it was being painted, and again shortly after- thin band tied across the mouth and fastened at the
ward. In examining this painting we come a little top of the head-is distinct from the loose, billowing
closer to the anonymous artisans responsible for version known on Sogdian reliefs and paintings of
these works. The head and neck were originally late Sasanian or post-Sasanian date.288 Instead, it
painted a strong, bright pink, the classical color for a closely resembles the padams worn by royal atten-
female. This pink, which has a high iron content, was dants in banquet scenes on a few post-Sasanian silver
then concealed by an opaque white coat of gypsum plates289and on a painted vase excavated at Merv.290
on which the black outlines of the features were These Central Asian parallels, which are all in secu-
painted. The white skin was then painted the same lar rather than religious contexts, suggest that the
ruddy tone as that of the larger head, presumably second head was that of a servant or attendant at a
signifying a change in gender. The hair was not al- banquet. The padamcannot, then, be taken as an in-
tered; the thin black pigment on the back of the head dication of religious activity.
was painted directly on the brown clay ground be- Another distinctive element of the second head is
fore the color of the flesh was changed. The long the lock of hair falling before the ear. It occurs in
black lock, however, was added later, on top of the early Sasanian images291and in Central Asia, where it
final reddish skin color. The ornamental collar and remained popular well past the Sasanian period.292It
the white ribbons seem to have been painted last. was always a female hair style.
The black lines of the necklace overlap the ruddy The third distinctive attribute, the necklace or col-
flesh tint, and the "shadows"of three of the four rib- lar, evokes the typical Sasanian necklace of large
bons show that they were painted, without a sinopia, beads, although it has no actual parallel in Sasanian
after the background had been washed with gypsum art.
and allowed to dry. The carbon pigment did not Herzfeld specified that the second head came from
bond with the surface and the lines flaked off. the western wall of the niche in the tower room; he
Fugitive pigment, however, was not the cause of did not note the exact location of the first head, but
the lack of detail in the eye and on the padam band. we may assume that it came from the same niche.
These two areas were carefully abraded, so that most The wall into which the niche was set was also deco-
of the paint was removed. This action was not acci- rated. It was painted with trilobed red flowers on
dental, for the scraped area is neatly confined to the thin green stems with occasional leaves, against a
eye and the band, stopping abruptly near the nostril.
The reason for the abrasion is difficult to under-
288. Tokyo National Museum,CulturalContacts,no. 86; and
stand. Perhaps there was something unsatisfactory
Azarpay, p. 200, pl. 21.
about the rendering of these elements and they were 289. Carter,"RoyalFestalThemes,"p. 180, pl. v, fig. 3, pl.
rubbed off to prepare for a repainting that never oc- vi, fig. 4.
curred; or it is possible that the alteration took place 290. Ibid., p. 191, pl. xi, fig. lob; and Tokyo National Mu-
seum, CulturalContacts,no. 81 (col. pl.). An interestingsidelight
during the second, Islamic phase of the site and is an to this is the fact that the vase was excavatedfrom a Buddhist
erasure of elements associated with the Zoroastrian stupa, where it had been reused as a receptacle for religious
religion. texts.
With its heavy, hesitant brushwork, the deliberate 291. Harper 1981, pp. 32-35, pls. 5, 36, 38; and Harper
1978, pp. 48-49, no. 12; pp. 74-75, no. 25; p. l09, no. 4.
change in the color of its skin, its scraped areas, and 292. Carter, "Royal Festal Themes," pp. 191-192; Harper
an inexplicable black line curving outward from the 1978, pp. 77-78, no. 26; Azarpay, pp. 64, 128, pls. 6, 12, 18;
nose as if to delineate a frontal eye, the second head and Bussagli, CentralAsian Painting, p. 25.

49
white ground (see Figure 22).293The flattened, orna- neous whole, but reflect changes, additions, and per-
mental shapes of the flowers and the manner in haps repairs made over a span of time. The earliest
which they were scattered over the ground find close painting, a Bodhisattva on the wall embedded in the
parallels in the floral "fillers"on a post-Sasanian sil- South Gate, illustrates the site's earliest function as a
ver plate and on the painted vase from Merv,294both Buddhist shrine. The other paintings of the South
pieces that show secular scenes of feasting and in- Gate and those of the Painted Gallery show a mix-
clude padam-wearing attendants. Thus, the Metro- ture of Kushan and Sasanian imagery with divine
politan Museum fragments may be all that remains and/or mortal figures painted in a variety of styles.
of a banqueting mural, a fitting decoration for a This diversity reflects the varying tides of political
room well situated to be a cool and pleasant retreat. power and patronage in the third and fourth centu-
The simplicity of the Metropolitan Museum frag- ries. The final paintings, the fragments from the
ments contrasts with the illusionistic structure of the North Gate, seem to be related to late Sasanian and
Painted Gallery ceiling and the dense composition of post-Sasanian works depicting courtly pastimes; as
the paintings in the South Gate. This suggests, at now understood, they carry no religious meaning.
most, a late Sasanian date for the New York pieces. Considered together, the murals of Kuh-e Khwaja
provide an unexpectedly complex picture of artistic
The wall paintings of Kuh-e Khwaja, like the archi- activity in Sistan and form the largest corpus of
tecture of the site, do not form one contempora- painting in ancient Iran.

293. Sk. XV, pp. 13, 14.

294. Carter, "Royal Festal Themes," pl. v, fig. 3, pl. XI, fig. 1o.

50
 Delos-Ecole fran;aise d'Athenes, Exploration archeolo-
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS gique de Delos (Paris, 1909-)
Faccenna-Domenico Faccenna, "A New Fragment of
I am greatly indebted to The Metropolitan Museum of Wall Painting from Ghaga Sahr (Kuh-i Hvaga-Sis-
Art for a Clawson Mills Fellowship in the autumn of tan, Iran)," East and West31 (1981)
1984, which enabled me to examine the two paintings Ghirshman 1962-Roman Ghirshman, Persian Art: The
from Kuh-e Khwaja in the Museum's collection, to ex- Parthian and Sassanian Dynasties, 249 B.C.-A.D. 65I,
plore the Herzfeld Archives (one at the Metropolitan trans. Stuart Gilbert and James Emmons (New York,
Museum, the other in Washington, D.C.) in detail, and 1962)
to write a preliminary draft of this study. I am also most Ghirshman 1971-Roman Ghirshman, BichapourI (Par-
grateful to Prudence 0. Harper, Curator of Ancient is, 1971)
Near Eastern Art at the Museum, for her support and Gullini-Giorgio Gullini, Architetturairanica dagli ache-
encouragement, and to Lawrence Becker and Robert menidi ai sasanidi: II palazzo di Kuh-i Kwagia (Turin,
Koestler of the Museum's Objects Conservation Depart- 1964)
ment for their technical note, given here in the Appen- Harper 1978-Prudence 0. Harper, The Royal Hunter:
dix. My work was aided by the useful comments and ad- Art of the Sasanian Empire(New York, 1978)
vice of Oleg Grabar, Marie Lukens Swietochowski, Harper 1981-Prudence 0. Harper, Silver Vesselsof the
William Trousdale, and Mas'oud Azarnoush, and facili- Sasanian Period: I. Royal Imagery (New York, 1981)
tated in Washington by the efforts of Betsy Kelly, Archi- Herrmann-Georgina Herrmann, The Iranian Revival
vist, Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution. I also (Oxford, 1977)
benefited from the kind assistance of Timothy Rogers, Herzfeld 1935-Ernst Herzfeld, ArchaeologicalHistory of
Bodleian Library, Oxford, and Patricia Kattenhorn, The Iran (London, 1935)
India Office Library and Records, London. For permis- Herzfeld 1941-Ernst Herzfeld, Iran in the Ancient East
sion to reproduce materials from the Herzfeld Archive (London, 1941)
in Washington, my thanks are due to Dr. Thomas Law- IsMEO-Istituto italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Ori-
ton, Director of the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian ente, Rome
Institution. Kawami-Trudy S. Kawami, Monumental Art of the Par-
thian Period in Iran (Leiden, 1987)
Kroger-Jens Kroger, Sasanidischer Stuckreliefdekor,
Baghdader Forschungen V (Mainz, 1982)
Lukonin-Vladimir G. Lukonin, Persia II, trans. James
Hogarth (Cleveland/New York, 1967)
FREQUENTLY CITED SOURCES
Pugachenkova 1958-G. A. Pugachenkova, Puti razvitiia
architektur iuzhnogo Turkmenistana[The Course of
Herzfeld Archive-Herzfeld Archive, Freer Gallery of
Development of Architecture in Southern Turk-
Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
menistan], Trudy Yuzhno-Turkmenskoy Arkheolo-
Color slide-Herzfeld's color lantern slides taken at gicheskoy Ekspeditsii [Reports of the Southern
Kuh-e Khwaja in 1929 Turkmenian Archaeological Expedition] VI (Ash-
D-Herzfeld's unpublished drawings khabad, 1958)
N-85-Herzfeld's notebook of 1925 Pugachenkova 1967-G. A. Pugachenkova, Iskusstvo
Neg. no.-Herzfeld's numbered negatives Turkmenistana [Art of Turkmenistan] (Moscow,
Photo File-Files 17-29 contain albums of photo- 1967)
graphs, not all of them taken by Herzfeld Rosenfield-John Rosenfield, The Dynastic Art of the Ku-
Sk. XIII-Herzfeld's sketchbook of 1925 shans (Berkeley, Calif., 1968)
Sk. XV-Herzfeld's sketchbook of 1929 SPA-Arthur Upham Pope and Phyllis Ackerman, eds.,
A Survey of Persian Art from Prehistoric Times to the
Azarpay-Guitty Azarpay, Sogdian Painting (Berkeley, Present (London/New York, 1938) 6 vols.
Calif., 1981) Stawiski-Boris Stawiski, Mittelasien: Die Kunst der Ku-
Bodleian-Bodleian Library, Oxford University, Mss. schan (Leipzig, 1979)
Stein 84, Correspondence 1891-1943 (HENDLEY- Stein-Aurel Stein, InnermostAsia: Detailed Report of Ex-
HILLENBRANT) plorations in Central Asia, Kan-su and Eastern Iran,
Colledge-Malcolm Colledge, Parthian Art (Ithaca, N.Y., CarriedOut and DescribedUnder the Ordersof H.M. In-
1977) dian Government(Oxford, 1928) 4 vols.

51
Appendix
A TECHNICAL NOTE

Analysis and optical examination of pigment and formed "wheat-sheaf" needles characteristic of gyp-
ground samples from the two wall-painting frag- sum. Further microchemical tests revealed no trace
ments excavated at Kuh-e Khwaja and now in the of lake pigments.
Metropolitan Museum (acc. nos. 45.99.1, 45.99.2) in- Examination of the reds and flesh tones by SEM/
dicate that the white ground is gypsum (calcium sul- EDS showed calcium, sulfur, and iron as the princi-
fate dihydrate), the black pigment is carbon, and the pal elemental components, confirming the presence
reds and flesh tones are iron compounds combined of gypsum and iron compounds. More specific min-
with gypsum. These are the only colors present, ex- eralogical information might be provided by X-ray
cept for scattered green particles on acc. no. 45.99.2, diffraction. No mercury was found by SEM/EDS,
which may be the result of the spattering of pigment eliminating the possibility of vermilion (cinnabar).
that was applied elsewhere on the wall. Optical examination indicated that the black pig-
Samples of the white ground from both fragments ment was some form of carbon black. The atomic
dissolved without effervescence in dilute hydrochlo- number of carbon is too low for elemental identifica-
ric acid. When the solution dried, the characteristic tion by the Museum's SEM/EDS. Samples of black
"wheat sheaves" of gypsum were observed under the pigment were, however, analyzed by SEM/EDS for
microscope. Analysis of the white-ground samples by the presence of phosphorus, and none was found,
scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X- thus eliminating the possibility of bone or ivory
ray spectrometry (SEM/EDS) showed the principal black, both of which are composed primarily of cal-
elements present to be calcium and sulfur, compo- cium phosphate.
nents of gypsum. The scattered green particles present on part of
When samples from the red areas and from the the surface of acc. no. 45.99.2 were analyzed by
flesh tones were dissolved in concentrated hydrochlo- SEM/EDS and found to be primarily copper, with
ric acid followed by potassium ferrocyanide solution, zinc as a secondary component. In addition to the
they gave a blue precipitate, indicating the presence elements already mentioned, SEM/EDS revealed var-
of iron (III) compounds in the pigment. Samples of iable amounts of sodium, magnesium, silicon, alumi-
reds and of flesh tones dissolved without efferves- num, potassium, and chlorine, all commonly found
cence in dilute hydrochloric acid and, when dry, in soil such as that of eastern Iran.

LAWRENCE BECK ER ROBERT KOESTLER

AssociateConservato
)r SeniorMicroscopist
ts Conservation
Departmentof Object Departmentof ObjectsConservation
The MetropolitanM useumof Art The MetropolitanMuseum of Art
 Ch'ien Hs ian's Pear Blossoms:
The Tradition of Flower Painting
and Poetry from Sung to Yuan

ROBERT E. HARRIST, JR.

Department of Art, Oberlin College

AMONG THE FLOWER PAINTINGS by Ch'ien Hsuan erotic overtones. Flowers are equally common, how-
(ca. 1235-before 1307) are several accompanied by ever, as symbols of scholarly purity, reclusion, and
the artist's poems. In Pear Blossoms,a handscroll in nobility.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ch'ien's poem fol- In painting, flowers and other plants emerged as
lows an image of six clusters of flowers growing from independent subjects in the works of the Six Dynas-
a stark, knobby branch (Figures 6, 7).' This work, ties artists Ku K'ai-chih (ca. 344-406) and Chang
which according to a fifteenth-century colophon Seng-yu (active 500-550). Also in the Six Dynasties,
dates from Ch'ien's old age,2 is not only one of the
most visually appealing of his flower paintings, but is
also one in which the interaction of poetry and paint- A Chinese glossary is given at the end of the article, following
the Chinese of the passages quoted as extracts in the text and
ing achieves a richness and complexity of meaning
identified by lowercase letters. The calligraphy is by Feng Ming-
new in Chinese art. The relationship between words
huei. Translations, unless otherwise attributed, are by the au-
and images in Ch'ien's landscape painting is the sub- thor.
ject of two recent studies;3 a similar and equally im-
1. Wen Fong and Maxwell K. Hearn, "Silent Poetry,"MMAB
portant relationship in his flower painting has not yet
been analyzed. Focusing on the Metropolitan Mu- 39:3 (1981/82) p. 36. See also Sherman E. Lee and Wai-kam Ho,
Chinese Art Under the Mongols: The Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368),
seum handscroll and the tradition to which it be- exh. cat. (Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1968) no. 181.
longs, this article will explore some of the issues Scores of extant Chinese flower paintings are attributed to
raised by Ch'ien Hsiian's works in the flower genre Ch'ien Hsiian. Pear Blossoms is one of a handful generally ac-
that combine the arts of poetry and painting. cepted as authentic. The most recent discussion of Ch'ien's
flower painting, which includes the Metropolitan Museum
handscroll in a list of eight authentic works, is by Wang Wei,
Active in the late Southern Sung (1127-1279) and "Lun Ch'ien Hsiian ti hui-hua i-shu chi li-lun" [A Discussion of
Ch'ien Hsiian's Art of Painting and Theory], Ku-kung po-wu
early Yuan (1279-1368) dynasties, Ch'ien Hsuan was
heir to ancient traditions of poetry and painting that yuan yiian-k'an [Palace Museum Journal, Peking] 28:2 (1985) pp.
53-59.
deal with the subject of flowers. With their synaes- 2. Colophon by Wang Shen (1360-1440) recorded in Wu
thetic appeal to the senses of sight, smell, and touch, Sheng, Ta-kuanlu [Record of Extensive Observations] (preface
flowers offered Chinese poets and painters subjects dated 1712; repr. Taipei, 1970) chiian 15, pp. 58b-59a.
of almost unlimited symbolic and metaphoric poten- 3. Shou-chien Shih, "The Eremitic Landscapes of Ch'ien
Hsiian (ca. 1235-before 1307)," Ph.D. diss. (Princeton Univer-
tial. Beginning with the Bookof Odes(Shih-ching)(sev- sity, 1984); John Hay, "Poetic Space: Ch'ien Hsiian and the As-
enth century B.C.) and Songs of Ch'u (Ch'u-t'zu)(third sociation of Painting and Poetry," paper delivered at "Words
and Images: An International Symposium on Chinese Poetry,
century B.C.), and continuing in "palace-stylepoems"
Calligraphy, and Painting," MMA, New York, May 1985 (see Al-
(kung-t'ishih) of the Six Dynasties (317-589), flowers freda Murck and Wen Fong, eds., Wordsand Images:Relationships
in Chinese poetry are frequently symbols of beautiful Between Chinese Poetry, Calligraphy, and Painting [New York:
women, and floral imagery often has unmistakably MMA, forthcoming]).

53

0 The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1987

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 22

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve, and extend access to
Metropolitan Museum Journal ®
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1. Emperor Sung Hui-tsung (1082-1135), Five-Colored
Parakeet,before 1126. Section of a handscroll, ink students' ability to translate lines of poetry into paint-
and colors on silk, 53-3 x 125.1 cm. Boston, Mu- ing with sensitivity and originality--all are late
seum of Fine Arts, Maria Antoinette Evans Fund, Northern Sung examples of artists' fascination with
33.364 (photo: courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Bos- the interplay of poetry and painting.4 The conflu-
ton) ence of the two arts became increasingly subtle when
Hui-tsung began to write poems on or directly adja-
painters combined images of flowers and birds to cent to his paintings. In the twelfth century, Emperor
create the extremely durable genre of hua-niao hua, Sung Kao-tsung ( 107-87) and other imperial artists
or "bird and flower painting." During the tenth cen- introduced the fashion of having silk fans inscribed
tury, Huang Ch'iian (903-968) of the Shu kingdom on one side with a quatrain and decorated on the
and Hsu Hsi (active 96o-ca. 975) of the Southern other with corresponding painted images. With these
T'ang kingdom brought flower painting to a new works, in which painting and poetry were combined
perfection. Judging from the entries in the Painting in a single creative process, Chinese art entered a pe-
Catalogueof theHsiian-hoEra (Hsiiuan-ho hua-p'u)(pref- riod of new complexity.
ace dated 1120), in which bird and flower paintings The most popular forms for flower painting in the
far outnumber those of any other category, by the Southern Sung were fans and album leaves, where
late Northern Sung (960--1127) flowers were the artists focused on a single blossom or flowering
most popular of all subjects in Chinese painting. branch.5 These Southern Sung flower paintings,
Although floral imagery appears in pre-Sung illus- much like the famous "one-cornered" landscapes of
trations of narrative poems and Buddhist texts, it was
not until the twelfth century that artists began to
4. For Kuo Hsi'scommentssee "Lin-ch'iiankao-chih"[Lofty
combine lyric poetry and flower painting in a single Aims in Forestsand Streams]in Yii Chien-hua,ed., Chung-kuo
work. This alliance of words and images reflects a hua-lun lei-pien [Classified Discussions of Chinese Painting
pervasive Sung interest in using poetry as a source of Theory] (Peking, 1957) I, pp. 640-641; for a summaryof the'
theories of Su Shih and his circle see Susan Bush, TheChinese
enrichment for pictorial art. Comments by Kuo Hsi Literati on Painting: Su Shih (IO37-IIoI) to Tung Ch'i-ch'ang
on lines of poetry he found well
(ca. lool-ca. ogo1090) (I555-I636), Harvard-Yenching Institute Studies 27 (Cam-
suited to depiction in painting, discussions by the bridge, Mass., 1971) chaps. 1, 2; for the examinationsin Hui-
poet Su Shih (1037-1 lol) and members of his circle tsung'sacademy see Teng Ch'un, Hua-chi[A Continuationof
Painting History] (Hua-shih ts'ung-shu ed., Shanghai, 1963)
concerning the convertibility of the two arts, and the chiian1, pp. 2-3.
examination system of Emperor Sung Hui-tsung 5. For flower paintings in this tradition see YonezawaYo-
(1082-1135) in the painting academy, which tested shiro,FlowerandBirdPaintingof theSungDynasty(Tokyo,1956),

54
the Ma-Hsia school, concentrate on a limited, highly everywhere,he flies to the top of a branch. He is noble
selective vision of the natural world. In his study of and placid, and possesses a dignity peculiarly his own.
Southern Sung lyric poetry, Shuen-fu Lin points out As I gaze upon him he seems to present a sight superior
to a picture. Therefore I compose this verse:
a striking similarity between this phenomenon in
painting and a major shift of focus in Chinese lyric Heaven produced the parakeet,this strange bird,
poetry, specifically in yung-wu tz'u, or "songs on ob- From far awayhe came to the imperialprecinct.
jects," of the Southern Sung. Lin's analysis shows His body is complete with five colors and his nature
that, when writing in this genre, the Southern Sung rare.
poet "shrinks from the vast world of his lived experi- Blessed is he, uttering many a fine speech, his tone
ence and concentrates his creative vision on one tan- most beautiful.
When flying high, to be envied is he, his feathers ele-
gible object."6
The fascination with individual objects selected gant.
When walkingabout, contented is he, fed with choice
from nature in Southern Sung flower painting makes
grain.
Shuen-fu Lin's theories of yung-wupoetry of particu- His yellowbreast and purple feet are truly perfect,
lar value in understanding the traditions that lie be- Thus I compose a new verse and sing as I stroll.a
hind Ch'ien Hsiian's art. The basic meaning of the
word wu in the term yung-wuis "anything that can be Hui-tsung's poem, like his richly detailed painting,
perceived by the mind";7 but the conventions of the describes the form and appearance of the bird, its
yung-wugenre are such that its themes are limited to feathers, voice, and bearing. Although the emperor
small objects from nature: flowers, birds, or insects, attributes to the parakeet human qualities of nobility
never human beings, landscapes, or events. In light and dignity, he does not attempt to endow it with the
of this definition, many Southern Sung flower paint- capacity to experience human feelings; and whatever
ings are clearly pictorial equivalents of yung-wu symbolic qualities the bird may have-as an image of
poems. But not all the poems that appear on these freedom or naturalness-they remain so general as
paintings fall into this category. It is the entire work, to have little meaning. The poem is primarily de-
in which poetry and painting merge to create a single scriptive and the painting that illustrates it attempts
semantic and expressive unit, that corresponds to the to capture a convincing image of the avian subject.
yung-wuaesthetic articulated by Shuen-fu Lin. Although his laboriously naturalistic painting style
may have differed radically from the sketchy ink-play
of late Northern Sung literati painters, Hui-tsung's
Hui-tsung frequently inscribed poems on his paint- combination of painting and poetry is artisticallycon-
ings.8 Several of his works in the bird and flower sonant with statements made by Su Shih and his
genre provide important evidence of the relationship
between poetry and painting in the late Northern
Sung. Hui-tsung's Five-ColoredParakeet(Figure 1) in and Palace Museum, Peking, Ku-kungpo-wu yuan ts'ang hua-niao
the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, depicts a bird hua hsuan [Selected Flower and Bird Paintings in the Palace Mu-
perched on a fragile branch.9 This jewel-like image seum, Peking] (Peking, 1965).
of the emperor's exotic pet is painted with astonish- 6. Shuen-fu Lin, The Transformationof ChineseLyricalTradition:
Chiang K'uei and SouthernSung tz'u Poetry(Princeton, N.J., 1978)
ing attention to minute details of feathers, eyes, and p. 11.
feet. Like Hui-tsung's Finchesand Bambooin The Met- 7. Ibid., p. 1o.
ropolitan Museum of Art,'1 this is a work of "super 8. See Tseng Yo-ho Ecke, "Emperor Hui-tsung the Artist,"
realism." Preceding the painting, Hui-tsung writes a Ph.D. diss. (New York University, 1972).
9. Sekai no bijutsukanXV: Boston Bijutsukan-T6yo [Museums
preface and an eight-line poem that belongs to the of the World XV: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston-Oriental] (To-
yung-wucategory:"l kyo, 1968) pl. 70.
lo. Acc. no. 1981.278; Lawrence Sickman, ed., ChineseCallig-
raphy and Painting in the Collectionof John M. Crawford,Jr., exh.
The five-coloredparakeetcame from Ling-piao.Reared cat. (New York: Pierpont Morgan Library, 1962) pi. 3.
in the imperial enclosure he has become docile and is 11. Trans. Kojiro Tomita, "The Five-Colored Parakeet by
lovable. He flits and sings as he pleases, moving to and Hui-tsung (1082-1135)," Museum of Fine Arts Bulletin 31 (1933)
fro in the garden. In mid-spring,when apricotsblossom p. 78.

55
circle concerning the convertibility of words and im- sidered a yung-wu poem. Lacking the preface or title
ages. Although these artists and poets frequently dis- that usually establishes a context for a Chinese qua-
counted the value of "form-likeness"in painting and train, the poem depends on the painted image to
saw poetry as a way to express meaning beyond what make clear its subject, the autumn mallow (ch'iu-
could be conveyed pictorially,they recognized the de- k'uei), a plant valued both for its medicinal potency
scriptive power shared by the two arts. For example, and for the beauty of its large yellow blossoms.'7 Be-
when Ch'ao Pu-chih (1053-1111) responded to a cause the mallow always grows facing the sun, a pro-
poem Su Shih had written for a painting of a goose, verbial saying from the Huai-nan tzu (second century
he wrote, "Why should I look at the painting? / When B.C.), a text composed at the court of the prince of
I see the poem, the goose is really there."'2 What Huai-nan, states, "The relationship between a sage
Ch'ao praises is Su Shih's skillful poetic evocation of and the Wayis like the relationship between a mallow
the bird's living presence. Although the painting Su and the sun."'8 But read in the context of Chinese
wrote about is lost, the relationship between it and poetic tradition, the poem on the fan is not about a
his poem must have been similar to the relationship sage but about a court beauty. Recognition of this
between Hui-tsung's meticulously depicted parakeet fundamental metaphor is essential to interpretation
and the descriptive preface and poem that accom- of both the painting and the poem.19
pany it. The first line of the quatrain establishes a temporal
Many of the Southern Sung flower paintings in the setting: "white dew" (pai-lu) is one of the twenty-four
form of fans or album leaves were accompanied by climatic periods of the lunar year, beginning on
quatrains in the calligraphy of various imperial writ- either the eighth or ninth day of the ninth month.
ers.13Only in rare cases, however, have the original Endowed by the poet with the capacity to experience
pairings of poetry and painting been preserved. The human feelings, the personified flower suffers "chilly
earliest known example is the silk fan (Figures 2, 3) loneliness" and neglect. These are precisely the feel-
excavated from the tomb of the Ming prince Chu ings conventionally attributed to abandoned beauties
Tan (d. 1389).'4 In its original form this collaborative in poems of the kuei-yiian, or "inner-chamber resent-
work consisted of an anonymous artist's painting of ment," genre in which poets write in the personae of
a butterfly hovering over an autumn mallow and
a poem in the calligraphy of Kao-tsung. The two
pieces of silk were pasted back to back to form a 12. Bush, TheChinese
Literati,p. 26.
round, hand-held fan. During the Yuan dynasty the 13. Writingquatrainson fans seems to have been a craze at
two sides of the fan were separated and mounted the Southern Sung court. EmperorSung Hsiao-tsung(reigned
side by side in a short handscroll. Kao-tsung's callig- 1163-90) was so fond of these four-line poems that to please
him Hung Mai (1123-1202) compiled the T'ang-jen wan-shou
raphy, in four lines of cursive script, is in gold. Ac- chueh-chu[Ten Thousand Quatrainsby T'ang Poets]. See Yo-
cording to a colophon by Feng Tzu-chen (1257-after shikawaKojiro,SungPoetry,trans. Burton Watson(Cambridge,
Mass.,1967) p. 163.
1327), this is a work of Kao-tsung's late years, done 14. Shantung ProvincialMuseum,"Fa-chiiehMing Chu Tan
after the emperor had retired to the Te-shou palace mu chi-shih"[Report on the Excavationof the Tomb of Chu
in 1162.'1 The poem is not Kao-tsung's own compo- Tan of the Ming Dynasty],Wen-wu[CulturalRelics] (1972) 5,
sition, but is a modified version of a quatrain by Liu pp. 25-37.
15. Ibid., p. 29.
Ch'ang (1019-68), a Northern Sung scholar-official, 16. For the text of Liu'spoem see Ch'en Meng-leiet al., eds.,
poet, and antiquarian:16 Ku-chint'u-shuchi-ch'eng[Assembled Libraryof Ancient and
Modern Works](1725; Wen-hsingshu-tien ed., Taipei, 1964)
White dew has just passed hurrying away the eighth LXV,p. 885.
month, 17. Ibid., pp. 873-888. Poems on the theme of the mallow
Purple corolla and red leaves share chilly loneliness. are collectedin Chang Yii-shuet al., eds., P'ei-wenchaiyung-wu-
The yellow blossom, neglected, there is no one to see: shih hsiian [The P'ei-wen Studio Selection of yung-wuPoems]
Alone, it naturally inclines its heart toward the sun- (1707; repr.Taipei, 1970) IX, pp. 6075-6078.
set.b 18. Quoted in Ch'en Meng-lei et al., eds., Ku-chint'u-shu,
LXV,p. 876.
19. The poetic conventionsof the lady/flowertheme are dis-
Although the quatrain is not a popular yung-wu cussed in Hans Frankel,TheFloweringPlumandthePalaceLady:
form, Kao-tsung's revision of Liu's poem can be con- Interpretationsof ChinesePoetry(New Haven, 1976)chap. 1.

56
2, 3. Two sides of a fan mounted as a handscroll.24.3 x 25.5 cm. Tsinan, Shantung ProvincialMuseum

\I

2. Anonymous,AutumnMallows,undated. Ink and col- 3. Emperor Sung Kao-tsung (1107-87), poem adapt-
ors on silk (photo: after Umehara Kaoru, Zusetsu ed from Liu Ch'ang (1019-68), undated. Gold on
Chugokuno rekishi[Illustrated History of China] V, silk (photo: after Wen-wu, 1972, no. 5)
Tokyo, 1976, col. pl. 15)

lonely ladies pining for thoughtless lovers. In the last wings painted with utmost delicacy, is an entomologi-
line, Kao-tsung adapts a cliche found in many Chi- cal portrait of impeccable accuracy.
nese poems on the theme of the mallow: "it inclines When we compare the relationship between poetry
its heart to the sun." Here it is a setting sun, and the and painting in Hui-tsung's Five-Colored Parakeet with
suggestion of crepuscular light adds to the melan- that in Kao-tsung's fan, which dates from no earlier
choly of the poem. Though not mentioned in the than 1162, we discover a significant difference. Hui-
poem, the butterfly seen in the painting makes more tsung's poem, in its detailed evocation of the para-
poignant by its very presence the absence of a sym- keet's form, is highly descriptive; his painting illus-
pathetic human observer. trates the accompanying poem but adds to it no
In the anonymous painting paired with Kao- metaphoric dimension. We feel, as Ch'ao Pu-chih felt
tsung's calligraphy, the artist uses gold and purple regarding Su Shih's poem describing a goose and the
pigments for the mallow blossoms and silver, now corresponding painting, that reading Hui-tsung's
darkened to a dirty gray, for the butterfly hovering poem we do not need to see his painting. In the Kao-
above. With consummate skill, the artist foreshortens tsung fan, a more complex relationship prevails be-
the long, serrated leaves and the uppermost blossom tween poetry and painting. No less concerned with
to create a convincing illusion of objects existing in naturalism than is Hui-tsung in his bird painting, the
real space. Contours of the petals are soft and wavy; artist of the fan carries the viewer close to the yellow
they fold and turn back on themselves with great nat- blossoms and skillfully evokes their sensuous pres-
uralness, and the gold striations on the petals deline- ence as real objects. But with the addition of the qua-
ate the living plant's veins. The butterfly, its gossamer train, which not only describes the flowers but also

57
 X

introduces levels of personification and metaphor,

the fan is no longer merely a combination of verbal
and pictorial description: through the interaction of
Pt:1 ft poetry and painting the autumn mallow has become
an emblem of human feeling.
*vv X-.
t t- Layersof Icy Silk (Figure 4) by Ma Lin (active ca.
in the Palace Museum, Peking, develops
.-,Z,- lvs 4- 1210-40),
. 1-*1
4 further what might be called the lady/flower theme.20
The earliest dated work by this Southern Sung
court academician, the painting depicts two fragile
branches of blossoming plum against a blank back-
- :-
ground. At the top of the scroll, in her familiar stan-
. 1. :..
,r-
r,,, dard script (k'ai-shu),is a quatrain by Yang Mei-tzu
(1162-1232), consort of Emperor Sung Li-tsung, and
her seal for the year 126. Four characters in the
lower left, also by Yang, read "layers of icy silk"
(ts'eng-tiehping-hsiao), a reference to a type of thin
white cloth.21This inscription is a clue to the mean-
X! ing of both the painting and the poem, translated
*t
.
a*
here:
"'
''"
,,?
I''i'
Like a chilled butterflyresting in the corolla,
..?I
4 ?r-?? Embracingthe rouge heart, rememberingformer fra-
?J?c.?-;i grance.
iil,,
?.
A-
* Blossoming to the tip of the cold branch, it is most
lovable:
C1"' ?.
?n-.. ;?
?pr;?,.
'II?' This must be the makeup that adorned the Han pal-
T; "'
rF* ace.c

I.: -.????T
I :pa
i .L. The collaborative work of Ma Lin and Yang Mei-
*?'
c?;.-?
v
.-?;:?i?'-??l_;?-?i'?'
.' .....r
tzu belongs to a tradition Susan Bush calls the "cult
.: 'C' . ? .r
rP';.u
A? ?CI :;+ scK
of the plum."22 A favorite subject for painters and
:ii
poets, admired by both courtiers and recluses, the
:??r?; ? .? Tr*?
;???
?'C;-u
:'? r?. I?
"'" -???
:: .?r?I
'? prunus, also known as the Japanese apricot, was the
,r:?"
tar ,e
ii .;o
: a? '.-C ????
?'?
eC 20. See the biography of Ma Lin by Robert J. Maeda in Her-
,. .
bert Franke, ed., Sung Biographies (Wiesbaden, 1976) IV, pp.
t- :l
105-109.
r .1 21. Written with the "silk" radical, as in the four-character
r?;: r"-??
inscription, the word hsiao means "plain silk." Because this char-
acter can sometimes be interchanged with a homophone written
4. Ma Lin (active early-mid-13th century), Layersof Icy with the "wood" radical that means "tip of a branch," some
Silk, dated 1216. Hanging scroll, ink and colors on Western translators have interpreted the phrase ts'eng-tiehping-
silk, 101.5 x 49.6 cm. Peking, Palace Museum hsiao as "layers of icy tips" (see Max Loehr, "Chinese Paintings
(photo: Far Eastern Photographic Archive, Prince- with Sung-dated Inscriptions," Ars Orientalis 4 [1961] p. 264).
ton University) However, the compound ping-hsiao clearly refers to a type of
thin white silk (see Morohashi Tetsuji, Dai kan-wajiten [Great
Chinese-Japanese Dictionary] [Tokyo, 1955-60] II, p. 1223),
and the translation "layers of icy silk" seems to be a more mean-
ingful title for the painting. I am grateful to Ch'en Pao-chen
and T'ang Hai-t'ao, both of Princeton University, for helping
me with this point.
22. Bush, The ChineseLiterati,p. 103.

58
object of deep affection in Southern Sung culture.23 and "makeup" (chuang) stands for the woman who
Its popularity can be judged by the many twelfth- wears it.
and thirteenth-century treatises on plum blossoms, Yang Mei-tzu's quatrain reflects a further move-
including Plum Catalogue(Mei-p'u)by Fan Ch'eng-ta ment away from the descriptive techniques used in
(1126-93), Plum Classifications(Mei-p'in) by Chang Hui-tsung's poem about the parakeet. Although the
Tzu (1153-ca. 1212), and Manual of Plum Likenesses poem on the Kao-tsung fan goes beyond simple de-
(Mei-hua hsi-shenp'u) by Sung Po-jen (active 1225- scription to personify its subject, the mallows remain
65), in which poetic commentaries accompany illus- the focus of the poem. In the Yang Mei-tzu quatrain,
trations of the stages of the plum blossom's growth. however, the floral subject is meaningful only to the
Because the plum braves late winter snows to extent that it stimulates human feelings. The voice
bloom earlier than other flowers, it symbolizes the heard in the poem is that of a male lover who, com-
moral strength of a virtuous man. The poet Yang ing upon the blossoms, recalls a past amorous en-
Wan-li (1124-89) summarizes this view of the plum counter. "Resting in the corolla," the butterfly trans-
in his lines "The flowering plum in the grove is like a forms the flowers into an image of remembered
recluse / Full of the spirit of open space, free from intimacy.
the spirit of wordly dust."24Though deeply compel- The painting that corresponds to this highly sug-
ling as a symbol of the lofty recluse, the plum also gestive poetic meditation is chaste and refined. Thin,
suggested other meanings to Southern Sung artists spidery branches, one growing upward, one down-
and poets. The yeh-mei,or "wild plum," symbolizes ward, form a textured tracery that supports and con-
the hermit, but the kung-mei,or "palace plum," rep- trasts with the white plum blossoms. Differing in size
resents a court beauty.25 from buds to fully opened blossoms, some turned to-
When looking at Ma Lin's hanging scroll, the ward, some away from the viewer, the flowers grow
viewer familiar with the poetic conventions of the in closely bunched layers-the "layers of icy silk" in
plum theme decodes a sequence of words and an im- Yang Mei-tzu's inscription. Instead of focusing on
age, beginning with the inscription "layers of icy one or two blossoms, the viewer savors the overall
silk." The "icy silk" is as white as the plum blossoms pattern of understated floral beauty, moving back
themselves, which in their delicacy and fragrance and forth freely between poetic and painted state-
symbolize a lady's beauty. These already complex lay- ments. In contrast to the mallows pressed close to the
ers of meaning in the inscription function as a pref- viewer in the Kao-tsung fan, Ma Lin's plum blossoms
ace to the poem. We noted that in the Kao-tsung fan appear remote and inaccessible. Nevertheless, as a
the butterfly in the painting is not mentioned in the court academician whose art was shaped by repre-
accompanying poem; in the Ma Lin-Yang Mei-tzu sentational standards de rigueur in his profession,
hanging scroll this feature is reversed: the insect, Ma Lin paints the plum blossoms as tangible objects
which does not appear in the painting, is conjured existing in three-dimensional space. Though it is re-
up by the first line of the poem. The image of a but- strained, elegant, and cool, his painting aims above
terfly resting in a corolla, literally the "floral cham- all at representational accuracy.
ber" (hua-fang), is a yin-yang combination that hints Ma Lin's hanging scroll and the Kao-tsung fan,
at the union of male and female lovers. separated in time by some fifty years, are representa-
Several other expressions in Yang Mei-tzu's qua- tive flower paintings from the Southern Sung aca-
train underscore the feminine identity of the plum demic tradition. Collaborative efforts that combine
blossoms. The "rouge heart" (t'an-hsin)refers to the
center of the blossoms. Because the word t'an ap-
pears frequently in other contexts with the word k'ou, Discussed in Roberta Bickford et al., Bones ofJade, Soul of
23.
or "mouth," to describe a lady's painted red lips, Ice, exh. cat. (New Haven: Yale UniversityArt Gallery,1985),
Yang Mei-tzu'suse of the word strengthens the meta- and Hans Frankel, "The Plum Tree in Chinese Poetry,"Asia-
tischeStudien 6 (1952) pp. 88-115.
phoric connection between flower and lady. "Makeup
that adorned the Han palace" (Han-kungchuang)is a 24. Cited by Bush, The ChineseLiterati, p. 106, and translated
by Frankel,"The Plum Tree in Chinese Poetry,"p. 106.
metonymic expression for a palace lady: "Han pal- 25. See Frankel'sdiscussionof the palace-plumtheme, The
ace" can refer to the imperial palace of any dynasty, Flowering Plum and the Palace Lady, chap. 1.

59
the calligraphy of imperial writers and the painting and better suited to their amateur techniques.
of court artists, both explore the popular theme of Among extant paintings by Southern Sung scholar-
flowers seen as symbols of beautiful women. The painters who specialized in flowers, those by Chao
name of the fan painter is unknown, and although Meng-chien (i199-before 1267), a member of the
we know something of Ma Lin's life and career, both Sung imperial family, presage most directly the art of
artists remain anonymous as personalities; their Ch'ien Hsiian. Chao's long handscroll in The Metro-
paintings, though marvels of skill and sensitivity, are politan Museum of Art depicts a panorama of nar-
institutional works that tell us almost nothing about cissi in bloom (Figure 5). The scroll is painted in the
the artists' private worlds of ideas and feelings.26 pai-miao, or "plain drawing," manner favored by
Sung literati artists and closest of all painting modes
Outside the imperial court, scholar-painters of the to calligraphy, the premier art of the scholar.30In
Southern Sung continued to pursue aesthetic goals Chao's hands this painting technique creates a seem-
that had been articulated in the late Northern Sung ingly endless variety of ink outlines and washes. Wav-
by Su Shih and his like-minded associates, who saw ing gracefully above the pond, the plants seem far
painting as a reflection of the artist'smind and a rev- removed from the realm of tangible objects depicted
elation of his personality. For Su Shih and his by Hui-tsung and Ma Lin.
friends, painting was not merely a record of sensory Shortly after Chao Meng-chien's death, his hand-
experience but also an expression of a superior man's scroll took on new meaning. Colophons and poems
deeply held values-the wen or broad humanistic cul- of the late thirteenth century attached to the painting
ture of China's educated elite. reveal that viewers of Chao's ethereal narcissi saw the
In her indispensable discussion of subject matter plants not only as reflections of the artist'slofty char-
in the literati tradition, Susan Bush notes that Sung acter but also as symbols of China before her defeat
scholar-painters tended to focus on a single object, by the Mongols in 1279.31 It was in this historical con-
one type of flower or tree removed from its natural text, in which flowers could be seen as images of both
setting, thus inviting the viewer to contemplate the a man and an entire nation, that Ch'ien Hsuan began
meaning of a given image and to question the artist's his career as an artist.
reasons for choosing to paint it.27Literary and histor-
ical traditions gave certain subjects, especially bam- Ch'ien Hsiian was in his early forties when the Mon-
boo, orchid, chrysanthemum, and plum, special gols swept into southern China. By 1279, for the first
significance as symbols of scholarly values, and paint- time in history, the entire nation was brought under
ings of flowers or plants could be statements of high
moral aspiration. Moreover, these subjects frequently 26. I have borrowedthe term "institutional"in this context
were interpreted as images of the men who painted from Richard Barnhart, who applies it to Hui-tsung's Finches
them. This is exemplified in Su Shih's remarks on the and Bamboo (Richard Barnhart, Peach Blossom Spring: Gardens
and Flowersin ChinesePaintings [New York: MMA, 1984] p. 30).
bamboo painting of Wen T'ung (1019-79).28 Su said
27. Bush, The ChineseLiterati, p. 101.
that people who saw his friend's bamboo would real- 28. Annotated in Yii Chien-hua, ed., Chung-kuohua-lun lei-
ize that it was bending but unyielding, just like Wen pien, II, pp. 1026-1027.
T'ung himself. Poems and colophons on paintings of 29. Bush, The ChineseLiterati, p. 103.
botanical subjects document similar interpretations 30. Wen Fong and Marilyn Fu, Sung and Yuan Paintings (New
York, 1973) no. 12, pp. 82-83. Another important pai-miao
dating to the Southern Sung. When he inscribed a work in this tradition is the anonymous Southern Sung hand-
bamboo painting by Su Shih, the philosopher Chu scroll, One Hundred Flowers (Pai-hua t'u), in the Palace Museum,
Hsi (1130-1200) wrote that "when people look at Peking. See Shan Kuo-ch'iang, "Wei pai-hua ch'uan shen chieh-
shao Sung jen pai-hua t'u" [Transmitting Spirit Through One
this painting they will still be able to see him in their Hundred Flowers: Introducing One Hundred Flowers by an
minds."29 Anonymous Sung Artist], Mei-shu [Fine Arts] (1978) 2, pp. 45,
The pronouncements of the Northern Sung lite- 48.
rati painters and their artistic heirs in the Southern 31. Barnhart, Peach BlossomSpring, pp. 37-39; Fong and Fu,
Sung and Yuan Paintings, pp. 70-71. For political symbolism in
Sung suggest that in bamboo and flower painting orchid painting see the discussion of Cheng Ssu-hsiao (1241-
these scholarly artists found vehicles for self- 1318) in James Cahill, Hills Beyond a River (New York/Tokyo,
expression more direct than in landscape painting 1976) pp. 16-17.

6o
 \ 7 ,l~ .1
..

/
d

'/
,Lr

/
/
I
Nk

f 1

,P

\' /
/ I

I
1J
i:
/ .J^

'I fII'F . .
I
I-< . I ?

_ . Pi- I -
.
A*4 'o .p-"'r a h ~~ I

.??
I
5. Chao Meng-chien (1199-before 1267), Narcissi, un-
dated. Section of a handscroll, ink on paper, out a romp or amusement."32Ch'ien Hsiian knew the
33.2 x 372.1 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of city well. In a nostalgic poem of his later years,
Art, Gift of The Dillon Fund, 1973.120.4 Ch'ien wrote, "Do not laugh at me, young lords of
the capital; / I also scattered gold there to enjoy my
the control of foreign conquerors. Like all men of his youth."33
education and social class, Ch'ien was profoundly af- Although Hangchow escaped destruction when
fected by this catastrophic defeat. the dynasty fell, the patterns of life for educated men
During the years immediately preceding the Mon- who had lived in the area were drastically disrupted.
gol conquest, Ch'ien Hsuan had established himself Scholars who, under a native Chinese dynasty, would
as a promising scholar who could look forward with have sought official employment suddenly found
confidence to a secure future in the Southern Sung
civil bureaucracy. He had also won a place for him-
self in distinguished literary circles at the Southern 32. Lin, Transformation,p. 15. See also Jacques Gernet, Daily
Sung capital of Hangchow. As portrayed in the mem- Life in Sung China on the Eve of the Mongol Invasion, 1250-12 76,
oirs of scholarly gentlemen who knew its stunning trans. H. M. Wright (Stanford, Calif., 1962).
lakeside scenery, lavish mansions, and superb gar- 33. Li O and Ma Yiieh-kuan, eds., Sung-shih chi-shih[Records
of Occasions in Sung Poetry] (1746; Kuo-hsueh chi-pen ts'ung-
dens, mid-thirteenth-century Hangchow was a city of shu ed., Taipei, 1968) chuan 68, p. 1745; trans. Shih, "The Er-
elegant diversions, where "hardly a day passed with- emitic Landscapes," pp. 50-51.

61
 v
-

--X,-
-.FD ~~ ~ ~~~~~~~r
4 ^z . . i f I

^ )iL %Lv- --
_ _r
^ ^'SSi
.,A

.: -.3 ~. ' .
'~s ., V^.' .

~~~ * li -
.
,
,
'I
ol -v

/:"' E'.'~
-i . -: '^-.
i- i
" ;,
.
'_ -

~
'1?., ~ &, 5: ri"-^&Bi il
I

ip--i
- .;
.;

^ . ,..
v. .^IF ^S. .

6, 7. Ch'ien Hsian (ca. 1235-after 1307), Pear Blos-

themselves the subjects of an alien regime deeply sus- soms,undated. Section of a handscroll,ink and col-
ors on paper, 31.1 x 95.3 cm. The Metropolitan
picious of China's literati elite. Later, when the Mon- Museum of Art, Purchase, The Dillon Fund Gift,
gols attempted to recruit Chinese scholars into the
1977.79
vast bureaucracy needed to govern the empire, the
thought of serving their conquerors led many Chi-
nese to give up their status as scholars and turn to and altered his style, thus, he hoped, putting the
painting, fortune-telling, medicine, and other unor- forgers to shame.36 Ch'ien Hsian's career was also
thodox professions formerly scorned by fastidious threatened by his alcoholism. His addiction to wine
literati. Eremitism, a tradition of great importance in was not simply an excessive fondness for the conviv-
Chinese culture, became widespread, as men who ial imbibing enjoyed by all Chinese literati; according
saw themselves as i-min, or "leftover subjects,"of the to his friend Chao Meng-fu (1254-1322), Ch'ien's
Sung retreated from active involvement with the drinking brought on frequent spells of trembling
world. that left him unable to paint. Nevertheless, Ch'ien
For Ch'ien Hsiian, life as an i-min brought about a Hsian endured. Contrasting Ch'ien's life with that of
profound change of status. Although he had com- men who chose to serve in government, the poet
pleted several volumes of classical scholarship while Chang Yii (1337-85) wrote, "Who could imagine
still a young man, not long after the fall of the South- that Mr. Ch'ien alone chose hardship to express his
ern Sung Ch'ien renounced scholarly life, burned his virtue, serving as a craftsman-painter until his hair
books, and began a career as a professional painter turned white?"37
in his native city of Wu-hsing, Chekiang province. As a professional artist Ch'ien Hsiian specialized in
His abdication as a scholar seems to have been moti- landscapes and flower painting.38In his landscapes,
vated by more than his desire to avoid government often painted in the archaic "blue-green" style, er-
service. On a painting titled MakingEnemiesof Books
Ch'ien inscribed a poem expressing contempt for
useless literati, the traditional guardians of Chinese 34. See Ch'ien Hsiian'spoem titled "HatingBooks"in Li O
and Ma Yiieh-kuan,eds., Sung-shihchi-shih,chuan68, p. 1745.
culture, who had spectacularly failed to protect the 35. Shih, "The Eremitic Landscapes," p. 71.
nation from the Mongol threat.34He also refused to 36. Shantung Provincial Museum, "Fa-chiieh Ming Chu Tan
mu chi-shih," p. 29.
register as the head of a ju-hu, a "Confucian house-
hold," a status the Mongols accorded men of learn- 37. Chang Yii, Ching chi chi [Ching chii Collection] (Ssu-pu
ts'ungk'aned., Shanghai,1936)chuan3, pp. 7b-8b; trans.Shih,
ing, exempting them from certain taxes and corvee "The EremiticLandscapes,"p. 75.
obligations.35 38. In addition to Shih, "The EremiticLandscapes,"see re-
As a professional painter, Ch'ien Hsian was cent discussions of Ch'ien Hsian's art by Cahill, Hills, pp. 19-
37; Wang Wei, "Lun Ch'ien Hsiian"; and James Jay Robinson,
obliged to market his works in teashops and book- "The Vitality of Style: Aspects of Flower and Bird Painting Dur-
stores. When forgeries jeopardized his livelihood, he ing the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368)," Ph.D. diss. (University of
changed the manner in which he signed his paintings Michigan, 1984).

62
emitic retreat is a recurring theme. Poems Ch'ien According to the Precious Mirror of Painting (T'u-hui
Hsiian inscribed on these images of secluded dwell- pao-chien) of 1365, Ch'ien usually added poems to his
ings express his own longing for escape from a dis- best paintings.41 The Metropolitan Museum's hand-
tasteful world.39Though created, like his landscapes, scroll surely belongs in this category of outstanding
for a public audience, Ch'ien's flower paintings and works (Figure 6). Although the handscroll format
the poems he inscribed on them are also imbued with could easily permit a longer poetic complement,
his private melancholy. Seen in their art-historical
context, Ch'ien's works, along with those of Chao
39. Discussed at length by Shih, "The Eremitic Landscapes,"
Meng-fu, herald an irrevocable change in Chinese
chaps. 2, 3.
painting, as brush and ink become the means 40. The innovations of Chao Meng-fu are discussed by Wen
through which artists "write out their feelings" in pic- Fong in Wen Fong et al., Images of the Mind: Selectionsfrom the
torial form.40In Ch'ien's Pear Blossoms,both the rela- Edward Elliott Family and John B. Elliott Collectionsof ChineseCal-
ligraphyand Painting at The Art Museum, Princeton University,exh.
tionship between words and image and the style in cat. (Princeton, N.J.: The Art Museum, Princeton University,
which the blossoms are painted reflect the emergence
1984) chap. 4.
of this new artistic world. 41. Hsia Wen-yen, T'u-hui pao-chien [Precious Mirror of
Painting] (preface dated 1365; Hua-shih ts'ung-shu ed., Shang-
hai, 1963) chiian 5, p. 126.
7. Detail of Figure 6

L'- r
I?-.;t-,
;?;..-*?? . L?
I? ... .,
t-**-
f? i??c?
?; 14*??.-;.: c
: bC: rY:
C ?''hlf:- i
-?-?
:
? "
;yp .., "
': ? I-
';? ?'";
;c;'L"
*r
iki-?l*4.? +?
C ?r?g ?I?
: '??
?-I ?.'
.i*-;
**?:
i
;a# J-:f'B*t?
Ch'ien Hsiian continues the Southern Sung practice about a human subject. His painting, in turn, creates
of matching quatrains and painting:42 a context for the quatrain. Here, poetry and painting
are no longer convertible. The two arts have become
The lonely tear-stainedface, teardropsdrenching the mutually dependent: without his painting, Ch'ien's
branches, poem lacks a meaningful context; and, however evoc-
Though washed of makeup, her old charmsremain. ative its imagery, the painting loses its metaphoric
Behind the closed gate, on a rainy night vainly sor- richness without the accompanying poem.
rowing, Ch'ien Hsiian's painting in no way illustrates the
How differentlyshe looked bathed in golden wavesof
quatrain: we see only flowers on a background of
moonlight before darknessfell.d
blank paper. The sinuous branch is painted with lay-
ers of light and dark ink that suggest the rough tex-
Written immediately following an image of pear
ture of the bark; cropped at the bottom and extend-
blossoms and ostensibly a poem on the subject of
ing in an S curve almost to the top of the scroll, the
flowers, Ch'ien's quatrain surprisingly contains only branch provides a textural and rhythmic counter-
one word, "branches" (chih), that refers directly to
what is shown in the painting; and the significance of point to the pale white buds and blossoms. The
leaves are outlined with brownish ink and painted
even this word is oblique-on the branches fall tears
with dark green pigment, most of which has worn
from the face of the poem's true subject, a palace
away. Where leaves and stems join the branches, the
lady. This subject is made clear by the quatrain'sfirst
overlapping tones are finely modulated with gray
line, which alludes to "Song of Unending Sorrow"
shading.
(Ch'ang-henko) by Po Chii-i (772-846). This poem,
familiar to every literate Chinese, recounts the story Although Ch'ien Hsiian violates no botanical veri-
ties, his painted flowers lack the eye-catching sen-
of the T'ang-dynasty concubine Yang Kuei-fei (d.
suous appeal of most Southern Sung works in this
756), whose love affair with Emperor Hsiian-tsung
genre. The pear blossoms seem as remote in time
(reigned 713-756) not only brought chaos to the em- and space as Yang Kuei-fei herself. Why is this so?
pire but also led to her murder by mutinous imperial How is this effect achieved? What is its significance?
bodyguards. In the couplet to which Ch'ien Hsiian It is not merely the absence of background or at-
alludes, Po Chii-i compares the concubine's face to
mosphere-these are lacking in earlier flower paint-
pear blossoms:43
ings as well-or the pale colors that make the pear
The lonelyjade countenance, shedding flowing tears: blossoms appear to grow in a realm not bound by
A branchof pear blossomsdrenched in spring rain.e time and space. This effect is created primarily by

Although Ch'ien Hsiian's allusion to these famous

lines evokes memories of the ill-fated concubine, by 42. Based on a translation by Wen Fong and Maxwell K.
the thirteenth century Yang Kuei-fei was no longer Hearn, in Fong and Hearn, "Silent Poetry," p. 36.
43. P'eng Ting-ch'iu et al., eds., Ch'uan T'ang shih [Complete
merely an historical figure: for Ch'ien and his con- T'ang Poetry] (17o7; Chung-hua shu-chu ed., Peking, 1960)
temporaries she was an archetype of all palace ladies VII, p. 4816. K'o Chiu-ssu (1290?-1343) mentions this famous
and a symbol of tragic beauty. couplet in his poem for a painting of pear blossoms by Ch'ien
Hsiian. The painting K'o saw was either the Metropolitan Mu-
The lady/flower theme Ch'ien Hsiian explores in
seum handscroll or one like it that bore a similar poetic inscrip-
the Metropolitan Museum handscroll draws on tra- tion. See K'o Chiu-ssu, "T'i Ch'ien Shun-chii hua li-hua"
ditions of flower painting from the Southern Sung [Inscribed on Ch'ien Shun-chii's Painting of a Pear Blossom],
court. Yet the relationship between poetry and paint- Tan-ch'iuchi [Collected Works of Tan-ch'iu] (Li-tai hua-chia shih
wen-chi ed., Taipei, 1971) pp. 67-68. Another K'o Chiu-ssu
ing in Ch'ien's work departs from Southern Sung poem appears on Ch'ien Hsiian's Doves and Pear Blossomsin the
precedents. In their poems for flower paintings al- Cincinnati Art Museum. Although K'o mentions Yang Kuei-fei
ready discussed, Kao-tsung and Yang Mei-tzu use in this poem, the presence of the two doves in the painting
complex metonymic and metaphoric expressions to changes the symbolic import of the allusion. See Lee and Ho,
ChineseArt Under the Mongols, no. 181. For a selection of poems
equate flowers with human beings and to find in on the theme of pear blossoms that allude to Po Chii-i's "Song
flowers parallels for human feeling. But in his poem of Unending Sorrow" see Chang Yii-shu et al., eds., P'ei-wen
for the painted pear blossoms, Ch'ien writes only chai, VIII, pp. 5349-5362.

64
 ,.

the abstract, schematic clarity of Ch'ien's style. Al-

though the painted leaves seem to turn naturalisti-
cally in space, Ch'ien subtly distorts the foreshorten-
ing of their folded edges to create strongly two-
dimensional patterns. This is most evident in the
cluster of flowers farthest to the right (Figure 7).
Outlines of the leaves are precise and unassertive,
but just sharp enough to keep the forms they define
parallel to the picture plane; the leaves extend hori-
zontally and vertically but not back into space. The
schematization in Ch'ien's drawing becomes clear
when the leaves in his handscroll are compared with
those in the Kao-tsung fan, which are carefully fore-
shortened to recede naturalisticallyinto an imaginary
void.
This abstraction extends also to Ch'ien Hsiian's
drawing of the flowers. He composes the unopened
buds as round or oval shapes subdivided by pale lines
into layers of petals. Likewise, Ch'ien's drawing of
the opened buds creates a subtle tension between the
illusion of three-dimensional objects in space and the
two-dimensional graphic formula by which they are
depicted. Where petals curl back on themselves, they
form flat shapes subdivided into smaller parts rather
than a single plane turning in space. As James Cahill
notes concerning another of Ch'ien Hsiian's flower
paintings, the schematic folding of leaves and blos-
soms is a device for creating pattern and tonal variety
rather than a means of depicting real objects in na-
ture.44
Ch'ien Hsiian's style in the Metropolitan Museum
handscroll should be contrasted with that of one of
his imitators as seen in Pear Blossomsand Bird (Figure
8), which is a hanging scroll in the John B. Elliott
Collection, on loan to The Art Museum, Princeton
University.45The composition and colors of this work
make it similar to Ch'ien Hsiian's painting, but the
underlying pictorial conceptions are different. In the
Elliott scroll, leaves are foreshortened to turn three-
dimensionally in space; many end in long brown tips '-.;r
v.

that extend aimlessly outward. Contours of the petals .. ..

r --.Y
lack the cool precision of Ch'ien's drawing, and buds
display none of the geometric clarity seen in the Met-
?i- ':,{A, ..:
/ 9?a 9

ropolitan Museum scroll. Ch'ien's imitator success-

fully reproduces those aspects of the master's style 8. Anonymous, Pear Blossomsand Bird, ca. 1300. Hang-
closest to Southern Sung court painting-the elegant
ing scroll, ink and colors on paper, 91.5 x 30.7 cm.
Princeton, N.J., John B. Elliott Collection, on loan
44. Cahill, Hills, p. 21. to The Art Museum, Princeton University (photo:
45. Fong et al., Images of the Mind, no. 8, p. 288. The Art Museum, PrincetonUniversity)

65
sweep of the branches, the colorful and alert bird, tus becomes a vehicle for expression of the artist's
and the fine botanical detail-but he fails to grasp private ideals.
Ch'ien's transformation of this tradition. Ch'ien Hsiian's quatrain introduces the flowers
Artistic and poetic transformation of conventional with imagery traditionally associated with a Taoist di-
subject matter are achieved with great eloquence in a vinity, the Queen Mother of the West (Hsi wang mu).
handscroll by Ch'ien Hsiian excavated from the same By the Yuan dynasty, however, the "jade pool" of her
tomb that yielded the Kao-tsung fan.46Like the Met- palace and the "blue birds" that announce her arrival
ropolitan Museum's Pear Blossoms,this work com- had lost any specific connection with the mythic
bines painting and poetry on the theme of flowers. Queen Mother and were conventional expressions
The scroll depicts three lotus blossoms and several found in countless poems on the theme of the lotus.49
large leaves, all seen as if from a frog's-eye view, as In the second couplet Ch'ien's poem takes an unex-
they rise from a pond (Figure 9). Following the pected turn, and the flowers are suddenly trans-
painting is Ch'ien's quatrain: formed into objects of contemplation for a strolling
hermit, or yu-jen. Interpreted in the context created
Softly waving above the jade pool: white lotus blos- by Ch'ien's poem, the painted lotuses acquire new
soms.
meaning: as symbols of eremitic life they allude to
Going, coming, blue birds are tranquiland silent. Ch'ien Hsiian's deepest longings.
The hermit doesn't drink, but leisurely carries his
staff, Just as Ch'ien's quatrain transforms conventional
Merely recalling the pure fragranceof flowers in the
moonlight.f 46. Shantung Provincial Museum, "Fa-chiieh Ming Chu Tan
mu chi-shih," p. 27.
Like most flowers, the lotus has several different 47. In their colophons attached to Ch'ien Hsiian's painting,
meanings in Chinese culture. It was a favorite blos- Feng Tzu-chen and Chao Yen (active first quarter of the 14th
century) mention the Buddhist monk Hui-yuan (334-417),
som of Ch'ii Yuan (343-227 B.C.), the virtuous poet founder of the White Lotus Society, who planted lotuses near
who drowned himself after failing to win recognition the Tung-lin monastery on Mt. Lu. See ibid., p. 29.
from the king of Ch'u. In Buddhist iconography it is 48. For a translation of the essay see H. L. Li, The Garden
the sacred flower of Sakyamuni.47The lotus gained Flowersof China (New York, 1959) p. 66.
further significance when the great Neo-Confucian
philosopher Chou Tun-i (1017-73) composed an es- 9, 10. Ch'ien Hsuan, Lotuses,undated. Handscroll,ink
say praising the flower as a symbol of purity.48In and colors on paper, 42 x 90 cm. Tsinan, Shantung
Ch'ien Hsiian's poem and painting, however, the lo- Provincial Museum (photos: after Wen-wu, 1972,
no. 5)

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66
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poetic imagery to endow the lotuses with private cordingly, Richard Barnhart sees in Ch'ien's painting
meaning, his pictorial style transforms the painted and poem an evocation of China's sorrow under
flowers into something more than a depiction of real Mongol rule:
objects. Since Ch'ien's true subject is a state of mind,
he eschews the sensuous realism of Southern Sung With the same careful irony in painting and poem,
flower painting in favor of a more abstract style. In Ch'ien plays upon traditional imagery and symbolism,
this painting the same cool schematization as seen in evoking a court beauty,abandoned and aging, weeping
by a veranda. Now, dramatically,the beauty is Sung
the Metropolitan Museum handscroll makes the lo- China, behind a locked gate, in darkness and rain-
tuses appear to be timeless, unchanging archetypes China in a Mongol prison.50
of noble flowers, rather than ordinary plants des-
tined to wither and decay. The blossoms are drawn This reading of Ch'ien's handscroll gains further
in firm ink outlines and colored with light green depth when the poem and painting are related to the
washes; opened petals are outlined with taut, geo- vicissitudes of the artist's life. For Ch'ien, the scholar
metric contours too perfect for depiction of real turned professional painter, the pure beauty of the
plants (Figure lo). Folded leaves remain flat shapes. pear blossoms was as remote as the closing years of
The complex interaction of poetry and painting in the Southern Sung, when, as a promising young man
this handscroll, which gives unexpected meaning to in Hangchow, Ch'ien "scattered gold" to enjoy the
the theme of the lotus, corresponds to that found in capital's pleasures. The Mongol conquest and his
Ch'ien's Pear Blossoms. There, poetic allusion to a sudden change of status and profession brought this
doomed concubine and a painting style that makes idyllic period of his life to a painful and irrevocable
the rain-washed blossoms appear distant and inacces- close. Enriched by the artist'spoetry, painted as a pri-
sible evoke feelings of loss, regret, and nostalgia. We vate vision of a lost world, Ch'ien Hsiian's pear blos-
have seen that flower paintings such as Chao Meng- soms evoke his sad dream of this golden past.
chien's ethereal Narcissi, which presage Ch'ien's art,
were interpreted by i-min connoisseurs as symbols of
49. See Chang Yii-shu et al., eds., P'ei-wen chai, XI, pp. 6021-
profound political and cultural import. Ch'ien's pear 6070.
blossoms demand equally subtle interpretation. Ac- 50. Barnhart, Peach BlossomSpring, p. 40.

67
CHINESE TEXTS

(a) (d)

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1Jttki It

(e)

j^&AfcX W
r4J JA,k-'^4 s ^t-&^f^di
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68
GLOSSARY

Ch'ang-henko Hsu Hsi

Chang Seng-yu Hsiian-ho hua-p'u

Chang Tzu Hsuan-tsung

3 ,
Chang Yu Hua-chi 1.t ..?

Chang Yu-shu hua-niao hua

Chao Meng-chien Huai-nan tzu
Chao Meng-fu " Huang Ch'uan
-,gL,_
';fi
Ch'ao Pu-chih . Hui-tsung
Chao Yen Hui-yuan
Ch'en Meng-lei 1k\m tR Hung Mai
Cheng Ssu-hsiao i-min
Ch'ien Hsuan ju-hu 1^
Ching chii chi k'ai-shu
ch'iu-k'uei Kao-tsung
Chou Tun-i K'o Chiu-ssu
~.t
Chu Hsi k'ou (12
Chu Tan Ku K'ai-chih 't
Ch'u-t'zu Ku-chin t'u-shu chi-ch'eng
Ch'u Yuan Ku-kung po-wu yian ts'ang
Ch'iian T'ang shih hua-niao hua hsiian

Chung-kuohua-lun lei-pien Ku-kung po-wu yuan yiian-k'an

Dai kan-wajiten kuei-yian
"Fa-chiieh Ming Chu Tan mu uC? kung-mei 43.
$141-? J #
chi-shih" kung-t'ishih
Fan Ch'eng-ta Kuo Hsi

Feng Tzu-chen Li O
Hsi wang mu X,<^ Li-tsung
Hsia Wen-yen Lin-ch'iian kao-chih }t,t
i( ^
hsiao Liu Ch'ang
hsiao "Lun Ch'ien Hsiian ti hui-hua

Hsiao-tsung i-shu chi li-lun"

69
Ma Lin 't "T'i Ch'ien Shun-chii hua li-hua"

Ma Yiieh-kuan ts'eng-tiehping-hsiao
Mei-hua hsi-shenp'u T'u-hui pao-chien

Mei-p'in 4,b s
?fa Umehara Kaoru

Mei-p'u st
tXt)Ke Wang Shen
Mei-shu Wang Wei
Pai-hua t'u /NU^?< e^4 "Wei pai-hua ch'uan shen

pai-miao $cX>t< chieh-shao Sungjen

8 10 !A
P'ei-wen-chaiyung-wu-shih hsiian ^ ^I ? pai-hua t'u"

P'eng Ting-ch'iu ^-Ut1A

1: ^X4^ wen
Po Chii-i Wen T'ung

Sekai no bijutsukan Wen-wu

Shan Kuo-ch'iang ^i^5X

3 Wu Sheng
iJt
Shih-ching Yang Kuei-fei
?lft~
t3+
Su Shih Yang Mei-tzu t
3C-
Sung Po-jen ^ ^ ~z Yang Wan-li ^^^~s
Sung-shih chi-shih kjt 1- yeh-mei ^?1~3
Ta-kuanlu -f^^6Pf Yu Chien-hua ?i~'f^
Tan-ch'iuchi yung-wu
t^^J ^ ~~s
T'ang-jen wan-shou chiieh-chii yung-wu t'zu
Teng Ch'un ZusetsuChuigokuno rekishi ct
c St t kof

70
 Three Fifteenth-Century
Sculptures
from Poligny
WILLIAM H. FORSYTH
Curator Emeritus, Medieval Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART has an The statue of St. Paul (Figure 1) was the first of the
outstanding collection of Gothic sculpture from Bur- four to be acquired by the Museum.3 It came from a
gundy and the Franche-Comte. Four splendid ex- chapel of the de Plaine family in the former monastic
amples are in a class by themselves and deserve more church of the Jacobins (Dominicans),4once a favorite
attention than they have yet received either here or burial place of the chief families of Poligny. The
abroad. The earliest, a monumental Virginand Child monastery was suppressed in the political upheaval
attributed to Claux de Werve and dating from about of the French Revolution in 1790, and the church
1415-17, has recently been published in these was sold to Claude Antoine Dubois in 1792. Its li-
pages.' This article discusses the other three, statues brary was dispersed at public auction at the same
of St. Paul, St. James the Greater, and St. John the time; a New Testament that Dubois bought on that
Baptist. Although they reached the Museum inde- occasion was in turn acquired a century later by a
pendently and at different dates, all four sculptures wealthy local collector named Vuillermet.5
were originally from Poligny in the Franche-Comte, The statue itself remained in the Dubois family
today a small town but in the fifteenth century an im- until the death of Dubois's granddaughter about
portant administrative center of the Valois dukes. 1900. She bequeathed it to a servant, and it was then
The limestone in which the three saints' figures were bought by the same collector, Vuillermet.6 Vuiller-
carved was probably quarried in the region.2 met's son, Francois, was to be instrumental in putting

1. Acc. no. 33.23; see William H. Forsyth, "A Fifteenth-Cen- (Freiburg-im-Breisgau, 1940) pp. 1 16-117; James J. Rorimer,
tury Virgin and Child Attributed to Claux de Werve," MMJ 21 "Late Medieval Sculpture from the Byways of Burgundy,"
(1986) pp. 41-63; and idem, Hommage a Hubert Landais: Art, MMAB n.s. 9 (1951) p. 183; Anne McGee [Morganstern], "A
objetsd'art, collections(Paris, 1987) pp. 662-666. Study of the Fifteenth-Century Sculpture from Poligny," M.A.
2. It is characterized as bioclastic, oolitic stone of the Middle diss. (New York University, 1961) pp. 14-20; and Pierre
Jurassic period by Professor Pierre Rat, Institut des Sciences de Quarre, "Les Statues de Claus de Werve en Franche-Comte,"
la Terre, University of Dijon. The author is indebted to Profes- Archeologieoccitane: Moyen-Age et Epoque Moderne-Actes du 99e
sor Rat for this information, and also to Pete Dandridge and CongresNational des Societis Savantes 2 (1974) p. 125.
George Wheeler of the Objects Conservation Department, 4. Breck, "Statue of the School of Claus Sluter," p. 80, and
MMA, who examined the condition of the three statues and Rorimer, "Late Medieval Sculpture from the Byways of Bur-
analyzed the stone as fossiliferous, soft, and tufflike when first gundy," p. 183.
quarried. According to Professor Rat, the stone in which the 5. According to a note by James Rorimer on the catalogue
Poligny Virgin and Child was carved must have been quarried cards of the Medieval Department, MMA, this book contained
near Dijon, at Asnieres; see Forsyth, "A Fifteenth-Century Vir- the following inscription: "Ce livre appartient a moy Claude
gin and Child,"p. 59 n. 65. Antoine Dubois au faubourg de Notre Dame du departement
3. See Joseph Breck, "A Statue of the School of Claus Sluter," du Jura. Achete aux Jacobins le 8 oct. 1792. L'an premier de la
MMAB 17 (1922) pp. 79-83; Georg Troescher, Claus Sluter Republique." The Medieval Department records are the source
und die burgundischePlastik um die Wendedes XIV JahrhundertsI of many of the otherwise unattributed statements in this article.
(Freiburg-im-Breisgau, 1932) pp. 80-81, pls. XLV, XLVI (cen- 6. Breck, "Statue of the School of Claus Sluter," pp. 80-81,
ter); idem, Burgundische Plastik des ausgehenden Mittelalters and Rorimer, Medieval Department records.

71

? The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1987

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 22

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve, and extend access to
Metropolitan Museum Journal ®
www.jstor.org
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 1. St. Paul from Poligny(Jura),Burgundian,firstthird although there has been some weathering on the
of 15th century. Limestone with traces of paint, H. front and some restoration on the outer surfaces of
47 in. (119.4 cm.). The Metropolitan Museum of the folds on the back. The nose has been replaced,
Art, Harkness Fund, 22.31.1 and the mouth, beard, and eyebrows are possibly re-
worked. The most important of the restorations,
which were probably all effected by Demotte, is a sec-
tion of drapery over the hilt of the sword. A photo-
the Poligny Virgin and Child and the statues of St. graph taken before this restoration was carried out
Paul, St. James, and St. John the Baptist on the mar- (Figure 2) suggests that the original graceful curve of
ket. In 1919 he sold the St. Paul, which he remem- the edge of the drapery was replaced by the present
bered as a boy seeing on a corbel in the church of the stiff line, obscuring the left hand, which is carved
Jacobins, to Georges Demotte, the international anti- with the same consummate skill as the right (Fig-
quarian dealer. Demotte brought the statue to Amer- ure 3).
ica and sold it to the Metropolitan Museum in 1922. Although the statue must have been painted sev-
The partially bald head and the long beard iden- eral times, it now appears an indiscriminate gray. Mi-
tify the figure as Paul the Apostle. The book in his croscopic examination has revealed traces of gesso
right hand represents his epistles to the Gentiles, the and brownish red underpaint, minute specks of blue
sword in his left the instrument of his martyrdom. over red, and some gilding. The process of making a
The condition of the sculpture is generally good, cast may have contributed to the loss of paint and

2. St. Paul prior to restoration and cleaning, before 3. St. Paul, detail of the right hand with book
1919 (photo: Vuillermet?)

73
 I?C 4, 5. St. Paul, views of the sides
i
4
k

6. St. Paul, detail of the sword

..
rK
c'
- didmaw l-7
ov,

gesso, and may account for certain deposits of whit- statue measuring only eleven inches from front to
ish plaster.7 back (Figures 4, 5).
The composition is well conceived and the statue On the statue's left side, a section of drapery fall-
skillfully carved. The posture is easy, showing slight ing down behind the scabbard of the sword furnishes
contrapposto, with legs somewhat flexed and arms in visual as well as structural support (Figure 6). A care-
a natural position. The left leg is advanced, with the fully detailed sword belt, with buckles and quatrefoil
bare foot extending to the corner of the pedestal. mounts, is twisted around the scabbard.8The hidden
The ample silhouette of the cloak below and around pommel of the sword is covered by drapery in a way
the outside of the right arm is in beautiful counter- that recalls the draped attributes held by Moses and
poise to the rigidity of the sword on the opposite David-the tablets of the Law and a harp respec-
side.
The fullness of the drapery enhances the dignity
7. A cast of the figure has been placed in a chapel off the
and solemn gravity of the statue. The wide, rhythmic north aisle of St.-Hippolyte, Poligny. See Art sacre dans leJura du
sweeps of the cloak are tucked under and around Moyen-Age au XVIIIe siecle: Poligny, Baume-les-Messieurs,Saint-
each other in soft, deep folds. One end falls in a bold Cloud, exh. cat. (n.p., 1972) no. 47, p. 56.
8. This typical usage was pointed out by Dr. Helmut Nickel,
diagonal curve to the base. The other end is thrown Curator of Arms and Armor of the Metropolitan Museum. The
across the body and over the sword. This complex three straps of belt and suspension attached to the sword scab-
arrangement gives depth and monumentality to a bard meet in a ring with three metal attachments.

74
 7. Puits de Moise (Well of Moses), Burgundian, ca.
1400: detail showing Moses, with partial views of
David (right) and Isaiah (left). Dijon (C6te-d'Or),
Chartreuse de Champmol (photo: Archives Photo-
graphiques)

tively-on the Puits de Moise in Dijon, dating to

about 1400 (Figure 7). The figure of Moses is attrib-
uted to Claus Sluter (d. 1406), head of the ducal
workshop, and that of David to Claux de Werve (d.
1439), then Sluter's chief assistant.9
On the back (Figure 8) the cloak rises up to form a
high collar in the fashion of the early fifteenth cen-
tury. The careful modeling is quite different from
the usual cursory treatment of a rear view and rein-
forces the probability that the figure originally stood
on a corbel rather than in a niche. The handling of
the drapery, though less complicated than on the
front, is no less impressive. A direct comparison can
be made with a small pleurant (Figure 9) on the tomb

9. A. Kleinclausz, Claus Sluter et la sculpturebourguignonneau

XVe siecle (Paris, n.d.) pp. 63-82; Troescher, Claus Sluter, pp.
85-107; and Aenne Liebrich, Claus Sluter (Brussels, 1936) pp.
77-96.

8. St. Paul, view of the back

4 a9. Claux de Werve, pleurant no. 32 from the tomb of

:~'~~X Philip the Bold, 1404-1 1. Alabaster, H. approx. 16
in. (40 cm.). Dijon, Musee des Beaux-Arts (photo:

I J
ilLMusee
l
)* ^r des Beaux-Arts de Dijon)

'4.*

75
 ,-*1"'"-' r? i??-"' 1? ??- -?;??

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r
;h
,, r
L
t?&??E

.F ??c,
.? L Y
-5
X' t i'. f ct ` ?- C..
1 '-?
?:'.? , .?;, i?r
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s ... rlkC,1Lr
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I..??

64'
1"

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ti"
ici
r
'ZL
r?

t'*Q! a.

10. St. John the Evangelist, first third of 15th century. 11. St. John the Evangelist, first third of i5th century.
Limestone, Baume-les-Messieurs (Jura), Abbey Limestone, H. approx. 6 ft. (174 cm.). Poligny, St.-
Church (photo: Courtauld Institute of Art) Hippolyte (photo: Archives Photographiques)

of Philip the Bold, probably the work of Claux de roughly contemporary sculptures in Poligny and in
Werve after his appointment in 1406 as sculptor to nearby Baume-les-Messieurs, all associated with the
Philip's son, John the Fearless.10 The deeply pocketed style of Claux de Werve. This stylistic relationship is
folds, framed by vertical falls of ponderous and sup-
ple drapery, are very close to those on the back of the o. Pierre Quarre, Claux de Werveet la sculpturebourguignonne
Metropolitan Museum's St. Paul. dans le premiertiers du XVe siecle, exh. cat. (Dijon, 1976) pp. 37-
The St. Paul belongs to an interrelated group of 39 and doc. 5, pp. 22-23.

76
 Though its silhouette is less ample than that of the
St. Paul, the two sculptures are alike in the overlap-
ping planes of drapery and in the way the cloak falls
in parallel curving lines.
Two of the statues in the sanctuary of the collegiate
church of St.-Hippolyte in Poligny, a St. John the
Evangelist and a St. Andrew (Figures 1 1, 12), can also
be compared to the Metropolitan Museum's St. Paul.
The sanctuary was finished in 1422, and the statues
are probably contemporary with it. A third figure in
the series is presumed to represent the donor, Jean
Chousat (d. 1433), in the guise of St. Thibault (Theo-
bald of Provins).13 For these sculptures Chousat, who
was chief financial adviser to the dukes of Burgundy,
would naturally have turned to de Werve, by then
head of the ducal workshop.14
The Poligny St. John the Evangelist wears the same
kind of loosely flowing garments as his counterpart
in Baume'1 and the Metropolitan Museum's St. Paul.
In the lower half of all three figures, the folds sweep
down in a curvilinear pattern to the base, where they
lie spread out. The St. Paul differs from the two stat-
ues of the Evangelist in the arrangement of the
cloak, drawn across the top of the figure in front and
folded back over the right shoulder; this arrange-
ment corresponds to that of the more voluminous

1 i. The abbots of Baume-les-Messieurs had rights in Poligny

at least from the i ith through the i5th century; see Alphonse
Rousset, Dictionnairegeographique,historiqueet statistiquedes com-
munes de la Franche-Comtt(Lons-le-Saunier, 1857; repr. Paris,
1969) V, pp. 170, 233-237. The two chief donors, the abbot
Ame de Chalon (d. 1431) at Baume and Jean Chousat (d. 1433)
at St.-Hippolyte, Poligny, were contemporaries who owned ad-
jacent lands in Poligny and must have known each other. See
Abbe Brune, "Le Mobilier et les oeuvres d'art de l'eglise de
Baume-les-Messieurs (Jura)," Bulletin archeologiquedu Comite
12. St. Andrew, first third of 15th century. Limestone, des Travaux historiques(1894) pp. 458-478; Pierre Quarre, "La
H. approx. 6 ft. (174 cm.). Poligny, St.-Hippolyte Collegiale Saint-Hippolyte de Poligny et ses statues," Congresar-
cheologiquede France en Franche-ComtLen I960 (Paris, 1960) pp.
(photo: Archives Photographiques) 210, 215, 218; and McGee [Morganstern], "Fifteenth-Century
Sculpture from Poligny," pp. 30-34.
12. Henri David and Pierre Quarre both felt that Troescher
(Claus Sluter, pp. 80-81, 95) was in error in attributing the
statue to Sluter (personal communications, Medieval Depart-
paralleled by political and historical associations be- ment records). See McGee [Morganstern], "Fifteenth-Century
tween the two towns."
Sculpture from Poligny," pp. 32-33; Quarre, "Statues de Claus
Fundamentally similar to the St. Paul is a figure of de Werve en France-Comte," p. 123; and Rorimer, "Late Medie-
St. John the Evangelist in the abbey church at Baume val Sculpture from the Byways of Burgundy," p. 183.
13. Quarre, "Collegiale de Saint-Hippolyte," pp. 215-216.
(Figure o), attributed to Claux de Werve.12 The
14. Ibid., p. 218.
statue stands on a corbel above the tomb of the do-
15. Ibid., and McGee [Morganstern], "Fifteenth-Century
nor of the church, Abbot Am6 de Chalon (d. 1431). Sculpture from Poligny," pp. 28-29, 32-33.

77
 it'. +
* K I
.k

13. St. Paul, first third of i5th century. Limestone, H. 14. St. Paul (Baume-les-Messieurs), detail of the head
3 ft. (90 cm.). Baume-les-Messieurs, Abbey Church (photo: Courtauld Institute of Art)
(photo: Courtauld Institute of Art)

cloak worn by the Poligny St. Andrew.16 Despite dif- each has a two-forked beard (Figures 14, 15). The
ferences in composition, the bearded figures of St. statues of St. Paul and of St. Andrew (see Figure 12)
Andrew and St. Paul can be compared in posture are linked by a similar expression of benignity and
and head type; their curving drapery is similar, al- quiet majesty. All three heads are related to a head of
though falling in the reverse direction below the St. Anthony in the Musee Archeologique of Dijon
knees; the downward tilt of their heads suggests that (Figure 16), attributed to Claux de Werve.'8
both statues were originally placed above eye level, as The figure of a kneeling donor (Figure 17), now in
the St. Andrew still is. the Louvre,'9 comes from the same source as the
An image of St. Paul at Baume (Figure 13),17
though smaller, simpler, and of lesser quality, seems 16. Quarre, "Collegiale de Saint-Hippolyte," p. 218, and
to be related to and dependent upon the Metropol- McGee [Morganstern], "Fifteenth-Century Sculpture from Po-
itan Museum's St. Paul, whose reflective mood it ligny," pp. 22-28.
17. Brune, "Le Mobilier et les oeuvres d'art de 1'eglise de
shares. The extended left leg, with bare foot, is simi-
Baume-les-Messieurs," p. 473; Troescher, Claus Sluter, p. 81;
larly placed just ahead of the tip of the sword. Al- Emile Male, "L'Art chretien: Les Ap6tres Pierre et Paul," Revue
though here the cloak falls in a prominent uninter- des Deux Mondes (Aug. 1955) p. 391; and Art sacre dans lejura, p.
rupted curve, exposing the front of a belted tunic, 84. All these sources agree in relating the statue to the style of
Sluter.
the cloth spreads over the base as it does in the larger
18. Quarre, Claux de Werveet la sculpture bourguignonne,pp.
figure, but in a more exaggerated fashion. Both 47-48, pl. xxx, and Troescher, Claus Sluter, p. 58, pl. vii.
heads are slightly tilted in the same manner, and 19. Pierre Quarre, Antoine le Moiturier, le dernier des grands

78
 '1.,,-?

'i' ) ~~ )

cen15. Paul(This
Stury. date and the Museum of A rt), detail
identificationtan 16. St. Anthony, first third of th century. Limestone,

des du,s de Bourgogne,

4imagers exh. cat. (Dijon, 1973) no. 61, p2. gique (photo: Musee Arch6ologique)

the Bold: see Troesmchr Burgundisch

Ph17.Kneelingp and
of the Jacobins, Poligny,
by m of dentury.
embers the Paine family in the church. 28 in.
(107 x 75 cm.). Paris Musee , du Louvre, 'v. R.F.
du Louvre,Description
1679 (photo: raisonn
Studio Dedessculptures
Guerny) du Moyen-Age,
de larl-

Thomas
dthePlhead(d. 56)-an earlier memberof the familyolo-
Museine H. approx. 20 in. (48 cm.). Dijon,
resemblances
to several
giquehair
style, and
pleurantson the tombof(photo: Muse Archologique)
century. This date and the identification of the figure as li
det Paine (d. 1506)-an earlier memberof the family
5Thomas in .

[Morganstern],
679McGee "Fifteenth-Centuryto:
Sculptutudio
De PGuerny)o- from

356, fig. 356, assign the statue to the second half of the )5th

may be involved have been contested on the basisof costume, 0

356,
hair pp.
figny," 4-356,
style, andassign
resemblances to(p.
the statue ) cites
to the
several two chapelf
second
pleurants on theofthe
tomb dth
of
Philip the
member
byThomas Bold: see Troescher,
de Plaine
of the (d.
de Plaine o)an family in the church.
Burgundtsche
earlier Plastik, p. 1 i6, and

by membersof the de Plainefamilyin the church.

Metropolitan Museum's St. Paul-a de Plaine chapel
in the former church of the Jacobins in Poligny.
There is a general stylistic resemblance between the
two sculptures, despite differences in posture, in the
folds of drapery on the base, and in the carving of
the features (those of the donor are heavily re-
stored). In both sculptures the fabric is draped in
widely spaced pockets. The broad parallel fold curv-
ing backward from the shoulder of the Louvre figure
to the base recalls the frontal sweep of St. Paul's
cloak. The way in which the garment covers the back
of the neck of both figures is distinctive.
In summary, the sequence of sculpture in Bur-
gundy during the first third of the fifteenth century
under the dominating influence of Claux de Werve
clearly includes the Metropolitan Museum's St. Paul.
The gentle, easy posture, the head type with a full,
curling beard, the beautifully modeled hands, and
the carefully detailed strapping of the sword are the
handiwork of a master, either Claux de Werve him-
self or one of his followers. More specifically, the
statue is related to works attributed to de Werve or
his followers that were commissioned for the abbey
church at Baume-les-Messieurs before 1431 and for
the sanctuary of St.-Hippolyte at Poligny before
1433. Allowing some leeway, one can thus date the
St. Paul to the 142os or 143os.

The statues of St. James the Greater (Figure 18) and

St. John the Baptist (Figure 19) differ from the St.
Paul in general appearance and style.20 Undoubtedly
they came from a church in Poligny, but which one is
not known.21 The tilted heads and shortened legs of

20. Troescher, Burgundische Plastik, pp. 117, 153, pl. LXVII;

James J. Rorimer, "A Statue of Saint John the Baptist Possibly
by Claus Sluter," MMAB 29 (1934) pp. 192-195; idem, "Late
Medieval Sculpture from the Byways of Burgundy," pp. 182-
183; and McGee [Morganstern], "Fifteenth-Century Sculpture
from Poligny," pp. 5-14, 37-39 (under "The Master of St.
James" she attributes the two sculptures correctly to a master
following Sluter, but erroneously to a date in the late 14th cen-
tury).
21. Rorimer ("Late Medieval Sculpture from the Byways of
Burgundy," p. 183) and Troescher (BurgundischePlastik, p. 106)
both believed that the statues came from the church of
Mouthier-Vieillard; this church, however, was largely aban-
doned and partly destroyed before the middle of the 15th cen- 18. St. James the Greater from Poligny, third quarter of
tury and before the probable date when the statues were i5th century. Limestone, H. 62 in. (156 cm.). The
carved. McGee [Morganstern] ("Fifteenth-Century Sculpture Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters Collec-
from Poligny," p. 13) believes they came from the chapel of St. tion, 47.101.17
James in the church of the Jacobins. The devastation suffered

8o
 20. Niche in cemetery wall, Mouthier-Vieillard, Poligny,
ca. 1930 (photo: Rorimer)

these figures imply placement on corbels high above

eye level.2
Whatever the original source, old residents of Po-
ligny in the 193os remembered the two statues when
they had stood in niches set into a cemetery wall in
Mouthier-Vieillard on the outskirts of the town (Fig-
ure 20).23 Erosion on the front of the statues is evi-
dence of their exposure to the elements. The wall,

during the 16th and 17th centuries by the churches of Poligny,

coupled with the lack of records, makes it impossible to deter-
mine a specific source. See Rousset, Dictionnaire, V, pp. 240-
241, 258-259.
22. Such figures were customarily placed against the piers of
churches, sometimes at a considerable height. Well-known ex-
amples are found in the Ste.-Chapelle, Paris (1248), for which
see Denise Jalabert, La Sainte Chapelle (Paris, 1947) p. 18 and
ills. pp. 8, 9, 15. For examples in Cologne Cathedral see Paul
Clemen, Kunstdenkmalerder Stadt Koln: I:3. Dom zu Koln (Co-
logne, 1937) pp. 144-147-
23. Rorimer checked the size of the niches in the 193os be-
fore the wall disappeared. He noted that although they were
high enough to accommodate the sculptures, the scale and pro-
19. St. John the Baptist from Poligny, third quarter of
portions of these did not accord with a placement at eye level
15th century; before restoration of the leg. Lime- (Medieval Department records). The statues are too sophisti-
stone, H. 591/2in. (151 cm.). The Metropolitan Mu- cated and fine in quality to have been made for the cemetery
seum of Art, Pulitzer Bequest, 34.44 wall, which was rustic in style and appears, from a 16th- or 17th-
century doorway set into it, to have been later in date.

8i
21. St. James, detail of the head 22. St. John the Baptist, detail of the head (photo: Kent,
courtesy Anne McGee Morganstern)

which has since disappeared, had five niches in all, heavy folds, one vertical beneath the book on the
suggesting that there were other figures in the series right, the other diagonal, descending to the base on
for which places had been made.24 the left. St. James's cloak, which lacks the monumen-
After acquiring the statues of the Baptist and St. tal sweep of the other, has three layers, the lowest cut
James, Francois Vuillermet sold them in 1918 to diagonally.
Georges Demotte, who brought them to America. Jo- The hair of both saints curls with the same wide
seph Brummer, the well-known dealer in medieval parallel lines and thick, slightly hooked tips, and
art, sold the figure of the Baptist to the Metropolitan their beards are each bisected by a vertical line (Fig-
Museum in 1934; the St. James was bought by the ures 21, 22). Despite considerable damage to the face
Museum in 1947 from Brummer's estate before this
was dispersed at auction two years later.
Although both statues are skillfully carved, that of 24. A Capuchin cycle of 1410 in the Prague National Gallery
includes the disciples and the Baptist; see Lexikonder christlichen
the Baptist shows a better sense of volume and a
IkonographieI (Rome, 1968) p. 163. For a group of disciples
more dramatic stance, indicating the hand of a more from Dole (Jura), a few miles north of Poligny, see Troescher,
creative and powerful sculptor. A prominent feature BurgundischePlastik, p. 119, pi. LXXXI, nos. 340-347. A bearded
of both figures is the majestic cloak draped across the head in the Poligny Museum is too badly battered to be confi-
shoulders and arms. The deeply pocketed folds of dently considered as having belonged to one of the missing fig-
ures. See Rorimer, "Statue of Saint John," p. 194, and McGee
the Baptist's cloak cascade down the center in the [Morganstern], "Fifteenth-Century Sculpture from Poligny,"
form of inverted triangles; these are framed by two pp. 8-9, fig. 7.

82
and the fact that the head has been broken off and series of pleurants on the tomb introduced a new dy-
reset, St. James's features are clearly of the same type namism into Burgundian sculpture.26He is known to
as those of the Baptist. have been active in several places in the Franche-
The differences in style between these two and the Comte, probably including Poligny.27
St. Paul are evident. The quiet attitude of the other The two statues are also differentiated from the St.
figure and the placid serenity of the drapery point to Paul by the quality of their stone, which is coarser
the influence of Claux de Werve. St. James and St. and marked by pitted erosions. The large hole below
John the Baptist,with their livelier postures and more the knee of the Baptist is apparently due to the loss
animated garments, belong to a later period-the of a conglomerate shelly mass of rough material in
144os to the early 146os, when the style of Jean de la the body of the stone. There are similar wide-
Huerta was dominant.25Huerta (d. after 1462), a tur- grooved and slightly interlacing chisel marks on both
bulent Spaniard from Aragon, was commissioned in statues,28with traces of reddish orange pigment not
1443 to carve the tomb of John the Fearless, and his found on the St. Paul.
Although St. James was an apostle and a leader of
the early church in Jerusalem, he is shown here in his
traditional medieval garb as a simple pilgrim, a ref-
23. St. James, three-quarter view
erence to his shrine at Compostela in Spain, which
was, after Jerusalem and Rome, the most frequented
in Christendom.29Identifying attributes are the soft-
brimmed hat, the cockleshell badge, and the pil-
grim's staff. Fragments of this staff remain above the
saint's right arm and contiguous with the front of his
garment; a hollow between his feet indicates where
the bottom of the staff rested.
atL' There is a certain ambiguity in the posture of the
statue. Its placement on the base indicates that the
-:;3 Y saint is taking a step to his left, but the drapery of
. -L i: the cloak is arranged as though he were standing
-?.
5? L- ?QL; frontally (Figure 23). The statue's direction could
mean that it was designed to stand at the left end of
i
a series, whose existence has already been suggested
in connection with the five niches in the Mouthier-
Vieillard wall.30Before the left foot was broken off, it

25. Pierre Quarre, Jean de la Huerta et la sculpture bourgui-

gnonne au milieu du XVe siecle, exh. cat. (Dijon, 1972) pp. 5-20,
21-26 (bibliography), and doc. 8, pp. 37-40. Huerta was suc-
ceeded by Antoine le Moiturier, who completed his last ducal
commission in 1469; see idem, Antoine le Moiturier, pp. 6-7.
26. See Quarre,Jean de la Huerta, pp. 6-9, doc. 1, pp. 27-30,
and pls. viff. See also idem, Les Pleurants des tombeauxdes ducs de
Bourgogne (Dijon, 1971) pp. 13-16, pls. 51-78.
27. Quarre,Jean de la Huerta, pp. 8-9, 15-16, and doc. 7, pp.
36-37; idem, "La Collegiale de Saint-Hippolyte," p. 221.
28. For chisel marks as a possible means of distinguishing the
sculptor's hand see Forsyth, "A Fifteenth-Century Virgin and
Child,"app. 3, p. 63.
29. Jeanne Vielliard, ed. and trans., Guide du pelerin de Saint-
Jacques de Compostelle(Macon, 1938), gives the Latin text, with a
French translation, of a guide for pilgrims to Santiago de Com-
postela written in the 12th century.
30. See above and note 24.

83
/ zi_ p
.M- :- t

r?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I:

24-26. St.James,views of the sides and back

projected over the edge of the base. The saint's the folds of the cloak are almost as carefully finished
hands and the lower half of his book are missing; he as on the front; the concentric swirls are very differ-
was perhaps shown reading as he walked. ent from the quiet draping on the back of the St. Paul
Below the center parting of the beard are the two (see Figure 8), a clear indication of the contrasting
terminals of a cord that secures the hat under the styles of Huerta and de Werve. The metal mounts of
chin. The hat makes St. James's head seem out of the cover of the book, visible only from the back, are
proportion to his body, rendering the figure slightly carved with sharp precision (Figure 27).31
top-heavy. No other sculpture of St. James the Greater known
Seen from the sides (Figures 24, 25), the statue ap-
pears exceptionally shallow. More of the edge of the 31. The Prophet Isaiah on the Puits de Moise from an earlier
cloak is missing below the saint's right arm than is ap- period carries a book with mounts of a similar type (Figure 7,
parent in the photograph. On the back (Figure 26), extreme left).

84
 28. St. James the Greater,Burgundian, 15th century.
Limestone, H. 39 in. (98 cm.), with some restora-
tions. The MetropolitanMuseum of Art, Fletcher
Bequest, 17.120.3

27. St.James,detail of the back of the book

to the author is close enough to make a significant

comparison. A smaller Burgundian statue of the
saint in the Metropolitan Museum (Figure 28), al-
though iconographically almost the same, is of a to-
tally different style.
The figure of St. John the Baptist is identified by
the lamb-the visual image of Christ as Lamb of God
(John 1:29)-and by small sections of the "raiment
of camel's hair" (Matt. 3:4) barely visible beneath the
saint's right arm and behind the break in the leg (Fig- I
_ it
m
ures 29-31). He carries an open book, one side sup-
porting the lamb, the other resting against his left

85
 tj

:.,

#11

C??

: -t* * fl' - .

tj: --- ??I

a,-"I"E W
.
A.

"a=
-,I
0 go,.2
.
# - @
. '/
: ? -r

Y
If

I I '

86
29. St. John the Baptist, upper half ues.32The hair is arranged with three curls on the
forehead.
shoulder; an extension of the leather binding falls Seen from its right side (Figure 30), the statue ap-
over the upper pages, its straps and studs treated in pears less calm and erect than from the front. The
considerable detail. The Baptist's right hand, once head and body tilt backward above the waist. The
attached by a dowel and now missing, must have right leg, now restored from the calf to the foot (Fig-
pointed to the lamb. The lamb, which has lost its ure 31), extends outward, stabilizing the body and
head, faces right, away from the saint. acting as a foil to the diagonal folds of drapery. On
The head of the Baptist is turned abruptly to the the other side (Figure 32), the monumental quality of
left-a most unusual attitude-as if to counter- the drapery beneath the book is impressive.
balance the lamb and the book. The features are
strongly marked, with high cheekbones and sunken 32. For example, the statue of St.John the Evangelistat Bar-
eyes (see Figure 22), as in a number of Huerta stat- le-Regulier; see Quarre, Jean de la Huerta, no. 61, pl. XL.

30. St. John the Baptist, three-quarter view, the leg re- 31. St. John the Baptist, lower half
stored

-.,l
.? c
r'

J~i
Zcl
 The heavy, regular folds on the back of the statue wall niche at Mouthier-Vieillard. The curling hair
are fully realized (Figure 33), somewhat recalling falls over the shoulders in ringlets that resemble
those on the back of the St. Paul (see Figure 8). They those of St. James's beard (see Figures 18, 21).
have been roughly chiseled away near the bottom There are a number of surviving Burgundian stat-
right, probably when the piece was moved into its ues of the Baptist, some of them loosely related to
this one. An example at Chateauneuf (Figure 34) was
probably commissioned by Philippe Pot, grand sene-
32, 33. St.JohntheBaptist,viewsof the left side and back

...

*, a
- 4 T
... 0:1--
I --ld. /
f". ,
I~~~~~P
.1.)

'111,.
-k
.

/
88
schal of Burgundy, who was buried in a chapel at Ci- violent quarrel over the completion of other work in
teaux dedicated to St. John the Baptist. Philippe ac- the chapel was brought into court.35
quired the castellany of Chateauneuf in 1460, and
the statue may have been carved after that date.33
33. See Henri David, De Sluter a Sambin I (Paris, 1933) pp.
By far the closest comparison, however, to the
28-30, and Quarre, Antoine le Moiturier, no. 39, pl. xx. For a
Metropolitan Museum's figure is found in the parish very similar statue of the Baptist at Bussy-la-Pesle (C6te-d'Or)
church at Rouvres-en-Plaine (Figure 35), in a chapel see David, De Sluter &Sambin, I, pp. 75-76, and Quarre, Antoine
commissioned from Jean de la Huerta in 1445 by le Moiturier, no. 40, pl. xiv; the forelocks on the Bussy figure
recall those of the statue in New York.
Philippe Machefoing, mayor of Dijon and chatelain
34. David, De Sluter d Sambin, I, p. io, and Quarre, Jean de la
of the ducal castle at Rouvres.4 It may be assumed Huerta, no. 44, pl. xxv, and p. 14.
that this statue of the Baptist, which is set in the re- 35. Quarr6, Jean de la Huerta, pp. 13-14, docs. 4, 5, pp. 33-
table above the altar, was finished by 1448, when a 35-

34. St. John the Baptist, Burgundian, after 1460. Painted 35. St. John the Baptist, Burgundian, 1445-48. Lime-
limestone, H. 523/8 in. (133 cm.). Chateauneuf stone, H. approx. 543/4 in. (134 cm.). Rouvres-en-
(C6te-d'Or),St.-Philippeand St.-Jacques(photo: In- Plaine (Cote-d'Or), Parish Church (photo: Musee
ventaire General de Bourgogne) des Beaux-Artsde Dijon)
 The Rouvres sculpture is monumental in breadth modified by the way in which the cloak indicates the
and dignity, and easy in posture. St. John holds an position of the slightly flexed left leg, partly breaking
open book supporting the lamb (now missing except up the long diagonal of the cloak in its descent from
for the legs). The weight of the saint's body rests on the right shoulder and somewhat activating the fig-
the right leg, hidden by thick drapery. The stance is ure. The head is tilted to the saint's right. The hair,
heavily framing the face, is arranged in long locks,
one of which is held in the fingers of the right hand,
36. Virgin and Child, Burgundian, ca. 1447. Limestone,
H. 72 in. (180 cm.). Auxonne (Cote-d'Or), Notre-
with a curl passing over the top of the hand; the only
Dame, from the old Porte de Pantesson (photo: Mu-
known recurrence of this detail is in a fragment from
see des Beaux-Arts de Dijon) an earlier statue of the Baptist, which was excavated
by Pierre Quarre in the ducal oratory at Champ-
mol.36
I_ _ _
Georg Troescher and Quarre alike pointed out the
relationship of the St. John theBaptistin New York to
the style of Jean de la Huerta, sculptor of the figure
at Rouvres.37 In both statues, the saint's majestic
stance is emphasized by a voluminous cloak, which
envelops the body at Rouvres but is open on one side
on the other. In both, the front panel of the cloak has
fundamentally the same drapery scheme: a cascade
of deep transverse folds framed on one side by a
long diagonal fold sweeping down from the right
arm and curving around the base, and on the other
by a cluster of vertical folds that hangs directly be-
low the book. This distinctive scheme is found in a
number of sculptures associated with Huerta, among
them a statue of the Virgin and Child that was carved
for a city gate at Auxonne around 1447 (Figure 36).38
Although completely different from each other in
mood and execution, the figures of St. John the Bap-
tist at Rouvres and in the Metropolitan Museum are

36. The statue at Champmol was probably carved by Jean de

Marville before 1389 and could have served as a model for the
Rouvres figure. Another fragment from the same statue, fur-
ther identifying it as of the Baptist, consists of the corner of a
book with the imprint of a lamb's hoof. See Pierre Quarre, La
Chartreusede Champmol:Foyerd'art au tempsdes dues Valois,exh.
cat. (Dijon, 1960) no. 16, and his report, "Les Statues de l'ora-
toire ducal a la Chartreuse de Champmol," in Recueil publiCa
l'occasion du cent cinquantenairede la Societe Nationale des Anti-
quairesde France(18o4-1954) (Paris, 1955) pp. 247-251, figs. 2a,
2b.
37. In conversations with Rorimer (Medieval Department
records).
38. This statue, now in the Collegiale at Auxonne, served as
a prototype for statues at Pluvault (C6te-d'Or), Autun (before
1459, from the cathedral jube), Sully, Laizy, and Beaumont-sur-
Vingeanne (all Sa6ne-et-Loire); see Quarre, Jean de la Huerta,
nos. 46-52, pls. xxviii-xxxIII. A pleurant by Huerta on the
tomb of John the Fearless (no. 64, before 1456), now in the
Cleveland Museum of Art, shows the same drapery scheme; see
ibid., p. 43, and pl. xiv.

90
similar in composition. Even without the damage it fifteenth century, roughly spanning the active careers
has sustained, the Museum's statue lacks the finish of two sculptors employed by the dukes of Bur-
and careful detail of the one at Rouvres, but it is gundy, Claux de Werve and his successor Jean de la
carved with greater elan. The bravura interpretation Huerta, whose very different styles they exemplify.
of the theme, the impetuous posture with head Where the Virginand Child, which came from a con-
thrown nobly back, the bold draping, the casual vent of the Poor Clares founded by John the Fear-
ease of the book against the shoulder-all suggest less, can confidently be attributed to de Werve him-
that Jean de la Huerta may himself have been the self, the statues of St. Paul, St. James, and St. John
sculptor. the Baptist are less easily assigned. However, the
One stops short of an outright attribution to masterly quality of the St. Paul and the St. John the
Huerta, however, because of the lack of direct evi- Baptist suggests that they were designed, and may
dence. At the least the similarity in composition to well have been executed, by de Werve and Huerta re-
the figure at Rouvres allows the hypothesis that spectively. Together these four sculptures are invalu-
Huerta could have made a model or sketch for a tal- able witnesses to the artistic sophistication and high
ented assistant to execute. The statue certainly has level of aesthetic accomplishment of the time and
the stamp of a great master. place of their creation.
As for the date of the Museum's Baptist-and by
extension that of the St. James-sometime in the
third quarter of the fifteenth century seems to be
likely. This view is based on the supposition that the ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
meticulously carved figure of the Baptist at Rouvres,
made before 1448,39 preceded the simpler, more The author wishes to acknowledgeJo Ann Dallas Con-
carefree version now in New York. nell for her major role in the preparationof the manu-
script. Thanks are due, too, to members of the Met-
The Metropolitan Museum's four statues from Po- ropolitan Museum's Department of Medieval Art,
especiallyWilliamD. Wixom for his interest and advice,
ligny were carved at a time when the arts of Bur- and Martin Fleischer for his work in facilitating new
gundy were a dominating influence throughout Eu- photography. M. Yves Beauvalot, secretary general of
rope. Beginning with the Virginand Child,they range the InventaireGeneral de Bourgogne, Dijon, has been a
in date from the first to the third quarter of the generous source of aid in the author'sresearches.

39. Seeaboveandnote35.

91
 A Drawing of Fame by the Cavaliere d'Arpino
LAWRENCE TURCIC
Assistant Curator, Department of Drawings, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

IN THE AUTUMN OF 1986, the collection of the De- tion of the transept (1599-1601). Other major
partment of Drawings in the Metropolitan Museum achievements included frescoes in the Palazzo dei
was significantly enriched with the gift of a drawing Conservatori, designs for mosaics in the cupola of St.
by Giuseppe Cesari, known as the Cavaliere d'Arpino Peter's, and the direction of the decoration of the
(1568-1640). An altogether typical example of the Cappella Paolina in S. Maria Maggiore (1610-12).
artist's graphic work, this fine sheet represents an al- Between 1613 and 1615, when at the height of his
legorical figure of Fame (Figure 1).1It is executed in power and influence, Cesari supervised the fresco
graphite and red chalk (a color combination often decoration of the Palazzina Montalto, one of the twin
used by the artist), and is the first drawing by Cesari casinos that stand in the terraced gardens of the Villa
in this mixed medium to enter the Museum's collec- Lante at Bagnaia, north of Rome. The palazzina,
tions. designed by the architect Carlo Maderno, was
Cesari d'Arpino was a highly visible presence in constructed and decorated at a time when the villa
the Roman art world at the end of the sixteenth and was the property of Cardinal Alessandro Montalto,
the beginning of the seventeenth century. Stylistically nephew of Pope Sixtus V.
a transitional figure, he can be seen as bridging the In the center of the ceiling of a small room in the
gap between the self-conscious Roman Mannerism casino, Cesari painted in fresco an airborne figure of
of the previous generation and the "modern" art Fame (Figure 2), leaving to his assistants the execu-
brought to Rome by the Carracci and Caravaggio tion of the six allegorical female figures that appear
(the latter, incidentally, spent some time in Cesari's seated in irregular fields surrounding the central rec-
workshop in 1593). tangle.3 Cesari's painting and the Metropolitan Mu-
Cesari came to Rome as something of a prodigy in seum's new drawing are clearly related. The pose in
1582 at the age of fourteen, and was immediately each case is essentially the same, although in the
employed as one of the team of artists decorating the fresco Fame does not sound her trumpet as she does
Logge in the Vatican Palace. Participation in subse- in the drawing. Oddly enough, the artist has cropped
quent projects at the palace (the Sala Vecchia degli
Svizzeri and the Sala dei Palafrenieri) led to work in
Roman churches and the Certosa di S. Martino in 1. Gift of Mrs. Alfred H. Barr, Jr., 1986.318. The drawing
Naples. In 1587 he was commissioned to fresco the was reproduced as no. 32 in CentennialLoan Exhibition:Drawings
and Watercolors from Alumnae and Their Families,exh. cat. (Pough-
Olgiati Chapel in S. Prassede, Rome, although he did
not execute the decorations until 1593-95. The Mu- keepsie, N.Y.: Vassar College, 1961), but its connection with
Cesari's Villa Lante fresco was not mentioned.
seum owns a pen and wash drawing of the Resurrec- 2. Acc. no. 87.12.34; see Jacob Bean with the assistance of
tion by Cesari that served as a preparatory study for Lawrence Turcic, r5th and i6th CenturyItalian Drawings in The
a section of the fresco decoration in S. Prassede.2 MetropolitanMuseum of Art (New York, 1982) no. 46, ill.
Cesari received the title of Cavaliere di Cristo from 3. The whole ceiling, with subsidiary panels, is reproduced
by Luigi Salerno, "Cavaliere d'Arpino, Tassi, Gentileschi and
Clement VIII in recognition of his work in S. Gio- Their Assistants: A Study of Some Frescoes in the Villa Lante,
vanni in Laterano, where he supervised the decora- Bagnaia," Connoisseur146 (1960) p. 160, fig. 8.

93

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METROPOLITAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 22

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off the flared ends of the trumpets in the painted 3). In the posthumous sale of Mariette's collection
version. Modifications have also been made in the po- (1775-76) the drawing was part of lot 126 and was
sition of the wings, the length of the hair, and the described in the sale catalogue as "L'Etuded'une fi-
disposition of the drapery, which in the painting has gure de Renommee, aux crayons, rouge et noir."
been rearranged in such a way as to bare the figure's Subsequently it belonged to the noted Viennese col-
breasts. Despite the variations, it does not seem un- lector Count Moriz von Fries (1777-1826); his collec-
reasonable to consider the drawing a preparatory tor's mark-a blind stamp in the form of an encir-
study by Cesari for his ceiling fresco at the Villa cled cross-appears next to Mariette's at the lower
Lante. left.
An impressive provenance enhances the interest The Cavaliere d'Arpino's drawing of Fame comes
of the drawing. It was once in the collection of the to the Museum from a source no less distinguished
renowned eighteenth-century French connoisseur than these. It was presented by Mrs. Alfred H. Barr,
Pierre-Jean Mariette (1694-1774), whose collector's Jr., whose late husband was one of the founders of
mark is visible at the lower left. The sheet is affixed the Museum of Modern Art in New York and for
to a beautifully preserved blue Mariette mount, com- many years its director. Mrs. Barr recalls that they
plete with a cartouche that bears the identifying in- purchased the drawing at R. H. Macy and Company,
scription: EQUES JOSEPH / CESARI / ARPINATEN. (Figure New York, around 1936.

FACING PAGE:

1. Giuseppe Cesari (Cavaliere d'Arpino, 1568-1640), BELOW:

Fame, ca. 1613-15, inscribed in pen and brown ink Fresco. Bagnaia, Villa
2. Cesari, Fame, ca. 1613-15.
at lower right: giosepped'arpino.Graphite and red
chalk heightened with a little white (somewhatoxi- Lante, PalazzinaMontalto (photo: after Lazio,Mi-
lan, n.d., fig. 406)
dized), lined; 913/16x 61/4in. (25.0 x 15.9 cm.). The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Alfred
H. Barr, Jr., 1986.318 3. Cesari'sdrawingof Fame on its Mariettemount

Fi
-1

34
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 A Terracotta Relief of the

Agony in the Garden

by Massimiliano Soldani Benzi

KATE McCLUER

SINCE THE PUBLICATION of Klaus Lankheit's semi- two adult angels. The angel on the right supports the
nal Florentinische Barockplastik in 1962, the sculpture limp body of Christ, while the one on the left, shown
of Massimiliano Soldani Benzi (1656-1740) has been as if arriving on the scene, holds a chalice aloft in his
the subject of study both in the United States and right hand. These figures are modeled in very deep
abroad. Special attention has been paid to the small relief, and the gradated treatment of the clouds to
works in bronze, several high-quality examples of the left makes a beautifully modulated transition
which can be found in American museums. The art- from the back plane of the relief to the foreground;
ist's relief sculpture, however, is perhaps less widely the clouds serve, too, as a kind of platform on which
known, and a comprehensive study of his medals and the angel on the left stands.
pictorial reliefs has yet to appear, in spite of the fact Also modeled in deep relief are the three putti
that Soldani's earliest Roman training was in the art flying above, the topmost of whom extends his partly
of bassorilievo and that by far the largest part of his draped right leg in exactly the same manner as the
extant works is in two dimensions. arriving angel below. The three putti in the bottom
Any discussion of the reliefs of Massimiliano Sol-
dani should include the finely modeled terracotta re-
1. This article developed from a report given in a seminar
lief of Christ'sAgony in the Garden in the Metropol- conducted by Olga Raggio at the Institute of Fine Arts, New
itan Museum.' In common with many of Soldani's York University, in the fall of 1985. The relief has been pub-
works, the relief is not documented and has no firm lished in K. Lankheit, FlorentinischeBarockplastik(Munich, 1962)
p. 135, pl. 90; Florentine Baroque Art from American Collections,
date; recent attempts to place it in the period be- exh. cat. (New York, 1969) p. 74, no. 83; J. Montagu in The
tween 1695 and 1708 are to my mind stylisticallyun- Twilight of the Medici: Late Baroque Art in Florence, I670-I743,
convincing.2 The piece has no established prove- exh. cat. (Detroit, 1974) p. 102, no. 64, col. pl. II; and H. Hib-
nance before 1910 and no known patron, and the bard, The MetropolitanMuseum of Art (New York, 1980) p. 296,
fig. 561. The relief was purchased from the German dealer
object's function and meaning and the way in which Bohler in 1910 as "in the manner of Bernini"; the attribution
it was intended to be displayed have not been suffi- was changed by the Museum to Bernini. In 1935 the work was
ciently explored. It is precisely the questions of dat- described as "Italian, XVIII-XIX century," and in 1961 it was
attributed to Massimiliano Soldani Benzi, "XVII-XVIII cen-
ing, iconography, purpose, and style that I wish to
address here. In the course of discussion, Soldani's tury."
2. Lankheit, Barockplastik,p. 135, admits some doubt as to
position among the sculptors of the Florentine late whether the work is early or late, dating it between 1685 and
Baroque may emerge with greater clarity. 173o-this encompasses almost the whole of Soldani's docu-
The composition of the Agonyin the Garden,which mented career. He narrows the range to 1691-95 on the basis
of the work's similarity to the bronze relief of the Pieta in Mu-
is modeled in a pale, buff-colored clay, consists of
nich (fig. 89; see Figure 12). Montagu, Twilightof the Medici, p.
twelve figures set in a rocky landscape (Figure i). 102, dates the terracotta to 1695-1708; it is at present exhibited
The figure of Christ, slightly off center, is flanked by with this date.

97

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METROPOLITAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 22

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98
1, 2. Massimiliano Soldani Benzi (1656-1740), The Ag- low stiacciato,are the three sleeping apostles, those
ony in the Garden. Terracotta relief, 233/4 X 16 in. who accompanied Christ to the Mount of Olives:
(60.3 x 40.6 cm.). The Metropolitan Museum of Peter, James, and John.
Art, Rogers Fund, 1o.18o The iconic nature of the work is emphasized by
the arrangement of these twelve figures into four
right corner of the composition (Figure 2) hold up a roughly triangular groups of three. This could refer
cloth decorated with the symbols of Christ's Passion:
the column, scourge, three nails, pincers, lance, 3. A similar group of three putti holding the instruments of
sponge with vinegar, and the crown of thorns.3 The the Passion can be found decorating a scroll on the base of a
porcelain Pieta based on a model by Soldani and known today
putto on the far right looks up and gestures toward in several versions (see Twilight of the Medici, p. 420, no. 246).
the group of putti above, two of whom gaze down- Their inclusion in a scene of the Agony in the Garden is a ref-
ward to the central group with Christ. Immediately erence to Christ's vision of his coming death on the Cross. Putti
above the lower group of putti, and modeled in shal- or angels bearing the instruments of the Passion were part of
the standard iconography of earlier representations of the
scene; for an Italian example see Mantegna's Agonyin the Garden
2. Detail of Figure i: putti with the instruments of the (National Gallery, London).
Passion

99
 tive gilt frames and protected by glass (Figure 3).
Something of a similar nature may have occurred
with the terracotta Agonyin theGarden.
The terracotta FourSeasonswere not gilded or pat-
inated in an attempt to disguise the fact that they
were made from common clay, and neither is there
any evidence for patination on the surface of the Ag-
onyin the Garden.The work was cleaned and restored
in 1969. At that time earlier restorations, such as the
raised right arm of the topmost putto visible in the
photograph published by Lankheit in 1962, were re-
moved. Most notable damage to the relief is the loss
of this arm, a crack running across the bottom left
corner which cuts through the right foot of the angel
on the left and the knees of Christ, several small
losses along the top and left edges of the relief,
and the loss of most of the extended fingers of the
putti. The terracotta has been mounted on a simple
3. Soldani, Spring, 1708. Terracotta relief in origi- wooden board, which extends a few inches on all
nal frame behind glass, 353/8 X 283/8 x 51/2 in. four sides. This is suggestive of the elaborate frame
(90 x 72 x 14 cm.). Florence, Museo degli Argenti in which the work would have most probably been
(photo: Soprintendenza,Florence) displayed.
There is no mention of the relief during Soldani's
lifetime, in spite of the fact that there are quite a few
to the Trinity, as well as to the fact that in the Garden surviving documents relating to the artist. These in-
of Gethsemane Christ prayed three times to God the clude Soldani's own autobiography of September 18,
Father that the cup be removed from him and that 1718; the Viteby Gabburri and Conti; letters by and
he was presently to be denied three times by one of about Soldani concerning his academic training in
his own disciples. This emphasis on number symbol- Rome from 1678 to 1682; much of the artist'scorre-
ism, in addition to the small size of the piece, points spondence, among it his letters to Prince Johann
to its probable function as an object for private devo- Adam of Liechtenstein;6 the artist's last will and tes-
tion. tament;7 and the inventories of the Medici Guarda-
The work is not a bozzettobut a highly finished mo- roba. Montagu connects the piece to Soldani's letter
dello-as Jennifer Montagu points out, a model prob- of May 31, 1695, to the prince of Liechtenstein;8this
ably meant to be cast in bronze and then gilded or mentions that the artist is sending a wax model for a
patinated as were, for example, the reliefs of the relief, which "stariabene di Bronzo dorato, da collo-
Four Seasons for Elector Palatine Johann Wilhelm.4 carsi vicino ad un Letto, essendo cosa devota, e di
There is also the possibility that the relief was not maniera finita, proprio per tale effetto."9 Although
just a model for a bronze now lost but was considered the reference could indeed be to a wax model of the
a work of art in its own right. The precedent for this
lies in the terracotta modellifor the same Four Seasons
reliefs, mentioned by Soldani in his autobiography of 4. Ibid., p. 102.
5. Lankheit, Barockplastik,doc. 47, p. 233.
1718 as "modelli de quali di terra cotta si ritrovano 6. Ibid., docs. 36, 47, 51, 128-185, 298-346.
ancora dentro a' suoi Cristalli, nella Camera del- 7. G. Corti,"L'inventario
dell'ereditadi MassimilianoSoldani
l'Audienza del medesimo Sig.r Principe [Ferdinando Benzi," in Kunst des Barockin der Toskana:Studien zur Kunst unter
de' Medici], essendosi adattato al di lui finissimo den letztenMedici (Munich, 1976) pp. 176-181.
8. Twilightof the Medici, p. 102.
gusto."5 Thus, Prince Ferdinando gave the finished doc. 641, p. 328. He connectsthe
9. Lankheit,Barockplastik,
bronzes as a royal gift and put the terracotta reliefs documentwiththebronzePiet,inowin the Bayerisches
Nation-
on display in his own palace, surrounded by decora- almuseum,Munich(p. 129, fig. 89; see Figure 12).

100
terracotta now in the Metropolitan Museum, this tron's taste for "belli nudi e belle idee."10Statues of
seems to me unlikely. dolphins, gladiators, Greek gods, and nude cupids
While Soldani might have offered the prince a re- appear on the list of available models that he sent to
lief of a religious subject, the works that Johann the prince on February 21 of that year, but not one
Adam actually commissioned from the artist for his religious subject is mentioned among them."'
palace in Vienna seem to have been of a different In addition, Soldani's letter to the prince refers to
sort: mythological subjects, or copies either after the a work of 1695, and this early date is incompatible
antique or after famous sculptures from Renaissance with the style of the terracotta for reasons to be dis-
and Baroque masters such as Michelangelo, Algardi, cussed. The letter does, however, suggest a suitable
and Bernini. In fact, this offer to execute a devo- use for a work of the type represented by the Agony
tional piece for the prince seems to have been in the Garden.A "cosa devota" such as this would be
unique. By 1702, Soldani fully understood his pa- pleasing in gilt bronze, hung in the bedroom of some
wealthy patron, Soldani says, perhaps above a prie-
dieu where private devotions could be said. The high
4. Soldani, The Agony in the Garden. Wax cast of Figure degree of finish characteristicof all Soldani's reliefs is
1, 255/8 X 167/8 in. (65 X 43 cm.). Sesto Fiorentino, seen at its best advantage when viewed at close range
Museo delle Porcellane di Doccia (photo: Kunst- in the intimacy of a domestic space. The continued
historischesInstitut, Florence)
popularity of the Agony relief was assured by Mar-
chese Carlo Ginori's purchase of a number of plaster
molds left by the artist in his house in the Borgo
Santa Croce upon his death.'2 These were repro-
duced with great success in inexpensive porcelain
copies. A wax cast of the Agonyin the Garden(Figure
4) and its forme (piece-mold sections), as well as a
written reference to it in the Ginori Archives, are still
to be found in the Doccia porcelain factory near
Florence.13
The Agony in the Garden represents the spiritual
struggle between the human and divine sides of
Christ's nature. It has traditionally formed part of
large Passion cycles-for example, Duccio's Maestd
for Siena Cathedral, Ghiberti's bronze doors for the
Florentine Baptistery, and Pontormo's fresco cycle in
the Certosa di Galluzzo near Florence; beginning
with the Renaissance, it proved a popular subject
for small-scale devotional pieces as well.'4 Less fre-
quently, the Agony in the Garden appears as a sub-
sidiary scene in the background of depictions of the

lo. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Liechtenstein: The

Princely Collections,exh. cat. (New York, 1985) p. 65.
1. Lankheit, Barockplastik,doc. 671, pp. 334-335.
12. Ibid., doc. 351, p. 284.
13. Listed in the "Inventario de' modelli" (ca. 1780) p. 38,
no. 102: "un basso-rilievo rappresentante Gesu Cristo all'Orto,
di cera. Del Soldani, con forme." Published by K. Lankheit, Die
Modellsammlungder PorzellanmanufakturDoccia (Munich, 1982)
p. 137.
14. For example, the glazed earthenware "Hafner-ware"
panel produced in Nuremberg ca. 1480 now in the Metropoli-
tan Museum (1977.216.61), and the small, oval piece of lapis

101
Last Supper.'5 Its inclusion there underscores the Diirer, Tintoretto, and Palma il Giovane, for whom
continuity of action in time, the Agony occurring im- the human drama of Christ's nocturnal entreaties to
mediately after Christ's final meal with the apostles the Father at Gethsemane provided the source mate-
and directly before his arrest, and gives it a visual rial for multiple reworkings of the scene. The result
connection to the Last Supper as a model for the rite was often the perfect marriage of subject matter and
of Holy Communion. style. When Vasari praises the realism of Correggio's
The relative conservatism of most Tuscan versions little Agony of 1526-28 for Reggio Emilia-"pittura
of the scene, which derive from Duccio and ulti- finta di notte ... che e tanto simile al vero, che non si
mately from Byzantine art, contrasts with the ap- puo n4 immaginare ne esprimere meglio" '6-he rec-
proach of Northern and North Italian artists such as ognizes in it qualities of naturalistic lighting and
landscape that are conspicuously absent from most
of the complex religious paintings of the Florentine
5. Jacopo Ligozzi (ca. 1547-1626), Christ on the Mount
maniera.17
of Olives Supportedby an Angel, 1608. Oil on copper
set into portable altar in wood with pietra dura in- Correggio's much-copied work depicts a pleading
Christ with arms outstretched in supplication; the fi-
lay; painting, lol/2 x 61/4 in. (26.7 x 15.9 cm.); al-
tar, 23 x 131/4 x 3/4 in. (58.4 x 33.7 X 8.3 cm.). nal quarter of the sixteenth century saw the develop-
Oberlin, Ohio, Allen Memorial Art Museum, Ober- ment of a more accepting Christ as well. Characteris-
lin College, R. T. Miller, Jr. Fund, 58.1 (photo: Al- tic of these post-Tridentine images, which seem to
len Memorial Art Museum) have enjoyed special popularity in the Veneto,'8 is the

-!
.LllY~

lazuli, now lost, painted with a "Cristonel orto" for which II

Cigoli is documented as having asked the MediciGuardaroba
for payment on July 12, 1602; Matteoli says that the work was
possiblyintended as a grand-ducalgift to a relativeor foreign
prince (document reprinted by A. Matteoliin LudovicoCardo-
Cigoli, pittore e architetto[Pisa, 1980] p. 309; see also p. 436). In
addition, Michelangeloprovided MarcelloVenusti,a painterof
smalldevotionalpanels,with a cartoonof the Agony in the Gar-
den of which H. Thode (Michelangelo:KritischeUntersuchungen
uberseineWerkeII [Berlin, 1908] p. 462) located seven painted
versions.
15. Pietro Perugino (Cenacolo di Foligno, Convent of
Sant'Onofrio,Florence), Cosimo Roselli (Sistine Chapel, Vati-
can), and the tapestryfor the Compagniadel Sacramento,Ca-
maiore,dated 1516; this last is a Communion
of theApostlesbased
on that by Justus of Ghent in Urbino, and the Agony in the
Gardenin the backgroundis quite close to the one designed by
Raphaelfor the ColonnaAltarpiece(see Figure 7).
16. G. Vasari, Le vite de'pii eccellentipittori, scultoried architet-
tori,ed. G. Milanesi(Florence, 1906) IV, pp. 117-118. Correg-
gio's small devotionalpanel is now in the WellingtonMuseum,
Apsley House, London. Among the worksinfluencedby it are
those by Titian (Monasteryof S. Lorenzo,El Escorial),Bartolo-
meo Cesi (S. Girolamoalla Certosa,Bologna),and a followerof
Poussin(formerlyCollectionAnthony Blunt, London).
17. For Correggioas a precursorof the art of the Counter-
Reformation see E. Male, L'Artreligieuxaprksle Concilede Trente:
Etude sur l'iconographiede lafin du XVIe siecle, du XVIIe siecle, du
XVIIIe sikcle(Paris, 1932) chap. VI, pp. 229-295. M. Hall, Ren-
ovation and Counter-Reformation(Oxford, 1979), discusses the
differing approachesof Florentineand Emilianpaintersto the
requirementsof religious art during the cinquecento;see esp.
PP. 35, 85-87.
18. The Agony in the Garden with Christsupportedby the
angel seems to be a Venetianinvention. It was seen first either
emphasis on submission rather than prayer. At the 14:36, Luke 22:42). Although totally without textual
same moment that Christ mentally accepts his com- sanction, Christ's acceptance of this cup of bitterness,
ing death on the cross, he accepts the physical em- which represents his fate or lot in life, came to have
brace of the consoling angel, who appears only in the eucharistic significance.
Gospel of Luke. These two opposing types of Christ The angel who ministers to Christ on Donatello's
are perhaps indicative of the inherent contradiction bronze pulpit relief in S. Lorenzo in Florence, for ex-
in the Agony in the Garden, mentioned by St. Fran- ample, holds the chalice in the corporal in the same
cis of Sales in his Traitede l'amourde Dieu of 1616: he way as does the priest during Mass. And Raphael's
describes the nature of Christ'sAgony as a desire for Christ from the Agony predella panel of the Colonna
death caused by love and a horror of death caused by Altarpiece, shown kneeling in profile with hands
sorrow. 19 folded in prayer, is the perfect model of the commu-
The intimacy of this most private of moments in nicant before the altar (Figure 6).21 This image was
Christ'slast hours on earth is beautifully rendered by all the stronger in the original composition, visible in
the Veronese artistJacopo Ligozzi in his tiny Agonyin X-rays and in the cartoon in the Pierpont Morgan Li-
the Garden of 1608 (Figure 5), painted in jewel-like brary (Figure 7), where the chalice is not carried by
colors on copper. The subject of this portable altar an angel but stands atop the rocky mass on the right.
has been identified by Bacci as the "swooning of The panel has been linked to Umbrian and Floren-
Christ."20 Only Christ and the angel are depicted, tine painting, although not always convincingly.22 In
and a ray of light falls on the chalice in the upper fact, Raphael's decision to place the chalice on the
left-hand corner to highlight its importance. The mound before which Christ kneels instead of putting
chalice is the artist'svisualization of the metaphorical it in the hands of an angel has no real parallels in
cup mentioned in the Gospels (Matt. 26:39, Mark Central Italian art but seems to derive from German

in drawing no. 3070 in the FitzwilliamMuseum by Palma il 20. M. Bacci,"APortableAltarby Ligozzi," AllenMemorialArt
Giovane (inscribed giovane 1575, a date accepted as autograph MuseumBulletin20 (1962-63) p. 47.
by J. W. Goodison and G. H. Robertson, FitzwilliamMuseum, 21. Firstnoticed by LadyEastlakein Mrs.Jamesonand Lady
Cambridge:Catalogue of Paintings II [Cambridge, 1967] pp. 118- Eastlake,TheHistoryof OurLordas Exemplified in Worksof Art
119, and by D. Scrase, The Genius of Venice:i5oo-i60o, exh. cat. (London, 1864) II, pp. 30-31, but not emphasizedin the sub-
[London, 1983] p. 264; but rejectedby H. Tietze and E. Tietze- sequent literatureon the piece. For a summaryof the literature
Conrat, The Drawings of the VenetianPaintersin theXVth and XVIth see F. Zeri and E. Gardner,ItalianPaintings.A Catalogueof the
Centuries [New York, 1944] p. 201, and by S. Mason Rinaldi, Collectionof TheMetropolitan Museumof Art:Sieneseand Central
Palma il Giovane: L'operacompleta[Milan, 1984] p. 103, both of ItalianSchools(New York,1980) pp. 76-78.
whom date the workto after 1600),or in Veronese'soil painting 22. Ibid., p. 76, where it is related to the Agony Perugino
no. 241 in the Brera, Milan (dated ca. 1570 by L. Coletti, "Ri- painted in the backgroundof his LastSupperfor the conventof
sposta alla recensione della Brizio,"L'arte31 [1928] p. 45, and Sant'Onofrio,Florence, and to the scene on the embroidered
to the 158os by T. Pignatti, Veronese:L'opera completa[Venice, cope in Pierodella Francesca'sSt.Augustine(MuseuNacionalde
1976] I, p. 167). Other examples of this type include: Palmail Arte Antiga, Lisbon). The Perugino resembles the repainted
Giovane(Albertina,Vienna, ca. 1590; Tempio Canoviano,Pos- panel, not Raphael'soriginaldesign, while the scene on St. Au-
sagno, 1600-04; and Accademia Carrara, Bergamo, 1600- gustine's cope can be related to scenes decorating actual li-
04); LudovicoCarracci(MatthiesenGallery,London, ca. 16oo); turgical garments of the late quattrocento,such as the richly
schoolof Veronese(PalazzoDucale,Venice,before 1587);Lean- embroideredcope designed by Justus of Ghent in GubbioCa-
dro Bassano (S. Cassiano,Venice, after 1600);Jacopo Ligozzi thedral(see A. Venturi,"Paramentiistoriatisu disegno diJustus
(Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, 1608); Cecco Bravo di Gand e Luca Signorelli," L'arte 15 [1912] pp. 299-304, fig.
(privatecoll., Florence, 165os); Rembrandt(Kunsthalle,Ham- 1). Piero did not invent the scheme of Christ facing right in
burg, 1650-55); Giuseppe Lonardi (Parrocchiale, Arzare, profile with hands clasped in prayer,as Zeri suggests (Zeriand
1690);FrancescoTrevisani(S. Silvestroin Capite,Rome, 1695- Gardner,ItalianPaintings,p. 76). This is the traditionalmanner
96); Antonio Balestra (privatecoll., London, after 1695); and of depicting Christ'sAgony in the Garden and can be seen in
the paintingattributedto CarloMaratta(BurghleyHouse, Eng- the earliestextant examples;see the 6th-centuryItalianGospels
land, after 1696). See also P. Askew,"The Angelic Consolation of St. Augustine (MS 286, fol. 125r),in whicheven the familiar
of St. Francis of Assisi in Post-TridentineItalian Painting," detailsof landscape-the inclineon whichChristkneelsand the
Journal of the Warburgand Courtauld Institutes 32 (1969) p. 293 tree behind him-have been established(F.Wormald,TheMin-
and n. 55. iaturesin theGospelsof St. Augustine,CorpusChristiCollegems.286
19. F. de Sales, Traitede l'amourde Dieu (Paris, 1934) II, pp. [Cambridge,1954] pl. iv).
271-272.

103
and Flemish tradition.23In this context one might re- brian artist who painted in the cup-bearing angel,
member the presence of Justus of Ghent at the court possibly after completion of the altarpiece, did so in
of Urbino from 1472 to 1475 and his influence on order to conform to the iconography more common
Raphael's father, Giovanni Santi. The unknown Um- in Italy.
The figure of Christ in prayer before a chalice
standing on a rocky "altar"continued to be a feature
6. Raphael (1483-1520), The Agony in the Garden, pre- of Northern scenes of the, Agony in the Garden well
della panel from the Colonna Altarpiece, 1502- into the sixteenth century, and its persistence there
05. Tempera and oil on wood, 91/2 x 13/8 in. can perhaps be related in part to the Kelchstreit(chal-
(24.1 X 28.9 cm.). The Metropolitan Museum of ice controversy). The Protestant reformers claimed
Art, Funds from various donors, 32.130. 1 the layman's right to receive communion under two
kinds, the wine and the bread, insisting, in Luther's
words, that the Mass was not a sacrifice but a mere
"testament and sacrament wherein, under the seal of
a symbol, a promise is made of the redemption of
sin."24Catholics considered this heretical. In chapter
6 of his De missae sacrificio et ritu adversus Lutheranos of
1531, the Dominican Cardinal Cajetan stated un-
equivocally: "the victim by bloodshed [Christ on Cal-
vary] and the unbloody victim [Christ's body and
blood under the appearance of the bread and wine]
are not two, but one victim."25

23. An early instance of the visual equation of Christ's prayer

in the garden with the sacrament of Holy Communion is the
loth-century ivory book cover from the Rhineland now in Lon-
don, where Christ kneels before an actual cloth-covered altar,
on which lies a cross. The cross is replaced by the chalice and
the altar by the rocky mound in works by a Central Rhenish
master, ca. 1410 (Aartsbisschoppelijk Museum, Utrecht), the
Master of the Golden Panel from Lineburg, ca. 1418 (Nieder-
sachsische Landesgalerie, Hanover), Jan Gossaert, ca. 1500-12
(Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin), an artist
painting in the style of Bernaert van Orley, ca. 1510 (MMA acc.
7. Raphael, cartoon for The Agony in the Garden, no. 41.190.14), Albrecht Diirer, 1515, etching (Staatsbibliothek,
pricked for transfer. New York, Pierpont Morgan Bamberg), and Hendrick Goltzius, 1597 (Prentenkabinet, Lei-
Library (photo: Pierpont Morgan Library) den). The Venetian Jacopo Bellini experimented with this sac-
ramental imagery in a drawing (ca. 1450) now in London (Brit-
ish Museum sketchbook, fol. 44a); however, the motif of the
chalice atop the rocky "altar" was not picked up by his son Gio-
vanni Bellini or by his son-in-law Andrea Mantegna in their ver-
sions of the scene (both National Gallery, London), which oth-
erwise seem to depend on Jacopo's drawing.
24. Quoted in E. Panofsky, AlbrechtDurer (Princeton, 1945) I,
p. 222, who notes that in Durer's later drawings and woodcuts
of the Last Supper the artist conspicuously emphasizes the sac-
ramental chalice while eliminating the sacrificial lamb present
in his earlier versions of the scene, thus appearing to profess
Luther's point of view. A similar shift seems to take place in
Durer's depictions of the Agony in the Garden, which, around
1515, change from dramatic and impassioned to calm and com-
munionlike.
25. Cited by F. Clark, EucharisticSacrificeand the Reformation
(Oxford, 1967) p. 88.

f ' '?
f u j .

I.
 It is the "unbloody victim" that is presented in Li-
gozzi's little altarpiece (Figure 5); Christ's sacrifice is
further emphasized in the small pietra dura scene of
the Sacrifice of Isaac on the predella below. Both
concern a father's sacrifice of his son in the presence
of an angel. Moreover, the artist'sdecision to link the
two can perhaps be understood in terms of St. Au-
gustine's De civitateDei (X.20). Augustine says that al-
though Christ in his divine nature accepts the sacri-
fice in unity with his Father, with whom he is one
God, yet serving in his human nature he chooses
rather to be the sacrifice than to accept it, lest anyone
should think that the sacrifice may instead be offered
to a creature. In this way the New Testament sacrifice
on Calvary differs from its Old Testament prototype 8. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1573-1610),
where, at the last moment, a ram is offered to God in Ecstasy of St. Francis, ca. 1595. Oil on canvas,
place of Isaac. The role played by the angel in these 36% x 501/4 in (92.4 x 127.6 cm.). Hartford,
Wadsworth Atheneum, The Ella Gallup Sumner
scenes may have been suggested by the prayer found
and Mary Catlin Sumner Collection (photo: Joseph
in almost all ancient liturgies, that the sacrifice of the
Szaszfai)
earthly altar should have its mystical counterpart or
be made effective on high through the ministry of
angels.2 Both ideas were current in the fifteenth and both scenes Christ is supported on one side-his
sixteenth centuries in sermons and theological writ- right in Ligozzi, his left in Soldani-by the angel's
ings on the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist.27 knee pushed up under his armpit, while his arm on
Visual reference to the Passion is also intended by that side hangs limply against the angel's lower leg.
the sorrowful gesture of the angel in Ligozzi's paint- Another painting in which an angel is shown giv-
ing, who, raising his arms in dismay, recalls the ges- ing support to a reclining figure from behind is Ca-
ture of the Marys in scenes of the Lamentation over ravaggio's Ecstasy of St. Francis (Figure 8). Although
the Dead Christ. The combination of a reclining fig-
ure with a supporting figure behind is familiar from
26. Ibid., pp. 422-423, notes that the liturgy of St. Cyril of
countless renderings of the Deposition from the Alexandriaspecificallylinks the angelicministryto the Sacrifice
Cross, the Bearing of the Body, and the Pieta.28For of Isaac,a scene that is often sited directlyover the high altarin
the Agony in the Garden this pose suggests the literal Byzantinechurches.The continuationof this traditioninto the
late 17thcenturyis representedby the bronzetondo of the Sac-
interpretation of the Gospel of Luke: "And there ap- rifice of Isaac designed by Gian BattistaFoggini, which deco-
peared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthen- rates the left side of the high altar itself in SantissimaAnnun-
ing him" (22:43). Ligozzi's straightforward compo- ziata, Florence (see Lankheit, Barockplastik, pl. 49). In this
sition makes these analogical relationships quite context, it is possiblethat the flat stone ledge on which Christ's
evident to the pious viewer and thereby provides a body rests in both Ligozzi'spainting and Soldani's relief is
meant to suggest the altarof angelicsacrificeor, alternately,the
visual aid to devotion in the tradition of St. Bonaven- stone of unction.
ture and the Itinerariummentisad Deum. 27. See the Sermonesdiscipuli de temporeet sanctis by the Do-
Ligozzi, like Soldani, worked in the service of the minicanpreacherJohn Herolt, whichwasa best-sellerthrough-
Medici court, and although a century separates their out Europe, and the De quibusdamin Ecclesia controversiisopuscu-
lum by James Latomus, rector of the Universityof Louvain;
careers there are similarities between the two repre- cited by Clark, EucharisticSacrifice,pp. 547, 539.
sentations of Christ that suggest some memory of Li- 28. Askew, "AngelicConsolation,"p. 290, who also relates
gozzi's version may have influenced Soldani: for ex- this combinationof reclining and supportingfigures to scenes
of the Trinity,the Dead Christ Supported by Angels, and St.
ample, the way in which the drapery with its several Francisin Ecstasy.For other images of the sacramentalChrist
deeply cut, diagonal folds is wrapped around Christ's and the EucharisticPietain context see M. E. Cope, TheVenetian
left thigh, or the way in which the neckline of his Chapel of the Sacramentin the SixteenthCentury (New York/Lon-
gown gaps at the top to form one vertical fold. In don, 1979) pp. 26-65, 144-163.

105
 there is no certainty that Soldani ever saw this work,
the way in which a youthful, athletic angel is shown,
one muscular arm left undraped as if to emphasize
its physical function, is similar in both. Parallels be-
tween the two stories, literary as well as visual, have
been drawn before: St. Francis on Monte La Verna as
imitatorChristion the Mount of Olives.29Caravaggio's
composition differs from Soldani's in his invention of
the scene of St. Francis supported by a single angel.
Pamela Askew proposes that it was in the circle of
Annibale Carracci in Rome that the theme of St.
Francis supported by two angels of human scale was
adopted and developed.30 The fact that representa-
tions of the Agony in the Garden with two adult an-
gels flanking Christ are extremely rare indicates that
Soldani's composition is an outgrowth of this Francis-
can tradition.

29. Ibid., p. 293, and de Sales,TraitS,I, pp. 293-295. See also

L. Reau, Iconographie de l'artchretien(Paris, 1955-59) III:1, p.
527.
30. Askew, "Angelic Consolation,"p. 296; an example by
GiovanFrancescoGessican be seen in the Pinacoteca,Bologna.
According to Askew,Caravaggio'sHartford St. Francisspecifi-
cally recallsVeronese'sAgonyin theGardenin the Pinacotecadi
Brera, Milan,in which Christis shown receivingphysicalsup-
port from one angel of human scale. Conversely,I could find
no scenes of the Agony in the Gardenin which Christis shown
flanked by two angels, with the exception of FrancescoTrevi-
9. Pietro da Cortona (1596-1669), Pieti, 1635. Fresco. sani'slunette in S. Silvestroin Capite in Rome (see Figure 11),
Vatican Palace, altar of the Chapel of Urban VIII the painting attributed to Carlo Marattain Burghley House,
(photo: Vatican Museums) England,and Soldani'sterracotta;thus, these scenes seem to be
a retranslationof the two-angelEcstasycomposition,developed
in the Carraccicircle, back into a scene of the Agony in the
10. Alessandro Algardi (1598-1654), The Beheading of Garden.
St. Paul, 1648. Bronze relief, diam. 19/4 in. (49 cm.).
Bologna, S. Paolo Maggiore (photo: Villani, Bo-
logna)

io6
11. Francesco Trevisani (1656-1746), TheAgonyin the
Garden, 1695-96. Oil on canvas, approx. 845/8 x sani's in all the particulars. Both follow the "St. Fran-
1337/8 in. (215 x 340 cm.). Rome, S. Silvestro in cis tradition" described above by depicting the re-
Capite, CrucifixionChapel (photo: IstitutoCentrale clining Christ flanked by two angels of human scale
per il Catologo e la Documentazione,Rome) instead of the one mentioned in the Gospel of Luke;
I could find no earlier scenes of the Agony in the
Soldani spent four years in Rome as a student Garden where this was the case. The disposition of
(1678-82) and could well have been influenced by the angels in relation to the body of Christ is similar,
work done there earlier in the century. The Christ as is the fact that both adult and child angels are
from Pietro da Cortona's Piet&in the chapel of Urban present. A strong diagonal running from the upper
VIII in the Vatican (Figure 9) is a very compelling left through the outstretched arm of the angel and
source for the facial type of Soldani's Christ, with his down through Christ'slimply hanging left arm to the
heavy-lidded eyes, sharply contoured nose seen in bottom right side of the composition is a feature of
profile, and stringy strands of hair that fall across his both. In addition, both representations locate a
neck, while the snub-nosed little faces of the putti are smaller, secondary scene in the background at the
pure Algardi. And it was surely Algardi's Beheading bottom right: in Soldani's work the sleeping apostles
of St. Paul for Bologna (Figure lo) that provided and in Trevisani's the arrival of the guards to arrest
the model for Soldani's low-relief treatment of the Christ. The putto in the relief who holds the cloth
landscape and trees, as well as for the characteristic with the symbols of the Passion recalls the flying putti
physiognomy of the bearded apostles in the back-
ground.3'
The one work, however, which is closest to Sol-
31. Terracottaand gesso modellifrom Algardi'sstudio passed
dani's in both composition and mood and which can via ErcoleFerratainto the FlorentineAcademyin Rome, where
thus be singled out as the prototype for the relief is they were used as teachingtools for severalgenerationsof stu-
Francesco Trevisani'soil painting of the Agony in the dents, Soldaniamong them; in fact, GrandDuke Cosimo III is
Garden executed in 1695-96 for a lunette in the documentedas havingsingled out Algardi'sBeheading of St.Paul
could follow
as the best example that these sculptors-in-training
Crucifixion Chapel of S. Silvestro in Capite in Rome for the techniqueof low relief (Lankheit,Barockplastik,
doc. 212,
(Figure 11). Soldani's composition conforms to Trevi- p. 263).

107
with Passion symbols painted in the pendentives of dellofor the Agonyin theGarden,formerly in Dresden,
Trevisani'schapel. which was so close in composition to Soldani's relief.
That Soldani knew this work is not at issue. All of Differences between the two compositions prob-
Rome knew it: the Avvisodi Romaof January 5, 1697, ably derive from differences in function. Trevisani's
records that Trevisani'sCrucifixion Chapel was much Agonyin theGardenfor S. Silvestro in Capite is part of
admired by the citizens of Rome, who crowded in to a series of five large-scale Passion scenes and, as such,
see it when it was unveiled.32 In addition, Trevisani is organized so that it helps to advance the narrative
made several studies and drawings for his Agony in as one looks from scene to scene around the chapel
the Garden.These include a modelloformerly in Dres- walls. Despite the quiet mood of the lunette, there is
den, which, because of the greater emphasis on the action indicated by the glance the two angels ex-
landscape to the right, was perhaps closest to Sol- change, and by the way in which the angel on the left
dani's relief; a bozzettoin Marseilles; and a drawing gestures excitedly as if to alert the other to the fact
after the composition now in Diisseldorf.33 These that the guards of the Sanhedrin are fast approach-
sketches further record what was, for Roman paint- ing. This contrasts with what can only be called the
ing at this time, a very modern composition. With the non-narrative quality of Soldani's small relief; the
Agony in the Garden the artist disassociated himself scene seems frozen in time. This may well reflect
from the charged emotionalism and epic seriousness the private devotional purpose for which the relief
of his own century and anticipated instead the gen- would have been intended. As an aid to prayer, Sol-
tler, more empathetic vision of the eighteenth cen- dani's scene would be ideal, providing as it does a
tury.34Trevisani's Christ is not a character in an neutral starting point for the worshiper's meditations
evolving drama but is presented at the very moment on the life and death of Christ.
he embraces the inevitability of his Crucifixion. Static The specific iconography of the piece indicates a
and sculptural, his languid pose is modeled on that further meaning. Montagu notes that the cloth held
of the Pieta; in this way acceptance of death is pre- by the putti suggests a connection with a confrater-
sented in the guise of death itself. nity of the Passion,36but she does not pursue this
The fact that Soldani looked to Trevisani for a vi- thought. A possible candidate for such a confrater-
sual source is not in itself unusual. The two artists nity in Florence would be the Oratorio della Medita-
were contemporaries, Trevisani leaving Venice to zione della Passione di Nostro Signore Gesui Cristo,
come to Rome in 1678, the year of Soldani's arrival founded at the end of the sixteenth century in the
in the city. (They may even have known each other as
students there.) The very lack of a strongly innova-
tive visual tradition in Florence for representing the
32. F. R. DiFederico, "Studies in the Art of Francesco Trevi-
Agony in the Garden, coupled with the fact that sani: A Contribution to the History of Roman Painting," Ph.D.
Northern examples are so plentiful, would have diss. (New York University, 1970) I, p. 149.
made the north of Italy a logical place to turn. A spe- 33. Ibid., II, figs. 146, 149; the drawing in the Kunstmu-
cifically Venetian source for Soldani's work is consis- seum, Diisseldorf (FP 10030), is by a follower of Trevisani.
tent with the high regard shown for Venetian art by 34. F. R. DiFederico, Francesco Trevisani-Eighteenth-Century
Painter in Rome (Washington, D.C., 1977) pp. 14-16. DiFederico
certain members of the Medici court. Prince Ferdi- sees Trevisani's Agony lunette as a visualization of the ideals of
nando, an important patron for Soldani, was en- the classicizing, anti-Baroque Accademia degli Arcadi, a literary
amored of Venice and what he called the "gran movement in Rome to which Trevisani belonged. Soldani him-
self had some contact with Arcadian ideas during the period
gusto" of Venetian art. He was especially fond of the
Feb.-Aug. 1681, when he is documented as having worked for
paintings of the Venetian cinquecento, but he is also Queen Christina of Sweden in Rome (Lankheit, Barockplastik,
documented as having owned a modelloof Trevisani's docs. 167-179, pp. 259-261); the queen's Accademia Reale was
Banquetof Antonyand Cleopatra,painted for Cardinal the literary group upon which the later Accademia d'Arcadia
Fabrizio Spada-Varallo.35 In light of the prince's was modeled.
35. F. Haskell, Patrons and Painters: A Study in the Relations
avowed passion for collecting modelli of pictures BetweenItalian Art and Societyin the Age of the Baroque (London,
painted for other patrons, it would be interesting to 1963) p. 233, n. 1.
know more about the early history of Trevisani'smo- 36. Twilightof the Medici, p. 102.

io8
wake of the Counter-Reformation by members of the Cosimo III, Soldani's patron. And while there is no
Florentine nobility. Of the almost one hundred con- published document linking Soldani's relief to any
fraternal orders mentioned by Ronald Weissman,37 specific confraternity, its iconography is certainly in
many of which are dedicated to the Blessed Sacra- keeping with the documented aims and philosophy
ment, only this one makes specific reference to the of the Oratorio.
meditation on Christ's Passion. The 1590 Capitoliof Dating of Soldani's Agony in the Garden is some-
the order stress the hierarchical obedience, both to thing of an open question. The tendency has been to
God and to one's earthly superiors, which according date it fairly early. Lankheit perceives a similarity in
to Weissman was central to the nature of ritual expe- style between the terracotta and the Munich Pietd of
rience in post-Tridentine confraternities. Chapter o1 1691-95 (Figure 12); he also sees the Agonyas one of
of the Capitolidefines disobedience as the worst sin, a series of four Passion scenes of similar size known
the sin that is at the root of all others. Conversely, today from wax models in the Museo delle Porcel-
obedience is the greatest virtue, and no other stands lane.41In his opinion, all these works share a certain
us in such good stead "when we negotiate with God spacelessness and awkwardness of composition, and
about our deeds."38God uses neither humility, chas- thus belong to Soldani's early period. Montagu fol-
tity, patience, nor abstinence as a test of human lows Lankheit in noting the remarkable consistency
worth but only obedience. This, of course, is the of Soldani's physical types and formal vocabulary
main thrust of the visual message inherent in Sol- throughout his career. She justifies her date of about
dani's relief: Christ's obedient acceptance of the bit- 1695-1708 by stating that it would be hard to imag-
ter cup offered to him by his Father'sangelic messen- ine the piece as earlier than the Peace andJustice for
gers. There is no room for negotiation in the statutes the prince of Liechtenstein or as later than the Four
published by the Oratorio, nor does Soldani's Christ Seasonsreliefs.42
negotiate with the Father concerning his imminent Neither theory is wholly convincing. Lankheit
death: "nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt" seems to confuse similarities of subject matter and
(Matt. 26:39).39 function with similarities of style. Both the Munich
Obedience to a higher authority could also mean, Pietd and the Agony in the Gardenare devotional in
in a political sense, obedience to the ruling power. purpose; in addition, they are similar in size and
The Medici began to patronize local confraternities theme, the Pietd being iconographically and compo-
as early as the end of the fifteenth century when they sitionally related to the Agony in the Gardenfor rea-
came to view them not as threats to the civic order sons already discussed. There is even a certain re-
but as potential sources of political support for the semblance in the way in which the angel on the right
Medici regime. The family also supported the con- supports the swooning figure in each. For me, the
fraternities' shift in the sixteenth century from pub-
lic ceremonies to a more private type of devotion
37. R. F. E. Weissman, Ritual Brotherhoodin RenaissanceFlor-
that put a renewed emphasis on the celebration ence (New York, 1982) pp. 237-241. The Florentine Archivio di
of the Mass. Communion became the central rite of Stato contains chapter books of the order dating from 1590 to
the confraternities: the brothers of the Oratorio 1748.
38. Capitoli 793, chap. o1, fol. lr/v. Reprinted in part in
accepted as members only those applicants who Weissman, Ritual Brotherhood,p. 219.
had taken communion regularly for the past six 39. Heb. 5:7-8 also stresses Christ's obedience to his Father's
months.40 will at Gethsemane: "in the days of his flesh, when he had of-
This emphasis on the body and blood of Christ is fered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears
unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard
surely intentional in the central placement of the in that he feared; Though he were a Son, yet learned he obe-
Lord's body and the emphasis given to the chalice in dience by the things which he suffered."
Ligozzi's 1608 painting, which, because of its date, 40. Weissman, Ritual Brotherhood,p. 224; see also pp. 229-
can be taken as a visualization of post-Counter- 235 for a discussion of the Quarantore, or Forty Hours, a re-
lated eucharistic devotion that became popular in the mid-16th
Reformation eucharistic piety. There is every indica-
century and was heavily supported by the Medici.
tion that personal devotion to the Eucharist and to 41. Lankheit, Barockplastik,pp. 135-136.
the Holy Office was strengthened under the pious 42. Montagu, Twilightof the Medici, p. 102.

log
similarities end there; furthermore, they are out- ony in the Garden,however, the main group of figures
weighed by quite noticeable differences between the is located farther towards the center of the relief and
two reliefs. the landscape forms a rocky platform for them to
The Pietd is organized with the emphasis on the rest upon; compare this to the way in which the bed
horizontal and all the figures are located in the bot- is used in the 1720 relief of the Death of St. Joseph
tom half of the field. The Agony features several (Figure 13). The unresolved treatment of Christ'sleg
roughly triangular groups of figures placed at diago- noticed by Lankheit in the Pietd is not present in the
nals to one another; this is also a characteristicof the similar treatment of the reclining figure in the Agony;
1729 relief for the Vilhena monument in Malta.43 moreover, there is an almost rhetorical presentation
The treatment of the leafy branches of the trees is of the story in the Pietd that recalls the dramatic ges-
different in each; both the trees and the awkward tures and episodic narrative style of the Sansedoni
way in which the tomb is located in space in the Pietd reliefs in Siena of about 1692-1700.45 This is in di-
are similar to the way in which the trees and the rect contrast to the dreamy, self-contained quality of
temple are handled in the 1694 bronze relief for the the terracotta.
prince of Liechtenstein.44Soldani's habit of putting a Lankheit's theory that the Agony in the Garden is
kind of still-life arrangement of objects in the fore- part of a Passion cycle represented by the reliefs
ground is typical of his early reliefs and is a feature in the Museo delle Porcellane is even more difficult
of both the Pietd and the TruthandJustice.In the Ag- to sustain. He is correct in pointing out that the four
wax models are of similar size (roughly 64 by 44 cen-
timeters) and that the "Cristo nel orto" is listed di-
12. Soldani, Pietd, 1691-95. Bronze relief, 221/4 x 14/8 rectly after the "Flagellazione alla colonna" on page
in. (56.5 x 37 cm.). Munich, BayerischesNational- 38 of the Ginori inventory of about 1780.46 These
museum (photo: BayerischesNationalmuseum) two reliefs share at least a superficial similarity in the
positioning of the raised right arm and draped right
leg of the figure on the extreme left of each-the an-
gel in the Agony, the soldier in the Flagellation(com-
pare Figures 4 and 14). Lankheit relates all four re-
liefs to the pictorial style of Pietro da Cortona and to
the relief style of Gian Battista Foggini. Actually, the
Flagellation,the Crowningwith Thorns,and the Carry-
ing of the Crossin the series of wax reliefs resemble
more closely Giambologna's 1584 bronze reliefs for
the Grimaldi Chapel in Genoa,47both in the treat-
ment of the architecture with its characteristic cren-
ellations and oculus windows and in the way in which
small-scale figures located on ledges, parapets, or be-
hind columns are cast as onlookers in the scenes. Sol-
dani could have studied the original reliefs during
his trip to Genoa in 1699 for work in S. Maria del
Carignano, or closer to home, the copies in Santis-
sima Annunziata in Florence. Further stylistic simi-

43. Lankheit, Barockplastik,fig. 102.

44. Ibid., fig. 93.
45. Ibid., figs. 38-43.
46. Published by Lankheit, Doccia, nos. 101, 102, pls. 63 and
62, along with the Crowningwith Thorns (no. 78, pl. 64) and the
Carryingof the Crossto Calvary (no. 8o, pl. 65).
47. See Giambologna 1529-I608: Sculptor to the Medici, exh.
cat. (Edinburgh/London/Vienna, 1978) figs. 122-127.

-
 ;u

13. Soldani, The Death of St. Joseph, ca. 1720. Bronze re- 14. Soldani, The Flagellation of Christ,ca. 1700. Wax cast,
lief, 25/2 x 171/4in. (65 x 44 cm.). Florence, Mu- 25'/4 X 17/4 in. (64 x 44 cm.). Sesto Fiorentino,
seo Nazionale del Bargello (photo: Soprintendenza, Museo delle Porcellane di Doccia (photo: Kunst-
Florence) historischesInstitut, Florence)

larities between Soldani's three Passion scenes and his is not upheld by stylistic comparison. She rightly ob-
Sansedoni reliefs for Siena would make a date of serves that the Agony in the Gardenis not contempo-
around 1700 seem reasonable for the wax reliefs. rary with the Four Seasonsreliefs and is not of the pe-
Their complex figure groupings and almost violent riod 1708-11; however, in spite of what she terms
pictorial style are, in fact, not at all typical of the re- the artist's "remarkablyconstant" formal vocabulary,
fined, medallic relief style usually adopted by the art- Soldani continued to experiment and change during
ist and certainly have nothing in common with the the remaining twenty-five years of his career.
Agony in the Garden. Furthermore, the inclusion of What is apparent to me is the move away from the
the clearly symbolic group of putti in the lower right- crowded and more spatially complicated composi-
hand corner of the terracotta should be indication tions of Soldani's middle period, characterized by the
enough that this relief was not meant to be part of a Bacchus relief (1697)48 and the Four Seasons, towards
narrative cycle.
Similarly, Montagu's theory that the work could
not have been executed after the Four Seasonsreliefs 48. Lankheit,Barockplastik,
fig. 104.

111
15. Soldani, ChristMourned by the Virginand an Angel, ca.
1715. Bronze, H. excl. base 197/8 in. (50.5 cm.). Bal-
timore, The Walters Art Gallery (photo: Walters Art
Gallery)

112
 a reductive style of almost classical restraint. This
is true for the reliefs as well as for the three-
dimensional bronzes. The Walters Art Gallery Christ
Mourned by the Virgin and an Angel of 1715 (Figure 15)
beautifully combines the exquisite chasing and sur-
face treatment of Soldani the medalist with the tab-
leaulike three-figure grouping of Soldani the emerg-
ing classicist. Notable is his emphasis on symbolic
gesture: the diagonal movement from left to right al-
lows the eye to rest for a moment on the cup held by
the angel in the Agonyin the Gardenand on the crown
of thorns held between the angel and the Virgin in
the bronze. In a similar manner Soldani highlights
the knife once brandished by Jephthah in the Sacri-
fice of Jephthah'sDaughter in the Metropolitan Mu-
seum, one of a series of twelve bronze groups made
for Electress Palatine Anna Maria Luisa in 1722.49
These inanimate objects, like props in a stage play,
are necessary elements in the drama.50
The stepped-back platform of the rocky ledge in
the Agonyin the Gardenis the stage on which the ac-
tion takes place, just as the raised bed in Soldani's
Deathof St.Joseph(Figure 13) provides the setting for
a comparable cast of characters. It is perhaps the
similarity to this relief, dated by Lankheit to 1720, 16. Soldani, The Magdalene and an Angel, detail of The
that makes the strongest case for a later date for the Gesso, overall 707/8 x 211/4 in.
Crucifixion, 1710-20.
-Agony terracotta. In both, pictorial values are sup- (180 x 54 cm.). Pistoia, Convent of S. Maria degli
pressed in favor of sculptural ones. The figures are Angeli (photo: Soprintendenza, Florence)
arranged parallel to the relief plane, and there is
very little integration between background and fore-
ground, giving the impression that even if the back- 49. For the bronzessee S. Casciu,"Dueepisodi della scultura
drop against which the central figures are seen were fiorentinadel settecento nel mecenatismodi Anna MariaLuisa
to be removed, they could exist without it, in isola- de' Medici,"Paragone435 (1986) pp. 83-100, includingSoldani's
tion. For this reason the terracotta relief merits com- receipt of payment for Jephthah'sDaughter, Dec. 29, 1722, doc.
5, p. 97; 0. Raggioin The MetropolitanMuseumof Art, Recent
parison with the documented series of bronze groups Acquisitions:A Selection1985-I986 (New York, 1986) pp. 22-23;
for the electress palatine mentioned above, as well as
J. Montagu,"The Bronze Groups Made for the ElectressPala-
with the three-dimensional gesso group of the Cruci- tine," in Kunst des Barock in der Toskana;pp. 126-136; and K.
fixion with the Magdaleneand an Angel (Figure 16) for Lankheit,"TwoBronzesby MassimilianoSoldaniBenzi,"Journal
the Benedictine convent of S. Maria degli Angeli at of the WaltersArt Gallery 19 (1956) pp. 9-17, figs. 1, 3, 5.
50. Theatrical allusions are perhaps not out of place since
Pistoia. Paolucci was the first to notice similarities of the stage might have had some influence on how these little
style between this impressive group and the Agonyin scenarioswere conceived;it certainlyseems to have had an in-
the Garden,on the basis of which he dates both to the fluence on how they were displayed.One of the few instances
in which the original 18th-centurysetting has survived is the
second decade of the eighteenth century.5' A date
elegant carvedand gilded wooden "shadowbox"that houses the
just preceding 1720 seems to me justified for Sol- Piet&group in the Villa La Quiete in Florence(see A. Paolucci,
dani's terracotta relief of the Agony in the Garden. "Contributiper la sculturafiorentinadel Settecento,"Paragone
The profundity of religious feeling of these late 339 [1978] fig. 36), a constructionwhich gives the effect of a
works is a telling reminder of those devotional exer- miniaturestage set.
51. Ibid., p. 70. Most recent publicationof the piece is La
cises fostered by the Medici throughout settecento Maddalena tra sacro e profano, exh. cat. (Florence, 1986) pp. 113-
Tuscany. 114, no. 34.

113
 Five Scenes from a Romance:
The Identification of a

Printed
Nineteenth-Century Cotton

LOURDES M. FONT

"FIVE SCENES FROM A ROMANCE" is the title given tries centered at Nantes and Mulhouse.' The Ladyof
to two printed cottons in the Metropolitan Museum's the Lake cotton was probably inspired by Rossini's
collection, attributed to Alsace and believed to date highly successful four-act opera La donna del lago,
from about 1830. They are two versions of the same which premiered in Naples in September 1819 and
engraved copper roller, both printed in purple, one was first given in Paris in 1824. The opera was in
on a white ground (Figure 1), the other (Figure 2) turn based on Sir Walter Scott's narrative poem, orig-
overprinted in mustard with discharge or resist- inally published in 1810. The popularity of Scottish
treated areas in white for a three-color effect. The scenes during the period 1810-30 was pervasive in
engraved design consists of two registers, one with the arts, and a search for any one manifestation of
two scenes, the other with three. The monochrome this taste involves a very wide field, but undoubtedly
version, although it is faded in some parts, is the the most influential source for Scottish scenes in the-
sharper and more complete of the two. It is com- atre and art was the work of Sir Walter Scott.
posed of three pieces that have been darned together When Scott first visited Paris in 1815, he had no
for a combined length of 7 feet 9 inches, and it is of
full loom width (32/2 inches). The second example,
1. The Marie Stuart cotton is signed by the designer Samuel
which is 225/8 inches long by 27/4 inches wide, must Cholet (1786-1874), who is known to have worked in Nantes
have had slightly over 21/4 inches cut off on either until 1836. The source for these scenes could have been any one
side; it shows a single repeat, with the two-scene reg- of a number of literary, theatrical, and operatic treatments of
the queen's life. For a complete account of possible sources see
ister at the bottom. This three-color version, in which
Musee de l'Impression sur Etoffes de Mulhouse, Toilesde Nantes
some figures and details of costume and landscape des XVIIIe et XIXe sibcles,exh. cat. (Mulhouse, 1978) p. 86, no.
are veiled in white, is especially intriguing not only 62, printed by Favre, Petitpierre et Cie. The Metropolitan Mu-
because of its technique, which at this date may have seum also owns a fragment of the Marie Stuart repeat (acc. no.
been experimental, but for the seemingly whimsical 25.55.5), consisting of one scene illustrating the queen's depar-
ture from Scotland, which is signed by Marius Rollet and is at-
way in which the technique was employed. The more tributed to Alsace. A third variant of the Marie Stuart cotton,
immediate puzzle, however, is the subject of the de- printed by Lecoq Le Jeune et Fils at Bolbec in Normandy, is no.
sign. 249 in Bibliotheque Forney, Toiles Imprimeesdes XVIIIe et XIXe
siecles(Paris, 1982) p. 93. Samuel Cholet's signature also appears
These cottons are part of a group of French pic-
on another example of a Lady of the Lake cotton, from the
torial prints from the first third of the nineteenth Nantes firm of Favre, Petitpierre et Cie (Mus&ede l'Impression
century featuring figures in Scottish dress, but their sur Etoffes, Toilesde Nantes, p. 84, no. 6o). A panoramic wallpa-
subject has been more difficult to identify than that per of the same subject, probably designed by Jean-Michel Gue
of others in the Museum's collection, such as Marie (1789-1843), was produced in 1827 by the firm of Zuber et Cie
at Rixheim (Bernard Jacque, "Les Papiers peints panoramiques
Stuart (Figure 3) or The Lady of the Lake (Figure 4), de Jean Zuber et Cie au XIXe sicle," Bulletin de la SocieteIndus-
both signed examples from the rival printing indus- triellede Mulhouse 2 [Mulhouse, 1984] p. 91).

115

0 The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1987

METROPOLITAN
MUSEUM 22
JOURNAL

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve, and extend access to
Metropolitan Museum Journal ®
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7. X 1 m
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'~k~~-.?JA _Ji Na
1. "Five Scenes from a Romance," French (Alsace), ca. great literary reputation. His first novel, Waverley,
1830. Cotton, engraved copper roller print, purple had been published anonymously a year earlier and
on white; overall, 7 ft. 9 in. x 321/2 in. (236.2 X had not yet appeared in French. By 1822, however,
82.6 cm.); repeat, 221/2 in. (57.2 cm.). The Metro- all of Scott's major works were known in France. In
politan Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harcourt the same year he acquired a new French publisher,
Amory, 63.181.2
Charles Gosselin, who proceeded to reissue the nov-
els in new and vastly improved translations.2 It has

2. Scott'snovelsin order of their appearancein Frenchtrans-

lation, 1816-22: Guy Mannering, 1816; Les Puritains d'Ecosse
(Old Mortality) and Le Nain mysterieux(The Black Dwarf), 1817;
L'Antiquaire, 1817; Rob Roy, 1818; Waverley, 1818; La Prison
d'Edimbourg(The Heart of Midlothian), 1818 (at this point the
rights to publish Scott in France rested with the publisher Ni-
colle. La Prison d'Edimbourgwas the first novel to bear Scott's
name as author, on either side of the Channel. All previous edi-
tions were published as "by the author of Waverley,"itself pub-
2. "Five Scenes from a Romance," French (Alsace), ca. lished anonymously); L'Officierde fortune, 1819; La Fiancee de
1830. Cotton, engraved copper roller print, pur- Lammermoor,1819; Ivanhoe, 1820; Le Monastere, 1820 (this title,
ple on white, overprinted with mustard, discharge Nicolle announced, was the first novel in his projected collected
or resist-treatment in white; 225/8 X 273/4 in. edition of Scott); L'Abbe,billed by Nicolle as a sequel to Le Mo-
(57.5 X 70.5 cm.); repeat, 221/2 in. (57.2 cm.). The nastere, 1820; Kenilworth, 1821. The Gosselin editions all bore
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund,
13.133.26

117
 3. Marie Stuart, French (Nantes), ca. 1830; signed S. 4. The Lady of the Lake (La donna del lago), French (Al-
Cholet on stone below scene illustrating the queen's sace), ca. 1820; signed G. MerklenMulhouse on stone
flight from Scotland. Cotton, engraved copper parapet, center of upper register. Cotton, engraved
roller print, red on white; repeat, 36'/2 in. (92 cm.). copper roller print, purple on white; repeat, 34 in.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Anonymous (86.4 cm.). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rog-
Gift, 34.96 ers Fund, 62.110

been estimated that Gosselin sold over 1,400,000 vol-

the date 1822, beginning with Waverleyand GuyMannering. Gos-
umes of his four-volume editions by 1832, while a
selin publishedScott'ssubsequentworkswithina few monthsof
new, illustrated edition had already begun to appear.3 their original appearance in Edinburgh. For detailed biblio-
The decade between these two editions corresponds graphicinformationsee E. PrestonDargan,"AListof the First
to the height of Scott's popularity in France. The French Translationsof the WaverleyNovels" (appendix) in
"Scott and the French Romantics," Publications of the Modern
novels enjoyed a wide readership as well as the admi-
Language Association49 (1934) p. 627.
ration of French writers and critics. Alexandre Du- 3. The 32-volume edition of the collected works,illustrated
mas, then a young, aspiring novelist, said in 1822: by the Johannot brothers, was published by Furet, 1830-33.
"Walter Scott is the reigning monarch in London and Out of approximately220 novels publishedin Francein 1830,
Paris."4 Scott became the favorite author of fashion- 111 were by English authors, and 82 of these were by Scott.
Beth Segal Wright,"Scott'sHistoricalNovels and French His-
able young women, who admired his heroines Alice torical Painting 1815-1855," Art Bulletin 63 (1981) p. 271.
Lee, Diana Vernon, and Flora Maclvor, and longed 4. F. W M. Draper, The Rise and Fall of the Romantic Drama
to emulate them. In his memoirs, Armand de Pont- (London, 1923) p. 12.
5. Armand de Pontmartin, Mes Memoires:Enfance etjeunesse
martin recalled the words of a girl at a ball in 1832:
(Paris, 1833) p. 284. "Toquesa la Marie Stuart"and "fichus
"Oh! to be Diana Vernon for a fortnight, and then Dame blanche"are also cited by Louis Maigron,Le Romantisme
die!"5 The influence of "la mode ecossaise" extended et la mode(Paris,191 ) p. 1.

i18
to dressing children in kilts, to "challes Lammer-
moor,"and to "toiles Diane Vernon."
Scott's influence on art during this period was no
less evident. Paintings derived from the Waverleynov-
els first appeared in England in 1816, and were at
their most numerous at the Royal Academy exhibi-
tions in the late 182os.6 An early example of a Scott
subject in French painting is Horace Vernet's por-
trayal of Allan MacAulay (Figure 5), a character in
Scott's A Legend of Montrose.A major picture by an
established artist, this image of the Highlander was
praised for its local color at the Salon of 1824, and
served as a model for other painters and Scott illus-
trators.7Seven years later, at the Salon of 1831, over
thirty pictures were derived from the Waverleynovels,
including Delacroix's Murder of the Bishop of Liege.
Subjects "a la Walter Scott" included: Le Preten-
dant sauve par Miss MacDonald,Marie Stuart quittant
l'Ecosse,La Mort de Julien d'Avenel,La Mort de l'espion
Morris,and AmyRobsart.9
In the theatre, "la mode ecossaise" coincided with
the development of the popular boulevard genres of
melodrama and comic opera. The first comic opera
with a Scottish setting was Charles-Simon Catel'sWal-
lace, ou le menestrelecossais, which opened at the
Opera-Comique on March 24, 1817.10 As soon as
Scott's novels began to appear in French, they were 5. Horace Vernet (1789-1863), Allan MacAulay, 1823.
raided for plots, characters, and settings. La Sorciere, London, The Wallace Collection (photo: repro-
ou l'orphelinecossaisby Victor J. H. Brahain-Ducange duced by permission of the Trustees, The Wallace
and Frederic Dupetit-Mere, based on GuyMannering, Collection)
was one of the first plays to exploit the Walter Scott
craze, opening at the Theatre de la Gaite on May 3,
1821.11 In 1822, the year of Gosselin's first edition of nal des Debats announced: "Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, and
Scott, Le Chdteaude Kenilworthby Eugene de Boirie, the Abbot are about to appear very shortly on the
Henri Lemaire, and Dupetit-Mere opened at the boulevard."12 Meanwhile, the Opera-Comique was
Theatre de la Porte St.-Martin. In its review, theJour- rehearsing another version of Kenilworth, with music

6. Catherine Gordon, "The Illustrationof Sir WalterScott: 8. Theodore Aynard, Salonsd'autrefois

(Paris,n.d.), cited by
Nineteenth-CenturyEnthusiasmand Adaptation,"Journal of the Draper,TheRiseandFallof theRomantic Drama,p. 12.
Warburg andCourtauld Institutes34 (1971) p. 307. GuyMannering 9. Theophile Gautier,Histoiredu romantisme
(Paris, 1877) p.
was the first of Scott'snovels to supply the subjectof a picture: 194.
portraitsof Meg Merrilieswere shown at the Royal Academy o1. RichardAltick,PaintingsfromBooks:Artand Literature in
exhibition of 1816-18. Within a few years Scott-relatedpaint- Britain, i760-I900 (Columbus, Ohio, 1985) p. 427. Wallacewas
ings were so numerous as to qualify as a separate genre alto- the last success of Catel (1773-1830). The librettowas by J. V.
gether. Between 1805 and 1870, 300 painters exhibited over Fontanesde St.-Marcellin.
l,ooo Scott picturesat the RoyalAcademy(Gordon,"The Illus- 11. Henry AdelbertWhite,Sir WalterScott's Novelson theStage
trationof Sir WalterScott,"p. 297). (New Haven, 1927) pp. 31-32.
7. Wright, "Scott'sHistorical Novels and French Historical 12. Draper,TheRiseandFall of theRomanticDrama,p. 28. Le
Painting,"p. 274. Allan MacAulaywas purchased by the duc Chdteaude Loch-Leven, ou l'Evasionde MarieStuart,a tragedyby
d'Orleans,and is now in the WallaceCollection. Rene-Charles Guilbert de Pixerecourt based on The Abbot,
playedat the Theatre de la Gaite in 1822.

119
by Daniel F. E. Auber and a libretto by Eugene Scribe was finished, it was approved, copied, and rehearsed
and Alexandre M6elsville, which premiered in Janu- within twenty-eight days.21
ary 1823.'3 The following year the first Paris produc- The completed libretto was a seamless union of
tion of Rossini'sLa donna del lago opened, and Scott's three complex plots. From Guy Mannering, Scribe
conquest of the French stage seemed complete.14 borrowed the theme of the return of the long-lost
From the Opera to the Theatre du Gymnase, which heir, and from TheMonasteryhe took the White Lady
staged a one-act vaudeville titled Les Femmesroman- of his title. The elements of disguise and conspiracy
tiquesdrawn from several of the novels, Parisian au- were drawn from The Abbot,and all the atmospheric
diences could indulge their taste for Sir Walter ingredients of the Waverleynovels-the Highland
Scott.'5 Outside of Paris, touring companies brought costumes, mountain landscapes, Gothic ruins, secret
the most successful productions to the principal pro- passageways, and mysterious apparitions-were
vincial cities. thrown in for good measure. Boieldieu made an ef-
It was in this atmosphere that a new work titled La fort to reflect the Scottish setting musically as well.
Dame Blanche, a blend of plots from three of the Theodore Labarre, one of his students at the Con-
Waverleynovels, opened at the Theatre de l'Opera- servatory, had visited Britain several times and was
Comique on December o1, 1825, and became an im- able to contribute some Scottish themes, including
mediate success. La DameBlanche,however, with mu- the popular tune "Robin Adair."22Another student,
sic by Franqois-Adrien Boieldieu and a libretto by Adolphe Adam, helped to complete the overture in
Eugene Scribe, was not just another adaptation of Sir time for the premiere.23As for the staging, the scen-
Walter Scott; it was an important work in its own ery and costumes were probably recycled from the
right, one that stretched the boundaries of the comic- Opera-Comique's 1823 production of Le Chateaude
opera genre and created a sensation among audi- Kenilworthby Auber, Scribe, and Melesville.24
ences and critics.16
The librettist and the composer had, in fact, both
spent years working on the project. Eugene Scribe 13. Eric Partridge, The FrenchRomantics'Knowledgeof English
Literature,1820-1848 (New York, 1968) p. 225.
(1791-1861) was already an enormously successful 14. Karin Pendle, Eugene Scribe and the French Opera of the
playwright, known as a superb craftsman of the the- NineteenthCentury(Ann Arbor, 1979) p. 278.
atre, a master of plot techniques.17 He also had an 15. Draper, The Rise and Fall of the RomanticDrama, p. 28.
intuitive understanding of the tastes of the boulevard 16. Neil Cole Arvin, Eugene Scribe and the French Theatre,
1815-I860 (Cambridge, Mass., 1924) pp. 17-18.
public. In 1821, he gave Boieldieu the libretto of a 17. Helene Koon and R. Switzer, Eugene Scribe(Boston, 1980)
three-act comic opera called "La Dame d'Avenel,"in- p. 17.
spired by GuyManneringand TheMonastery,with ele- 18. Pendle, Eugene Scribe and the French Opera, p. 278. This
ments of The Abbotand The Ladyof the Lake.'8Boiel- early version of the libretto also contained traces of a Gothic
novel by Desiree de Castera, Le Fant6me blanc, ou le protecteur
dieu (1775-1834) was a respected professor at the
mysterieux,first published in 181o, with a second edition in 1823.
Paris Conservatory, but his operatic successes (Le Ca- 19. It had been seven years since Boieldieu's last opera (Felix
liphe de Baghdad was the most notable) were in the Clement and Pierre Larousse, eds., Dictionnairedes operas[Paris,
past. He had spent seven years away from Paris 1969] I, p. 290).
20. Pendle, Eugene Scribe and the French Opera, p. 279. The
(1803-10), in the service of the Russian court, where opera was based on a tale told to Boieldieu by a French 6migr6
several of his comic operas were produced. Since his in St. Petersburg about a man whose paternal estate was saved
return, success on the stage had eluded him, and he by his servants, who bought and held it for him; a plan along
was burdened by teaching duties and by failing the same lines is part of the plot of La Dame Blanche.
21. Ibid., p. 279.
health.19Nevertheless, he was immediately interested 22. Ibid. Adam suggested the scene in act 3 in which the hero
in "LaDame d'Avenel,"perhaps because of its resem- recognizes and finishes a Scottish air.
blance to his own La Dame invisible,a one-act opera 23. Alfred Loewenberg, comp., Annals of Opera 1597-1940
(Totowa, N.J., 1978) pp. 698-699. The rhythmic and harmonic
performed at St. Petersburg in 1808.20 Boieldieu treatment of the Scottish airs is nevertheless characteristically
made important contributions to the development of French.
the libretto, but his poor health kept him from com- 24. Roy Morgan Longyear, "'Le livret bien fait': The Opera-
pleting the score until 1825. Once La Dame Blanche Comique Librettos of Eugene Scribe," Southern Quarterly 1

120
 A member of the audience at the premiere of La trated the structure of the first act, which begins with
Dame Blanche reported that it was "welcomed with an arrival and ends with a departure.
enthusiasm by both sexes."25There followed nearly Georges Brown, a young English officer on leave,
150 consecutive performances during i826.26 A sure finds himself at a farmhouse on the Avenel estate.32
sign of success was the overnight appearance of After his entrance song ("Ah quel plaisir d'etre sol-
several parodies.7 Scribe's libretto was published in dat!"), he meets the young farmer Dikson and his
Paris before the end of 1825, followed by Boieldieu's wife Jenny, who are celebrating the christening of
complete score early in 1826. La Dame Blanche their son with a group of friends. In a scene that
proved appealing to amateur singers, for it offered a owes little to Sir Walter Scott, the rakish Georges
variety of song forms with infectious melodies that flirts openly with Jenny. Nevertheless, he and Dikson
even untrained voices could perform, and yet it had
the dramatic qualities of grand opera.28The score's
popularity wasin turn bolstered by a touring production
of La DameBlanche,which opened a three-month cir- (1963) pp. 169-192. Longyearclaimsthat the sceneryand cos-
tumes for La Dame Blanchewere recycled from the Opera-
cuit in Boieldieu's native city of Rouen in February Comique'sproductionof Catel'sWallace(see aboveand note lo),
1826.29 Rouen was one of France's most important and therefore dated from 1817.
centers of cotton printing, in direct competition with 25. Oliver Strunk, "Musical Life in Paris, 1817-1848," Musi-
cal Quarterly17 (1931) pp. 259-271, 389-403. The diarist and
the cities of Nantes and Mulhouse, and it is conceiv-
amateur music critic Sophie Augustine Leo saw La Dame Blanche
able that the first translation of La Dame Blanche from as an entry in the battlejoined betweenFrenchand Italianmu-
the stage to the medium of printed cotton occurred sic in Paris.
there. As we have seen, it was a passage that had al- 26. Pendle, Eugene Scribeand the FrenchOpera, p. 274.
27. Les Dames a la modeby N. Gersin, N. Brazier, J.-J. Gabriel,
ready been made in 1824-25 by Rossini's La donna del and A. Voulpian,lampooningnot only La DameBlanchebut also
lago, and by many other theatrical subjects since the Rossini'sLa donnadellago,opened at the Theatre de Vaudeville
late eighteenth century.30 on Jan. 5, 1826. La Dame Jaune opened at the same theatre on
Mar. 9, 1826; La Dame Noire, ou le tambouret la grisette by C.
Honore opened in Bordeaux in Feb. 1827. Loewenberg,Annals
of Opera, pp. 698-699.
28. Clement and Larousse, eds., Dictionnaire des operas, I, p.
The designer of the Metropolitan Museum's printed 290. The published score of La Dame Blanche carried a dedica-
cottons, whether in Rouen or Alsace, selected mo- tion to the young daughter-in-lawof CharlesX, the duchesse
de Berry,an avid participantin the "mode ecossaise."In Jan.
ments from the comic opera that would be readily
1829, she held her celebrated "quadrilleMarie Stuart,"which
understood by anyone familiar with the work, either she attended dressed as the tragic Queen of Scots. The artist
as staged or from the published libretto. On one reg- and Scott illustratorEugene Lami (see note 69 below) was re-
ister (A), there are two scenes from act i, and on the sponsiblefor designing the costumes.Maigron,LeRomantisme et
la mode, pp. 6-7.
other register (B), two scenes from act 2 flank the
29. In 1826 La Dame Blanche was performed in Liege, Brus-
central scene from act 3. sels, Vienna, Berlin, London (translatedas TheWhiteLadyby S.
The setting of the first act is described in Scribe's Beazley), and Copenhagen. Produced repeatedly and all over
libretto as "the interior of a Scottish farm; the back, Europe in the late 182os and 183os, it even reached New York
which is open, allows a picturesque setting to be seen, (where it premiered Aug. io, 1827) and Rio de Janeiro (in
1846). See Loewenberg,Annalsof Opera,pp. 698-699.
of trees, boulders, and a road which descends the 30. One of the earliesttheatricalsubjectswasBeaumarchais's
mountain to the farm."s' In the printed cotton, the LeMariagedeFigaro.The printedcotton wasproducedby Ober-
general setting is established in the central space of kampf at Jouy in 1784, at the height of the play'ssuccess.See
Musee de l'Impression sur Etoffes, Litteratureet toiles imprimees
register A, which in the manner of a theatrical back- des XVIIIe et XIXe siecles, exh. cat. (Mulhouse, 1965) p. 23.
drop pictures the shores of a lake with mountains 31. "Letheatre represente l'interieurd'une ferme ecossaise;
and a massive stone castle in the distance. In the le fond, qui est ouvert,laissevoir un site pittoresque,des arbres,
des rochers, et une route qui descend de la montagne a la
foreground are two exterior views: a stone cottage to
ferme." Eugene Scribe, La Dame Blanche (Paris, 1825) p. 15.
the right, and the open porch of a second building
32. "IIest en vetement tres simple, et porte sur son epaule
to the left. By linking the two scenes at either side un petit paquet attacheau pommeau de son ep&e."Ibid., act 1,
with the distant view, the designer has skillfully illus- sc. 3, p. 16.

121
 -11

..- . "Ar- -.,~~~~~r

t~u
7 . . .-~~~~~~~i

6. Detail of Figure i:
La Dame Blanche,
act 1, scene 5

soon become fast friends. Georges relates that he to flee to France a dozen years before, where it is ru-
knows nothing of his family origins, apart from some mored that the earl died. Owing to mismanagement
confused early memories. He had been taken aboard by their steward, Gaveston, the Avenel estate is about
ship as a child by a man named Duncan and raised to to be auctioned to pay creditors, and Gaveston plans
be a sailor, but after years of ill treatment he man- to purchase the property himself and take the place
aged to escape. He then became a soldier "du roi of his former master. Dikson and his fellow farmers,
Georges" and was wounded in battle in Hanover.33 loyal to the earl and hopeful that his heir may some-
Wandering in search of shelter, he was nursed by a day return to claim the estate, are banding together
mysterious young woman, whose name he never to make a counterbid but doubt if they can raise
learned. Dikson, whose Scottish superstitions amuse enough money. Georges learns, too, of the legendary
Georges, suggests that possibly she was an incorpo- White Lady of Avenel, a spirit who for hundreds of
real being: "Maybeshe was your good angel, or some years has been the protectress of the family. When
familiar spirit, the kind we have so many of around some event of good or ill is about to befall the house
here."34 of Avenel, she is sure to appear, dressed in a long
A pivotal scene (act i, scene 5) is represented in white gown. Jenny tells the assembled group that
the printed cotton (Figure 6). It opens with Georges, their farmhand, Gabriel, has spotted the White Lady
Dikson, Jenny, and a chorus of friends singing a walking at dusk on the turrets of the ruined castle.
"morceau d'ensemble": At this news, Dikson is struck with terror, but
Georges is intrigued and amused. The design shows
Dikson:II faut rire, il faut boire
Georges at the far left, standing in front of the open
A l'hospitalite!
Georges:A l'amour, i la gloire,
Ainsi qu'a la beautY!35 33. The historical background to the plot of La Dame Blanche
is taken from GuyMannering, and the libretto states accordingly:
"La scene se passe en Ecosse, en 1759." Ibid., p. 15.
At the conclusion of the song, Georges learns the
34. "C'etait peut-etre votre bon ange, quelque demon fami-
story of the Avenels. Having taken up the Stuart lier, comme il y en a tant dans le pays." Ibid., act i, sc. 4, p. 17.
cause, the earl of Avenel and his family were forced 35. Ibid., act i, sc. 5, p. 18.

122
7-9. Fashion plates from Ackermann's Repositoryof Arts, Literature,Fashion, London, 1809-28. The Metropolitan
Museumof Art, Harris BrisbaneDick Fund, 39.38

I r?
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I Y
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7, 8. "La mode ecossaise": evening dress (1822); morning dress and child's 9. Dinner dress (1825)
Highland costume (1825)

porch with a table laden with bottles and plates in the dress from 1822 (Figure 7). Their silhouette follows
background. Jenny is at the center of the scene, sing- the fashiona ible lines of the mid-182os (Figures 6, 9).
ing the Ballad of the White Lady, which warns: The bodices s have rounded necklines, with the begin-
nings of ful llness in the upper sleeve; the waistlines
Prenez garde have descen ided almost to the natural level, and the
La dame blanche vous regarde!
riden at the hem.37 Scott described how
La dame blanche vous entend!36 f '
Highland w omen wore their plaids drawn over head
To the right of Jenny, Dikson is startled by Gabriel, and shoulde rs, but his heroines were more often por-
who rushes in to tell his master that the other farm- trayed wear ing hats.38The brimmed, ostrich-plumed
ers have come to discuss the next day's sale.
At this point, a brief word about the costumes rep-
resented may be helpful. The French image of the Iid., a :t 1, sc. 5, p. 19.
37 Figure'
37. 7, a fashion plate illustrating the "mode ecossaise"
Highlander was derived from Scott's descriptions for small boyss, resembles the Scottish dress of Vernet's Allan
and from pictures like Vernet's Allan MacAulay. In MacAulay.For additional French fashion plates ca. 1825-27 see
the printed cottons this image has been interpreted Millia Davenp)ort, The Book of Costume (New York, 1948) pp.
rather fancifully. Instead of the kilt, the Highlanders 835-837,and Stella Blum, ed., Ackermann'sCostumePlates (New
York, 1978).
wear knee-length tunics in "tartan" patterns of single 38. For porrtraitsof most of Scott's heroines see the Waverley
and double windowpane checks. "La mode ecossaise" Galleryof theJPrincipalFemale Charactersin Sir WalterScott'sRo-
had made such borrowings acceptable (Figures 7, 8). mances,a collection of prints produced during the 183os under
the supervisicon of Charles Heath (London, 1841). Several
The tartan dresses of Jenny and her friends invite
Highland wornen (e.g., Anne of Gierstein, no. 27, and Helen
comparison with the similar patterns in the Marie MacGregorfriom Rob Roy, no. 53) are shown wearing masculine
Stuart cotton (Figure 3) as well as with the evening feathered bonnets or plaids draped diagonally across the body

123
hat was a fashionable accessory for women in 1825- signer has skillfully stationed Dikson in front of a
27, one of several elements of "historical"sixteenth- massive ruined pillar, in a way that preserves both
and seventeenth-century costume that became fash- the action and the sentiment of the theatrical scene.
ionable during this period.39Jenny's long, hanging The right-hand face of the pillar is made of stone,
braids, however, appear to be a sign of rusticity. In which frames Jenny's gesture and the farmhouse in
the case of characters who are not Scottish peasants, the background, while the left-hand side is trans-
an attempt at historical costume has been made. The formed into a tree that belongs to the view of the
Waverleynovels were set in the sixteenth, seven- road behind Georges.
teenth, and eighteenth centuries. Since the libretto of Act 2 introduces Marguerite, the former servant of
La Dame Blanche states that the events take place in the Avenel family, and Anna, an orphan adopted by
Scotland in 175940and there are repeated references Lady Avenel and now Gaveston'sward. The setting is
to King George and to Hanover, the costume should a Gothic room at the castle gatehouse. Marguerite
reflect the mid-eighteenth century. But Georges has asks for news of the family, particularlyof Julien, the
the short, tousled hair of a Byronic hero and his heir to the estate. Anna tells her that Julien disap-
knee-length coat is the "doublet" of contemporary peared as a small child, and that the earl and count-
book illustration and stage practice, a conventional ess of Avenel are both dead. She herself was forced
form denoting "olden times" rather than any specific to accompany Gaveston on a trip to the Continent,
historical period. where she nursed a wounded soldier and fell in love
To return to the plot of La Dame Blanche, Dikson with him. Returning with Gaveston to Scotland, she
reveals that he himself has seen the White Lady, who never saw the soldier again. Anna opposes Gaveston's
once gave him a purse full of gold coins and now that plan to acquire the estate and is hopeful that his am-
Avenel is threatened, claims his help. He has re- bitions may yet be thwarted. The villainous Gaveston
ceived a note from her telling him to be at the castle is interrogating Anna on the whereabouts of the Av-
that evening.41 Dikson then expresses his fears in enel treasure, a fortune hidden somewhere in the
song: castle, when the tower bell signals an arrival at the
gate. After convincing Gaveston to allow the visitor
Et sije bravesa colere, to stay, Anna retires for the night, whereupon
Songe a ce que nous deviendrons, Georges enters and announces that since being in
Adieu notre fortune entidre,
Scotland he has heard of nothing but phantoms and
Adieu l'espoirde nos moissons,
Et chez moi, toutes les semaines, apparitions and that he has come seeking a tete-a-
Des lutins qu'elle aura payes tete with the White Lady.
Viendrontavec un bruit de chaines The next scene begins with Georges alone in the
La nuit me tirer par les pieds.42 dark room of the Gothic gatehouse. As he moves to
relight the fire, he calls for the White Lady to appear,
Intrigued by this mystery, Georges volunteers to go in the most celebrated aria of the opera:
in Dikson's place. He takes the White Lady'snote and
exits singing:

Et toi, la plus belle des belles, (no. 33, Effie Deans from The Heart of Midlothian), but more
Dame blanche,esprit ou lutin, typical is no. 32, a portrait of Julia Mannering from Guy Man-
Sur tes creneaux, sur tes tourelles, nering wearing a plaid draped on the shoulders, over fashion-
able dress.
J'accoursen galant paladin.43
39. Blum, Ackermann'CostumePlates, introduction, p. vi.
This scene is represented on the right of register A 40. See note 33 above.
41. "Tu m'as jure obeissance; l'heure est venue, j'ai besoin de
(Figure o1). Georges is taking the White Lady's note toi.... Trouve-toi ce soir a la porte du vieux chateau, et de-
and what appears to be a drinking horn from Dik- mande l'hospitalite au nom de saint Julien d'Avenel. Signe: La
son. The stage directions call for Dikson to accom- Dame Blanche." Scribe, La Dame Blanche, act i, sc. 8, p. 21.
42. Ibid.
pany Georges upstage left, on the road to Avenel 43. Ibid., p. 22.
Castle, and for Jenny to remain in front of the farm- 44. "Georges sort, conduit par Dikson; Jenny reste seule, en
house, "with her arms raised to heaven."44The de- les suivant des yeux, et en levant les bras au ciel." Ibid.

124
 Lb, .'.
u ,
t --
_ -;a

lkL1Yi?'
C-

?c ' 3 Crz P

Lr - C.c "'. I--CiCnTr'lll /fJ?

i
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r r?
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I
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ri

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F' 11.
?-?-??JT
2kr yrr? IiL
.r
-'?"; i.,L.,----- - .3
cJ.' '?'? lr??;
IrLCu; Y.IC? -
f 10. Detail of Figure i:
'L r -ri";;r"r?".*-?????L 'L
La Dame Blanche,
L .... d;h Cdl act i, scene 8

Viens, gentille dame; demonstrates her supernatural powers by telling the

Ici,je reclame skeptical Georges his military rank, and of his injury
La foi des serments; in Hanover. He thinks he recognizes the voice of the
A tes lois fidele,
Me voici, ma belle; girl he loves. The "White Lady" assures him that he
will see his lost love the very next day, if only
Paris,je t'attends!
he swears to do all she asks. They join hands, and he
Que ce lieu solitaire sings:
Et que ce doux mystere Maisque cette main estjolie!
Ont des charmes pour moi! Pour un lutin quelle douceur!
Oui,je sens qu'a ta vue Est-cel'amourou la magie
L'amedoit etre emue;
Maisce n'est pas d'effroi. Qui fait ainsi battre mon coeur?47

Chorus, Etc.45 1. Detail of Figure i: La Dame Blanche, act 2, scene 7

As the aria ends with the sound of harp strings,

Anna appears, emerging from a secret panel to the
right. The scene (act 2, scene 7) is represented on
register B of the design at the left (Figure 11). Up to
this point, the stage directions call for Anna to wear
a blue dress with "un manteau ecossais."46Now im-
personating the White Lady of Avenel, she is dressed
in white, and her head is covered with a veil. When
Anna realizes that the visitor is not Dikson but the
wounded soldier she had nursed back to health, she

45. Ibid., act 2, sc. 6, pp. 26-27.

46. Ibid., act 2, sc. 7, p. 23.
47. Ibid.; act 2, sc. 2, p. 27.

I .. 4
T: owwr .e,fj
 white bands of a French advocate or magistrate, sits
at a high desk festooned with drapery. Many of the
supporting cast have been omitted, and the relative
positions of Gaveston and Georges are reversed. The
bidding gets under way with Gaveston and Dikson
singing out their bids until Dikson is forced to drop
out, at ?95,000. It appears that Gaveston will win the
auction with a bid of ?1oo,ooo, when Anna-in her
blue dress-enters and urges Georges to carry out
his part of the bargain with the White Lady. Georges
rises and begins to bid against the furious Gaveston.
Conceding defeat at ?500,000, Gaveston asks Mac-
Irton to read Georges the law: the purchase price
must be paid that day at noon, in bank notes, or else
Georges will be arrested. The designer has chosen to
illustrate this scene at its climax, when Georges,
prompted by Anna, is on his feet bidding, and Mac-
Irton lowers the gavel. The man behind Gaveston
and largely hidden by him may be the bewildered
Dikson or one of Gaveston's lawyers. Anna is stand-
,? - ing with one arm across the back of Georges's chair,
her unveiled head and light dress serving to indicate
her dual role in the plot. Behind her, the figure of a
young woman may represent Jenny.
12. Detail of Figure i: La Dame Blanche, act 2, scene 9 Act 3 opens in:

a rich Gothic apartment, a door at the back; above the

door, a gallery that runs across the entire back of the
As Georges sings, he holds the "White Lady's"hand stage, and that is reached by two lateral staircases;at
the foot of the staircasesthere are four pedestals, only
and follows her around the room, until finally she three of which support statues; to the left of the audi-
leaves as mysteriously as she had arrived. The ence, downstage,there is a little secret door.49
printed cotton illustrates the scene during Georges's
song, just before the "White Lady"vanishes. The set- This is the setting alluded to in the central scene of
ting is a Gothic ruin, rather than the interior of a register B of the design (Figure 13). As in the other
gatehouse. Lying on a table or bench in the back- four scenes, the architectural interiors described in
ground to the right are Georges's discarded cloak, the libretto are transformed into exterior settings
hat, and sword. To the left is the dark doorway that and framed by trees and shrubbery. The figures are
replaces the pivoting panel of the stage set. then grouped in the foreground, like actors in front
The morning after Georges's encounter with the of a painted backdrop.
"White Lady,"the auction of the Avenel estate takes
place. The scene (act 2, scene 9) is shown on the right
of register B (Figure 12). The local justice of the 48. "Ils vont se placer autour d'une table au milieu du the-
atre. Gaveston se tient debout a gauche, non loin de lui. A
peace, Mac-Irton, and various "gens de justice" ac- droite, sur le premier plan, Georges assis sur un fauteuil, Dik-
companying him are directed to take their places son environne de tous les fermiers." Ibid., act 2, sc. 9, p. 29.
"around a table in the middle of the stage. Gaveston 49. "Le theatre represente un riche appartement gothique,
stands to the left, not far from him [Mac-Irton]. In une porte au fond; au-dessus de la porte une galerie qui tient
tout le fond du theatre, et a laquelle on monte par deux esca-
the foreground to the right, Georges seated in an
liers lateraux, au bas des escaliers quatre piedestaux, dont trois
armchair, Dikson surrounded by all the farmers."48 seulement portent des statues; a gauche des spectateurs, sur le
In the printed cotton, Mac-Irton, wearing the formal premier plan, une petite porte secrete." Ibid., act 3, sc. 1, p. 32.

126
 In the opera, the first few scenes of act 3 revolve Once the "White Lady" is seen, she reveals
around Anna's efforts to fulfill her plan. As she tells Georges's true identity and steps down from the ped-
Marguerite, the dying Lady Avenel had given her a estal, places the chest upon it, and walks to the front
letter revealing that the family fortune was hidden in of the stage, the terrified onlookers giving way. She
a small chest inside a statue of the White Lady. Anna then tries to leave by the secret passage, but Gaveston
needs to find the chest and deliver the money to seizes her and snatches off her veil. She throws her-
Georges before noon, but the statue is missing from self at Julien's feet. Recognized by Julien as his lost
its pedestal. While searching for it, Anna finds a se- love, Anna claims that a poor orphan cannot be his
cret passage that allows her to overhear a conversa- wife. At Julien's insistence, Anna finally gives him her
tion between Mac-Irton and Gaveston. Mac-Irton has hand, and the chorus sings:
learned that Georges Brown is reallyJulien Avenel, a
revelation that dismays Anna, for as a lowly orphan
she can never marry the heir to the estate.50In the
meantime, Marguerite has found the statue of the
White Lady in an underground chapel. Anna decides
to carry out her plan to save the estate and after-
wards leave Avenel forever.
The final scene of La DameBlanche(act 3, scene 14)
finds Georges/Julien, Gaveston, Dikson, Jenny, Mar-
guerite, and assorted farmers and peasants on stage.
Mac-Irton demands payment from Georges, who re-
plies that it is not yet noon. As he speaks, the sound
of a harp is heard, and Anna, dressed as the White
Lady and carrying a small chest, appears at the far
end of the gallery.51Unremarked by those on stage,
she descends the stairs and stands on the pedestal
intended for the statue of the White Lady, while
Georges/Julien, in an attempt to summon the White
Lady, sings:

O toi queje revere,

O mes seuls amours!
Deite tutelaire,
Tu viens a mon secours.52

The printed cotton captures the moment when the

"White Lady,"heavily veiled and bearing a casket, is /a --12
standing on a pedestal in the background. Down- ._~
-?CZE

stage, Georges/Julien, with Dikson and Jenny behind 13. Detail of Figure La Dame Blanche, act 3, scene 14
him, confronts Gaveston. Behind Gaveston is a High- 13. Detail of Figure i: La DameBlanche,act 3, scene 14
lander, perhaps Gabriel, and another man.

50. Gaveston is reminded by Mac-Irton that a dozen years un coffret, parait a la droite de la galerie qu'elle traverse lente-
ago, Julien was entrusted to his tutor Duncan, who was given a ment. Gaveston, Julien et le choeur, qui sont sur le devant du
considerable sum to take the child to France. Instead, Duncan theatre, lui tournent le dos et ne l'apercoivent point encore."
abandoned the child aboard ship and absconded to America. Ibid., act 3, sc. 14, p. 37.
Now dying in a London hospital, Duncan has signed a confes- 52. "Pendant cet ensemble, Anna a traverse la galerie, a de-
sion affirming that Julien is alive and serving in the army as scendu l'escalier a gauche, et est venue se placer debout le pie-
Georges Brown. Ibid., act 3, sc. 7, p. 35. destal de la dame blanche qui est au bas de l'escalier a gauche;
51. "Ils se pressent tous en cercle sur le devant du theatre, et en ce moment, tout le monde se retourne et l'apergoit." Ibid.,
pendant ce temps Anna, vetue de blanc et tenant sous son voile PP. 37-38.

127
 Chantez,joyeux menestrel, The character of Anna most closely resembles
Refrainsd'amouret de guerre; Catherine Seyton of The Abbot,Scribe's third source
Voicirevenir la banniere for La Dame Blanche. TheAbbotis the story of a page
Des chevaliersd'Avenel.53
to Mary, Queen of Scots, Roland Graeme, who is un-
aware of his true identity. He falls in love with Cath-
erine, the queen's lady in waiting, and through her
The audiences that saw the original production of La becomes involved in a conspiracy to save the queen's
DameBlanchewere witnessing a new development in life. Catherine appears to him in various disguises,
the evolution of French musical theatre. In the tradi- eventually revealing that Roland is the son of Julian
tional school of comic opera, the libretto was no Avenel, the heir to the Avenel estate. The novel ends,
more than a mere sketch to set up the songs. La Dame like La Dame Blanche, with the prospect of marriage
Blanchewas a real play that was enriched by the mu- between the two protagonists.58Scribe borrowed The
sic but could stand on its own without it. As the critic Abbot'splot devices of disguise and conspiracy to ex-
from the Journal des Debatsput it: "la musique n'est plain the appearances of the White Lady, neatly elim-
appellee que comme auxiliaire."54The year after the inating the element of fear from the mystery.
consecration of Italian opera with Rossini's appoint- A unique mixture of suspense, gaiety, and senti-
ment as director of the Paris Opera, La DameBlanche mentality, with all of the color and excitement of
renewed the vitality of the native French genre of Sir Walter Scott but none of the melancholy, La
comic opera, and gave the favorite entertainment of Dame Blanche was exactly in step with contemporary
the Parisian bourgeoisie a new dignity and refine- French taste in art and literature. The theme of the
ment.55While it was "comic" in that it had a happy return of the rightful heir had a natural appeal to a
ending, it was not a farce or a parody. The humor of Restoration audience that had witnessed the return
La Dame Blanche was of a more delicate and sophis- of Royalist emigres and that wanted to believe in the
ticated variety. For example, Jenny, the Highland stability of the Bourbon monarchy.59The special hu-
farmer's wife, says of the old castle: "the ruins and mor and charm of La DameBlanchedepended on the
the underground crypts are superb; all the painters spectator's knowledge and enjoyment of the fashions
go to see them!"56Jenny and Dikson appear to have of the times, but the beauty of Boieldieu's score
been modeled on Dandie Dinmont and his wife,
Ailie, a pair of rustics who befriend the George 53. Ibid., p. 38.
Brown of GuyMannering.As the Opera-Comique au- 54. Arvin,EugeneScribeandtheFrenchTheatre,p. 178.
dience was well aware, Scott's characters would have 55. Longyear,"'Lelivretbien fait,"'p. 182.
56. Scribe,La DameBlanche,p. 15.
been incapable of the kind of speech that could be 57. "The White Lady of Avenel ... is represented as con-
easily overheard in Paris at a boulevard cafe. Simi- nected with the family of Avenel by one of those mystic ties
larly, neither the George Brown of Guy Mannering which,in ancient times, were supposed to exist ... betweenthe
creaturesof the elements and the childrenof men .... they are
nor Halbert Glendinning, the hero of TheMonastery,
known among the traditionsof the Highlands,which, in many
possesses the wit of Scribe'sGeorges/Julien. cases,attachedan immortalbeing or spiritto the serviceof par-
La Dame Blanche differs in other respects from its ticularfamiliesor tribes.These demons, if they are to be called
sources in Sir Walter Scott, the most basic being its so, announced good or evil fortune to the familiesconnected
with them.... It is with reference to this idea of the supposed
treatment of the White Lady of Avenel. In The Mon-
spiritsof the elements that the White Lady of Avenel is repre-
astery,the White Lady is a true supernatural being. sented as acting a varying,capricious,and inconsistentpart ...
She appears in the woods at night, melting in and out manifestinginterest and attachmentto the family with whom
of the air. She is usually melancholy and downcast, her destiniesare associated,but evincingwhim,and even a spe-
cies of malevolence,towardsother mortals.... In these partic-
and her behavior is dangerously unpredictable. She
ulars she seems to constitute a being of the middle class, be-
was so unpopular with readers that Scott felt that he tween the espritfollet,who places its pleasurein misleadingand
needed to explain her, as he did in his introduc- tormentingmortals,and the benevolentfairy of the East,who
tion to the 1830 edition of the novel.57In La Dame uniformly guides, aids and supports them."WalterScott, The
Blanche,on the other hand, the audience is meant to Monastery (Edinburgh,1830) pp. xii-xv.
58. Pendle,EugeneScribeandtheFrenchOpera,p. 283.
be amused by the Highlanders' terror of the sup- 59. Ibid., p. 279. LaDameBlanchereceivedthe greatestpraise
posed apparition. from ultra-Royalistnewspapers.

128
helped to ensure its popularity for decades. At the variety of substances were used by different firms to
Theatre de l'Opera-Comique, 1,340 performances produce selected white areas on printed cloth. In
were given over a fifty-year period.60 1815, Hartmann et Fils of Munster used stannous
chloride to obtain white enlevages;Camille Koechlin
at Cernay applied an insoluble lead salt directly onto
The Metropolitan Museum's printed cottons after the cloth. Certainly, by 1826-28 various methods of
La Dame Blanche are believed to have been manufac- white application were known and practiced.66The
tured in Alsace. The Statistique Generale du Haut- three-color version of the Dame Blanche cotton was
Rhin of 1828 listed twenty-four establishments in probably produced by one of these methods. White
Mulhouse, the largest center of printing on cotton in enlevagewas most often used in floral designs,67but
Alsace, producing 459,835 pieces of approximately the Dame Blanche was obviously a tempting figural
20 meters each, and employing almost lo,ooo work- subject for this treatment. Rather than restrict the
ers.6' Recovering from the economic crisis caused by areas of enlevageto the two appearances of the White
the Empire's collapse in 1814-15, the industry had Lady, which would have marred the balance of the
been expanding steadily. During the 1820S, competi- whole, the printer has applied white throughout all
tion among manufacturers encouraged experimen- five scenes. In addition to entire and partial figures,
tation with machinery and chemical processes to pro- details of architecture (a castle tower, a Gothic arch)
duce new types of printed textiles.62The horizontal and foliage have been selected, possibly in an attempt
emphasis of the Dame Blanche design indicates the to create three-dimensional effects. It seems reason-
use of one such innovation, an engraved copper able to conclude that the subject of La DameBlanche
roller. Roller printing was a technique developed in led the printer to experiment with the technique,
England to produce higher volume at lower cost. and that this version of the subject was probably con-
The first roller-printing machine in Alsace was set up sidered a novelty product, secondary to the mono-
by the Wesserling firm of Gros, Davillier, Roman et chrome version.
Cie in 1802.63Some years later the brothers Mathieu During the height of the opera's popularity in the
and Jeremie Risler founded the Societe Risler Freres period 1826-28, La DameBlanchewas clearly an ideal
et Dixon, a machine foundry which supplied all the subject for a printed cotton. The textile designer
main textile-printing works of the region until it would have been able to draw from a number of pic-
went out of business in 1822.64 torial sources. The success of the comic opera may
The Alsatian printing industry was quick to exploit have inspired Camille Roqueplan (1803-55) to por-
the advances of chemistry in the early nineteenth tray Scott's White Lady in his La Dame Blanche
century. In 1808, the experiments of Jean-Michel d'Avenel,a painting exhibited at the Salon of 1827.
Haussmann (1749-1824) with the application of var- Hippolyte Garnier's lithograph after Roqueplan
ious substances on printed cotton resulted in the dates to the following year.68Roqueplan's sources, in
technique of white enlevage.65In subsequent years a turn, were among the earliest images of the White

60. Arvin,EugeneScribeandtheFrenchTheatre,p. 216. credits Mollard's diagram of a roller-printing machine as the

deJouyet de la
61. Henri Clouzot, Histoirede la manufacture first published description in French of the new technology.
toile imprimeeen France (Paris/Brussels, 1928). 64. Tuchsherer, The Fabricsof Mulhouse and Alsace, p. 13.
62. Jean-Michel Tuchsherer, The Fabrics of Mulhouse and Al- 65. Haussmann experimented with substances that had pre-
sace 180I-1850 (Leigh-on-Sea, 1972) p. 21. viously been used on wool and silk, e.g., cochineal, smokewood,
63. Gros, Davillier, Roman et Cie was famous throughout the dyer's oak, solanum, oak bark, safflower, nutgall, sumac, annato
i9th century; in 1825 the firm opened branches in Bordeaux (Tuchsherer, The Fabricsof Mulhouse and Alsace, p. 14).
and Lyons, and a warehouse in Brussels (Tuchsherer, The Fab- 66. Ibid., pp. 15-19.
rics of Mulhouse and Alsace, p. 23). According to Sebastien Le- 67. Ibid., p. 14.
Normand (Manuel dufabricant d'e'toffes imprimees[Paris, 1820] pp. 68. Wright, "Scott's Historical Novels and French Historical
37-39), Oberkampf ofJouy was the first French firm to attempt Painting," p. 276. This picture turned up in a sale of the effects
roller printing in 1801, but their efforts were unsuccessful. of the painter Theodore Richard in 1858. Roqueplan's other
Some years later a certain "M. Mollard jeune" went to England contribution to this Salon was also a Scott subject, La Mort de
to study methods of roller engraving and printing. LeNormand l'espionMorris(from RobRoy).

129
 Lady) at the Drury Lane Theatre in October 1826.70
A portrait of Isabella Paton as Anna in her White
Lady disguise, now in the Victoria and Albert Mu-
seum, suggests a characterization much closer to
Scott and Westall than to Scribe. This "White Lady"
is a ghostly figure standing knee deep in brackish
water.71
The spirit of Scribe and Boieldieu's comic opera,
however, has been preserved in the Dame Blanche cot-
tons. They belong to a type of figural print that was
ideally suited to the presentation of theatrical scenes
and to the techniques of roller printing.
This distinct type of printed cotton may have orig-
inated at Nantes, which had been celebrated for its
figural prints since the late eighteenth century. Be-
tween 1786 and 1835, the Nantais firm of Favre,
Petitpierre et Cie produced printed textiles on 150
different subjects, as against the 50 produced at
Jouy.72 During the period 1800-15, Favre Petit-
pierre's many printed cottons with theatrical subjects
were densely engraved and made up of squared-off
scenes arranged horizontally.73 These cottons appear
to have set the style for the translation of theatrical
scenes to the medium of printed textiles. An early
14. Charles Heath after Richard Westall (1765-1836), example is L'Histoire de Joseph, a roller print dated
Halbert Glendinning'sFirst Invocation of the WhiteMaid 1810, with labeled scenes from the 1808 biblical op-
of Avenel, from Illustrations of the Monastery;A Ro- era by Mehul.74 Abelard et Helozse is an example of this
mance by the Author of Waverley,London, 1821. The style at its apogee, around 1825: the six scenes from
New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden the romance are arranged in squares, like six stage
Foundations, General Research Division (photo:
New York Public Library)

69. Westall'sillustrationsof Scott were issued separatelyby

the London publisher Hurst Robinson and Co. in 1821. In his
illustrations by Richard Westall (1765- illustrationsto GuyMannering,the heroines Julia Mannering
Lady-the
and Lucy Bertram wear fashionable 182os dress, with a few
1836) for the 1821 London edition of The Monas-
evocativedetails:high white ruffs, tartancloaks,and feathered
tery.69Westall's Halbert Glendinning's First Invocation of hats. Westall'sScott illustrationshad considerableinfluence on
the White Maid of Avenel is a faithful portrayal of Gosselin'scollectededition in Frenchof 1822-33, whichhad 86
Scott's supernatural apparition, floating among bil- vignettesand 84 illustratedtitle pages. They were designed pri-
lows of clouds and drapery before a terrified Hal- marilyby AlexandreJoseph Desenne (1785-1827), assistedby
Eugene Lami (1800-90) and the Johannot brothers Alfred
bert, who draws his sword against her in vain (Figure (1800-37) and Antoine (Tony) (1803-52), and engraved by a
14). A comparison with the corresponding scene on teamof Englishand FrenchengraversincludingCharlesHeath.
register B of the printed cotton reveals the difference 70. Loewenberg,Annalsof Opera,p. 698.
in tone and content between Scott's novel and the 71. The portraitof IsabellaPaton is reproduced in Jerome
Mitchell, The WalterScott Operas(University, Ala., 1977).
comic opera. The juxtaposition of these two images 72. Mus6ede l'Impressionsur Etoffes,LittErature
et toilesim-
also points to the differences between British and prinmes,p. 27.
French tastes in musical theatre at this period. The 73. For examplesof printsby Favre,Petitpierreet Cie in this
distinctivestyle see Museede l'Impressionsur Etoffes,LesToiles
rationalism, skepticism, and humor that animate La deNantes,nos. 47-51, 53-55.
Dame Blanche may not have been emphasized in the 74. L'Histoire de Joseph is reproduced in Musee de l'Im-
London production, which opened (as The White pression sur Etoffes, Les Toilesde Nantes, no. 13.

130
15. Le Solitaire, French (Al-
sace), ca. 1822; signed
Marius Rollet on rock be-
low bridge. Cotton, en-
graved roller print, mul-
berry on white; repeat,
approx. 30 in. (76.2
cm.). The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, Rogers
Fund, 13.133.15

PR%6

zra
rs

b1-.'"' %--' .
'P,--- .P. - ]
.-"?--*
.
. ~,-y
' ,Z ..-. ~'~ ,* 1 .. . . . . ? '
. ."'i
BB^-^^
<-^
~bir iiBfl
.,: -
-. k^"'-.'-.-^^ si^ EiS
,- .. .(.-

16. La Trevede Dieu, French

(Alsace), ca. 1820. Cot-
ton, copperplate or en-
graved roller print, dark
purple on white; repeat,
183/4 in. (47.6 cm.). The
Metropolitan Museum
of Art, Gift of Miss
Frances Morris, 28.135.6
 sets, and are framed by Gothic architecture.75If in- of the design can be dated to 1826-27; perhaps the
deed the fashion in theatrical and operatic subjects "three-color"variant was an experiment or a novelty
began with Nantes, it was also exploited in Alsace. Le offered a season or two later. This would place them
Solitaire(Figure 15), which represents a popular sub- between the Lady of the Lake of about 1820 (see Fig-
ject drawn from a musical adaptation of a novel, is a ure 4), signed by G. Merklen of Mulhouse, and the
roller print signed by Marius Rollet, who is known to Samuel Cholet MarieStuart(see Figure 3), which may
have worked for the firm of Hartmann et Fils at date to 1830. The Dame Blanche cottons would thus
Munster in the 182os.76La Trevede Dieu (Figure 16) is be contemporary with the panoramic Ladyof theLake
another example of an operatic subject from Mun- wallpaper (also known as Vues d'Ecosse)printed in
ster, dated about 1820.77 Here the individual scenes 1827 by Jean Zuber et Cie at Rixheim, near Mul-
have been arranged against a diaper background house.78 In this connection it is interesting to note
pattern, but their theatrical presentation, the style that the designer of the wallpaper, Jean-Michel Gue
and proportions of the figures, and the style trouba- (1789-1843), was formerly a set designer at the The-
dourcostume of the young hero are all related to the atre de la Gaite in Paris, where many popular
DameBlanchecottons. "drames musicaux" were staged. For what the Dame
The identification of the subject of these cottons Blanchecottons demonstrate perhaps most clearly are
permits them to be dated more precisely and to be the alertness with which manufacturers responded to
considered in their context. On the basis of the chro- public taste, and the importance of literature and the
nology established for the comic opera's success and theatre as inspiration for the decorative arts of the
growing popularity, as well as on the evidence of the period.
costume and figural style, the monochrome version

75. Abelardet Heloise is reproduced in ibid., no. 58.

76. Le Solitaire, by the vicomte d'Arlincourt, an extremely
popular romance about a hermit, was published in 1821. An
operatic adaptation by Carefa (Michel-Henry Francois Carefa
de Colobrano), with a libretto by F. A. E. de Planard, was first
performed at the Theatre de l'Opera-Comique in 1822 (Pendle,
Eugene Scribeand the French Opera, p. 239).
77. The subject is taken from the opera of the same name,
first performed at the Theatre de la Porte St.-Martin in 1820
(The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Catalogue of an Exhibition of
Printed Fabrics[New York, 1927] no. 134).
78. Jacque, "Les Papiers peints panoramiques," p. 91; see
note 1 above.

132
 Schaufelein as Painter and Graphic Artist
in The Visitation

MARYAN WYNN AINSWORTH

Senior ResearchAssociate,Departmentof Paintings Conservation,
The MetropolitanMuseum of Art

HANS SCHAUFELEIN, who was probably born in tween these different media, particularly as evi-
Nuremberg sometime between 1480 and 1485, first denced by the working methods of given artists. Such
earned distinction as an artist in Diirer's workshop, evidence is revealed in the underdrawings of paint-
where he was employed from about 1503 until about ings, affording an opportunity to study more closely
1506 or 1507. Direr thought enough of his abilities the inception of the work of art and to relate the pre-
to entrust him with the execution of the Ober Sankt liminary stages of a painting to the creative process
Veit Altarpiece in 1505 (Vienna, Diozesan Museum), observable in other works by the same artist.
a commission for which Durer had already made the At the time of the exhibition "Liechtenstein: The
designs. By 1515 Schaufelein had relocated to Nord- Princely Collections,"it was possible to study the Visi-
lingen, where he established his own workshop, there tationby Hans Schaufelein (Figure 1),1and, in partic-
serving the counts of Oettingen, among others, until ular, to investigate the artist's working procedure
his death between 1537 and 1540. through the painting's underdrawing, now made vis-
Schaufelein's paintings are uneven in quality and ible by means of infrared reflectography.2 Schaufe-
today they are less well known and perhaps less lein's paintings have not been studied previously in
prized than his prints. He was a prolific printmaker this way, and, as there are very few works by him in
and produced prints for books (the BeschlossenGart,
the SpeculumPassionisof Ulrich Pinder, contributions
to Maximilian's Theuerdank,Weisskunig,and Triumph- 1. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Liechtenstein: The
zug) as well as numerous single-leaf woodcuts. A exh. cat. (New York,1985) pp. 235-237, no.
PrincelyCollections,
gifted storyteller, Schaufelein seems to have found a 150, col. ill.
natural outlet for his particular talents in the graphic 2. Infraredreflectography
is a videosystemresponsive
to the
medium. Clearly, in this regard he owed a debt to range of infrared light between 9oo and 2,000 nanometers.It
can penetratemost pigmentsto revealunderdrawingsin carbon
Durer. blackin the subsurfacelayersof the painting.The infrared re-
Those artists who studied with Albrecht Direr in flectogramassembly,the visualdocumentof the underdrawing,
the first decade of the sixteenth century assimilated is recordedphotographicallyfrom a monitorscreenor, through
more recent developments,by computer from the digitizedin-
not only their master's technical vocabulary, but also frared signal. The literatureon this subjectis vast. For a more
his versatility in various media. They left a legacy of detailed discussionof the technique and its interpretivevalue
paintings, prints, and drawings and designs for proj- for art-historicalresearch and for the basic bibliographysee
ects in stained glass, metalwork, and architectural MaryanWynn Ainsworthand MollyFaries,"NorthernRenais-
sance Paintings:The Discoveryof Invention,"Saint LouisArt
decoration. The artistic range of this group of art- MuseumBulletinn.s. 18:1 (1986). This method of investigation
ists-which, in addition to Schaufelein, included is being used in the PaintingsConservationDepartmentof the
Hans Baldung Grien and Hans Siss von Kulmbach MetropolitanMuseum for an ongoing study of early Nether-
landish, German, and French paintings. Two interns for this
among others-has often been admired and dis- project, KatherineCrawfordand Ronda Kasl, assisted in the
cussed. What has received much less attention in the
study of the Schaufelein painting. The research is made pos-
literature is the question of the interrelationship be- sibleby the generous support of the RowlandFoundation.

135

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American collections, the opportunity to examine the ers, its relationship to the artist'sdrawings and prints,
Liechtenstein painting was a welcome one. The re- and the clarification of the dating of the painting.3
covery of the preliminary sketch on the panel for the The underdrawing of the Visitation(Figures 2-6) is
Visitation provides new visual evidence for the discus- remarkable for its state of completion and for its
sion of several issues, including the function of the complexity. Though no drawing could be detected in
underdrawing vis-a-vis the subsequent painted lay- the landscape (perhaps because it is obscured by the

3. The Hohlheim Altarpiece, of which the Visitationis part, is und der Meister von Messkirch," Jahrbuch der Kunsthistorischen
variously dated from 1518-19 by Modern to 1525-32 by Buch- Sammlung des AllerhochstenKaiserhauses17 (1896) pp. 307-397;
ner. In the Liechtensteincatalogue entry for this picture, Guy E. Buchner, "Schaufelein," in U. Thieme and F. Becker, Allge-
Bauman suggests a date of about 1520. See H. Modern, "Der meines Lexikonder bildendenKunstler (Leipzig, 1935) XXIX, pp.
Mompelgartner Flugelaltar des Hans Leonhard Schaufelein 557-561; and Bauman, in Liechtenstein,p. 237.

136
1. Hans Schaufelein (ca. 1480-ca. 1540), The Visitation,ca. 1520. Oil on wood, 303/4 X 25%/8 in. (78 x 65 cm.).
Vaduz,Collectionsof the Reigning Princeof Liechtenstein,inv. no. 934 (photo: WalterWachter)

2. Infrared reflectogramassemblyof TheVisitation,

detail of Mary,Elizabeth,and two donors

dark pigments used there), all of the figures are fully hands of Elizabeth and Mary or in the face of the do-
worked up in a brush underdrawing, the directness nor at Elizabeth's feet (Figures 5, 6), the purpose of
and facility of which are immediately apparent. The the underdrawing was to establish a system of shad-
drawing shows very free and expressive lines for the ing through even, straight, parallel hatching, which
contours and interior folds of drapery. Further mod- by its very nature entirely flattens the forms. There is
eling with parallel hatching and crosshatching cre- here a kind of play, even competition, between linear
ates the desired gradations of light and dark (Figures patterning and tonal effects. The underdrawing re-
3-5)- veals the variety of purposes served by Schaufelein's
In some areas, such as in the head of the Virgin technical vocabulary, ranging from expressions of
(Figure 3), the intention was to suggest the volume of plasticity to seemingly more decorative concerns.
forms, and the hatching conforms to the rounded The very finished quality of the preliminary design
contours of the face. In other areas, such as in the is further revealed in areas such as Elizabeth's left

137
 4. Infrared reflectogram assembly of The Visitation,de-
tail of Elizabeth

3. Infrared reflectogram assembly of The Visitation,de-

tail of the Virgin 6. Infrared reflectogram assembly of The Visitation,de-
tail of the donor at Elizabeth's feet

5. Infrared reflectogram assembly of The Visitation,de-

tail of the hands of Mary and Elizabeth
 7. Schaufelein, The Sealing of the One Hundredand Forty- .. - - <
four Thousand (Rev. 7:1-4). Woodcut illustration ! -
from Martin Luther, Jesus: Das Neues Testament '-
Teutsch.. , Augsburg, 1523 (1524 ed.). The New
:~-,/^ ",-
YorkPublicLibrary,Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foun- -.\
- --iX i: ;
dations, Rare Books and Manuscripts Division
(photo: New YorkPublicLibrary) -

cheek or the cloak folded back at her right arm (Fig- - a g'
ures 2, 4), where it is clear that Schaufelein added ....
dark-toned washes to the underdrawing. These areas L' ,
do not correspond exactly to the applications of paint S . .'
on top of them, but appear to have been employed 1 :::
simply in order to describe the forms more fully in .',
?
the underdrawing itself. An underdrawing of such ,

complexity and finish could have served as a presen- 7 , \'

tation drawing or vidimusfor the approval of the pa- ,
tron, and perhaps did.4 ... ' . .
,
The relatively minor adjustments from the under- ," ...
drawing to the painted layers, in contours of forms 1 , ^
as well as the configuration of drapery folds, indicate .' . .
- > , '
a well-established working drawing, which may have '. .._
been based on a compositional sketch on paper. The
underdrawing should not be confused with the addi- ::
tional brush drawing in the uppermost layer of the . .
painting with which Schaufelein reinforced his final ' S.
decisions about the edges of forms and further char-
acterized the shading of the arms and legs of the do- . , /
nors. In Figures 3 and 6 this surface drawing appears i -
.--/ _
as the darkest lines. Sandwiched between the under- ."
and overdrawing are broad, flat areas of color and `
their modifying glazes. The addition of color and of -- .:' ,
. -
surface drawing produces a less volumetric and g-, '?/l
three-dimensional effect than is evident in the under- f_ -
drawing. The planar, rather decorative appearance '.
:--'' '
.
of the finished painting is due in large part to these- : -
additions. Whereas the underdrawing displays a high ,
degree of spontaneity, the overdrawing is more la- '.,

bored as it refines and straightens contours, and the '

',

4. This is an issue for further study. Very fully worked-up S ^

underdrawings, including the addition of thin gray washes, " -~
have been noted in the paintings of other early 16th-century
artists, such as Bernaert van Orley, Lucas van Leyden, and Er-
hard Altdorfer, in research carried out by Jan Piet Filedt Kok,
Molly Faries, and Maryan Ainsworth (see Ainsworth and Faries,
"Northern Renaissance Paintings," p. 37, n. 37, for references).
How these very finished underdrawingsrelate to questionsof
workshopparticipationin the execution of a paintingcannotbe 8. Schaufelein, St. Sebastian, 1522. Drawing. London,
answereduntil further examples are studied. British Museum (photo: British Museum)

139
and the rendering becomes more mechanical as the 7)7 and his drawings of the Life of St. Peter, which
artist copies himself. were probably made in preparation for a print se-
This technique of reintroducing the drawing in ries.8 In addition, a group of independent sketches
the uppermost layer is not unusual in early sixteenth- of saints and apostles also shows the same drawing
century German painting. Hans Baldung Grien, conventions and stylistic traits that are evident in the
among others, used the same method in works such underdrawing of the Visitation. These are a St. Sebas-
as St. John on Patmosin the Metropolitan Museum's tian (dated 1522, Figure 8) and a St. Peter (British
collection.5 The visual effect here is similar to con- Museum, London), St.John on Patmos(formerly Paris,
temporary chiaroscuro woodcuts, where indepen- A. Drey Collection), and an ApostlePhilip (Erlangen),
dent line and color blocks were superimposed.6 Aside all dating from the 152os. These examples help to se-
from its form-defining function, this overdrawing is cure a dating for the Visitation in the early 152os.9
a deliberate reference to a graphic convention bor- From the comparisons above it is clear that Schau-
rowed from printmaking. Its use in paintings may re- felein was quintessentially a printmaker. The quality
flect a desire by the artist to appeal to the prevailing of his line, the way he structured groupings of lines,
aesthetic. the form and function of these lines-all were con-
From the preliminary stages of the Visitationto the ceived in terms of graphic conventions. The fact that
finishing touches, it is clear that Schaufelein thought his talents were primarily those of a printmaker
in terms of printmaking, in which he excelled and rather than a painter is nowhere more emphatically
earned his reputation. His predilection for the apparent than in the underdrawing of the Visitation.
graphic mode is at once apparent in the style of the This preliminary and heretofore invisible stage of
underdrawing, in the precise and even quality of the painting can now be seen to constitute the most
the hatching and crosshatching in areas of shadow, expressive one, articulated in terms of the language
and in the broadly defined areas of drapery. The in which Schaufelein communicated best. Future re-
closest comparisons with other works of art, in fact, search on other paintings by Schaufelein will surely
are with Schaufelein's woodcuts and drawings for address some of the issues outlined here and will
woodcuts. help to clarify the accomplishment of Schaufelein as
Among these comparisons are Schaufelein's wood- a graphic artist as well as a painter.
cut illustrations for the 1523 New Testament (Figure

5. Acc. no. 1983.451. ills. 46-48. Winkler summarizes the various opinions about the
6. Lucas Cranach can be credited with the first use of this dating of these drawings (p. 152), which range from 1510 to
technique in Germany, around 15o6-08. Baldung subsequently 1530. Comparison with securely dated prints and drawings of
popularizedthe chiaroscurowoodcut in his works after 1510. the early 152os argues in favor of a date ca. 1520.
For a brief history of the technique and illustrationsof early 9. For a discussion of these examples and illustrations of
examples see Walter L. Strauss, Chiaroscuro: The Clair-Obscur them see Edmund Schilling, "Zeichnungen des Hans Leonhard
Woodcuts by Germanand Netherlandish Mastersof the XVIthand Schaufelein," Zeitschriftfiir Kunstwissenschaft9 (1955) pp. 151-
XVIIth Centuries(Greenwich, Conn., 1973). 180; and Franz Winzinger, "Unbekannte Werke des Hans Suss
7. See M. Consuelo Oldenbourg, Die BuchholzschnittedesHans von Kulmbach und des Hans Schaufelein," Zeitschrift des
Schaufelein: Ein bibliographischesVerzeichnisihrer Verwendungen, DeutschenVereinsfiir Kunstwissenschaft24 (1970) pp. 61-70. The
Studien zur Deutschen Kunstgeschichte 340 (Baden-Baden, chronology of Schaufelein's late works is problematic because of
1964) pp. 83-85, 118-123; and Michele Hebert, Inventaire des the paucity of securely dated examples. Now the additional evi-
gravuresdes Ecoles du Nord I (Paris, 1982) pp. 25 ff. dence of the underdrawing allows for a reexamination of this
8. Friedrich Winkler, Die Zeichnungen Hans Suss von Kulm- issue based on comparisons of the underdrawing with dated
bachsund LeonhardSchaufeleins(Berlin, 1942) pp. 130, 152, and prints and drawings.

140
 A Heraldic Note About the Portrait
of Ladislaus, Count of Haag, by Hans Mielich
HELMUT NICKEL
Curatorof Arms and Armor,The MetropolitanMuseum of Art

AMONG THE PAINTINGS in the collections of the hundred and twenty square miles in size, and located
princes of Liechtenstein, the earliest traceable-in only thirty miles due east of Bavaria's capital, Mu-
the inventory of 1613-is the portrait of Ladislaus nich. From 1245 on-after the earlier lords of Haag,
von Fraunberg, count of Haag, by Hans Mielich of of the Gurren family, had become extinct-it was in
Munich, court painter to the duke of Bavaria, Al- the possession of the Fraunbergs. The prancing
brecht V (Figure 1). The painting is signed by the white horse in the count's coat of arms is a somewhat
artist, and is dated 1557.1 It shows the count in fash- unflattering canting device for the name of the origi-
ionable Spanish-style court dress, standing in front nal owners; Gurreis a dialect word for a mare of poor
of an open window that permits a view of a wintry quality.5
landscape with Castle Haag in the distance.2 In the For centuries the dukes of Bavaria had tried to
window's upper half is a stained-glass panel with the eliminate the various independent territories within
full armorial achievement of the count: gules, an ar- their reach. When Albrecht V succeeded to the duke-
gent horse, bridled sable, rearing to the sinister, and dom in 1550, he focused his attention on Haag,
as its crest, a woman's torso, clad in a gown azure,
seme with fleurs-de-lys or, holding up a pointed hat
1. G. C. Bauman in The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
ermine, topped by a plume of peacock feathers. The Liechtenstein:The Princely Collections,exh. cat. (New York, 1985)
mantlings are in the colors of the shield, red and pp. 241-243, no. 253, col. ills. The signature reads: ANNO
white.3 The fleurs-de-lys on the woman's gown are an DN.M.D.LVII.HANNS MIELICH A MONAC.FECIT.
2. Castle Haag was demolished in 1804; only its main tower
augmentation of honor granted to Count Ladislaus (the "Bergfried"), the chapel, and a gatehouse are left standing.
by Francis I, king of France, when he had distin- Die Kunstdenkmaledes RegierungsbezirksOberbayern,ed. G. von Be-
guished himself in French service. The figure of the zold, B. Riehl, and G. Hager, 3 vols. (Munich, 1902) I, pt. 2, pp.
woman itself-Frau in German-is a canting device, 1960-1971.
as a wordplay on Ladislaus's family name, von Fraun- 3. The family arms of Fraunberg are: gules, a pale argent.
Usually they are found quartered with those of Haag; here they
berg; this is one of the rare cases of a canting crest are omitted, probably to emphasize the ownership of the county
(instead of a shield charge). Surrounding this heral- of Haag. Their original crest was a pointed hat, upturned, er-
dic achievement is an architectural frame, enlivened mine, topped by a plume of peacock feathers.
with figural representations of the four cardinal vir- 4. Flanking the Haag arms are the standing figures of Forti-
tudo with a column as her attribute, and Prudentia holding a
tues.4 snake; reclining on the lintel are Temperantia with compass and
The room the count is standing in repeats in its goblet, and Iustitia with her balances.
red-and-white floor tiles and white walls with red 5. The horse in the shield is leaping to the sinister, as op-
posed to the normal heraldic practice of showing animals as
wainscoting the livery colors of his arms, and it is
facing to the dexter. In German heraldry the arms of a married
filled with objects selected with great iconographi-
couple would be represented by two shields side by side, with
cal care to project complex messages referring to the figures of the husband's shield reversed, facing to the sinis-
the precarious political situation in which Ladislaus ter for "courtoisie." Interestingly, however, the armorial shield
carved on the facade of the main tower of Castle Haag (illus-
found himself at the time the portrait was painted.
trated in KunstdenkmaleOberbayern,see note 2) shows the horse
The county of Haag was a tiny, independent en-
leaping to the sinister, too. Possibly this "wrong" position was an
clave within the duchy of Bavaria; it was barely one attempt to identify the horse graphically as a wretched "Gurre."

141

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 1. Hans Mielich (1516-73),
Ladislaus von Fraunberg,
Count of Haag, German
(Munich), 1557. Vaduz,
Collections of the Reigning
Prince of Liechtenstein,
inv. no. 1065 (photo:
Walter Wachter)

142
which he wanted to get into his power by all means After the signing of this new contract, Emilia's
fair or foul. Count Ladislaus was in an especially vul- mother had her daughter spirited away into a con-
nerable position. After the death of his younger vent. When Ladislaus asked the duke for his help
brother, Leonhard, in September 1541, he was the and arbitration, Emilia's mother managed to get an-
last of his line. Though he had married Marie Sa- other 15,000 crowns. In order to do everything pos-
lome, a daughter of the margrave of Baden, in early sible to ensure that her daughter would become a
1541, all the children of this marriage died in in- widow before Ladislaus had a reasonable chance to
fancy. To complicate matters even more, Marie Sa- sire any children, she arranged for two assassination
lome was a Protestant, and quarrels that arose be- attempts on his life.
tween Count Ladislaus and a monastery within his Understandably disappointed, Ladislaus returned
domain were blamed on her subversive influence, home and tried to have this unworkable marriage
and taken as a welcome pretext for interference by dissolved. However, the Pio family held on to their
the staunchly Catholic Duke Albrecht-then still co- contract, and a papal dispensation could not be ob-
ruler with his father, Duke Wilhelm-righteously tained. Minor nuisances, such as unsuccessful assas-
posing as defender of the Old Faith. sination attempts, were not counted as valid reasons
After Marie Salome's death in 1549, Duke Al- for a divorce by the standards of sixteenth-century
brecht increased his pressure on Ladislaus, which led Italy. As a last resort Count Ladislaus even converted
to an actual blockade of the county of Haag in 1552 to Protestantism in 1556, in order to get his divorce
and in 1555 to a secret treaty between Duke Albrecht from Protestant theologians, but this also turned out
and Emperor Charles V. Taking advantage of ru- to be an exercise in frustration.
mors about Ladislaus's Protestant leanings, Duke Al- In the meantime his old archenemy, Duke Al-
brecht obtained the emperor's assurance that after brecht, had been biding his time. When Ladislaus's
Ladislaus'sdeath the county would cease to be an in- widowed sister, Maximiliane von Ortenburg, planned
dependent territory of the empire, and would be to remarry, her brother-in-law,as the guardian of her
handed over to Albrecht and his heirs in order to en- five children, laid claim to her dowry and other
sure the preservation of the Catholic faith. property. Maximiliane appealed to Duke Albrecht,
In the meantime Count Ladislaus tried desperately the feudal lord of the Ortenburgs. The duke set up a
to prevent the extinction of his house. Using old ac- committee for arbitration, and Maximiliane asked
quaintance with the duke of Ferrara, Ercole II her brother to attend the negotiations. When Ladis-
d'Este, he married a niece of the duke's, Emilia Ro- laus arrived at the meeting place, Alt-Oetting, on
verella de Pio di Carpi, in 1555. The duke showed September 12, 1557, he was arrested and conducted
Ladislaus great favor, offering him not only the to Munich on trumped-up charges. In spite of the
county of Scandiano, a lordship in his domain, but blatant illegality of this procedure, Duke Albrecht in-
also the well-salaried position of captain-general of sisted on a payment of a "penalty"of 25,000 thalers,
the ducal forces, with the right to the arms of the even against serious protests from his own vassals
house of Este as an augmentation to his own.6 Unfor-
tunately, Ladislaus's mother-in-law insisted on add-
ing extortionate demands to the already signed mar- 6. W. Goetz, "Ladislaus von Fraunberg, der letzte Graf von
riage contract, in order to keep Emilia'sdowry as well Haag," in Oberbayerisches Archivfiir vaterlindischeGeschichteXLVI
as Ladislaus'smarriage gifts.7 Exasperated, Ladislaus (1889-90) p. 138.
even agreed to take Emilia "only in her shift" without 7. In the original contract Emilia's dowry was set at lo,ooo
crowns, to be paid as 2,000 crowns in cash at once, 4,000 crowns
any dowry and to pay lo,ooo crowns to her family, in the form of a palazzo at Ferrara, and the remaining 4,000
deposited with the banking house of Fugger. If Lad- crowns in annual installments of i,ooo crowns each. To counter
islaus should die before Emilia, this sum would be this Ladislaus was to offer a marriage gift of 1o,ooo crowns, plus
paid to her within four years; if there were any chil- a special bonus ("Morgengabe") "for reason of her virginity";
dren, however, she would get only five percent inter- they were to be Emilia's exclusive property, to be used according
to her own wish. The additions were such that the dowry, the
est on it as an annuity for life. If she should die be-
marriage gift, and the "Morgengabe" were to stay "semper et in
fore Ladislaus, the entire amount would be returned perpetuum" (forever and ever) in Italy, within the mother's
to him. reach.

143
 2. Rogier van der Weyden (1399/1400-1464), Fran-
cesco d'Este, Flemish, ca. 1460. The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, Bequest of Michael Friedsam,
1931, The Friedsam Collection, 32.100.43

and lukewarm measures by the emperor. On Novem-

ber 2, 1557, Ladislaus was brought back to Haag,
and was kept as a prisoner in his own castle until he
paid the entire ransom, 20,000 thalers of it in cash,
the remaining sum in plate, jewels, and so on, to be
redeemed within six weeks.8
It would have been either during the last days of
his captivity, or immediately after, during the early
winter weeks of 1557-58, that Hans Mielich painted
Ladislaus's portrait, in keeping with the spirit of the
period, filled with poignant symbols.
The military trophy on the wall represents the sol-
dierly career of the count;9 the memento mori as-
sembly of skull, crucifix, and hourglass on the shelf,
together with the Vanitas symbol of the mirror hang-
ing from the cornice, is a reminder of the low ebb of
Count Ladislaus's fortunes in 1557.10 On the other
hand, the carnation-since the Middle Ages a tradi-
tional symbol for a bridegroom-in a glass vase on
the table indicates hope for a new and this time more

8. All detailsof Count Ladislaus'sstormylife are taken from

Goetz, "Ladislausvon Fraunberg,"pp. 108-165.
9. In 1524, at the age of twenty,Ladislausparticipatedin the
Italian campaigns that culminated in the Battle of Pavia(Feb.
24, 1525), but he was taken prisonerby the French"becauseof
overmuch boldness."In a characteristicshow of the proverbial
ingratitudeof the house of Hapsburg,EmperorCharlesV re-
fused to ransom him. After his ransomwas paid by his brother,
therefore, Ladislauswent into Frenchserviceuntil 1529. In the
meantimehe had been attainted,and his half of the county(the
other half was his brother'sshare)wasconfiscatedand occupied
by the Bavarians.He was fortunate to get his property back
after payment of a fine of 6,ooo gulden. In 1536-38 he was
again in imperial service, campaigningin Italy and Provence.
In 1547, under the threat of the Warof the Leagueof Schmal-
kalden, he was appointed one of the three captains-generalof
the imperial forces in Bavaria, and in 1553 he was to raise
twenty companies of Landsknechte for a planned campaign in
Burgundy.
o1. The branches of taxus tucked behind the trophy had
been symbolsof death since classicalantiquity,but there might
also be a specifichidden wordplayinvolved.Taxusis not only a
favoritetree in churchyards,it is also much favored as shrub-
bery for hedges. A Germanword for "hedge"is Hag.

3. Reverse of the portrait of Francesco d'Este, with the

sitter's arms

144
successful marriage," which might give the county of
Haag its so desperately longed-for heir.
Indeed, immediately after his return from his un-
happy Italian adventure, Count Ladislaus had ap-
proached the lady of a nearby castle, Margarethe von
Trenbach, and actually promised to marry her as
soon as his burdensome marriage with Emilia could
be dissolved. However, this was not to be, and Mar-
garethe died, single, probably in 1565.
Ladislaus himself died in 1566, without issue, and
his beloved little county was pocketed by a trium-
phant Duke Albrecht; it is still part of Bavaria.'2
The most striking feature, though, in this paint-
ing-so heavily loaded with iconographical hints-is
the leopard rubbing against Count Ladislaus's leg
like an overgrown housecat. This leopard must have 4. Jean Perreal (ca. 1455-1530), Pierre Sala, with dedi-
been a family celebrity. Almost a century later, in catory inscription in Sala's Emblesmes et devises
a letter dated July 31, 1640, Prince Gundacar von d'amour, French (Lyons), ca. 1500; reproduced in
Liechtenstein, a grandson of Ladislaus's sister Maxi- reverse, the inscription being in mirror writing.
miliane, advised his son, Prince Ferdinand, to show a London, British Library, Stowe MS 955, fols. 16v,
17r (photo: British Library)
visiting Cardinal Pio all the ancestral portraits at
Castle Feldsberg, in particular the one of "Graf
Lassla von Haag" by "an excellent master'shand," be- stow on Count Ladislaus the right of using the Este
cause this ancestor was once married to a lady of the arms with his own.
house of Pio, and was seen in the picture with a An outstanding example of these arms appears on
"Tigertier,"which had been given to him by one of the reverse of a panel painting by Rogier van der
his Pio brothers-in-law and "which used to follow Weyden in the Metropolitan Museum, which was
him around like a dog."'3 identified by Ernst H. Kantorowicz as a portrait of
It is not known which of Emilia'stwo brothers, Er- Francesco d'Este, marquis of Ferrara (Figures 2, 3).14
cole or Enea, was the generous donor of this gift, re- The armorial shield is quartered (1 and 4) with the
markable not only for its sheer magnificence but also augmentation of honor that King Charles VII of
for its value as a thoughtful gesture of deeper sym- France had bestowed on the house of Este in 1432:
bolic nature. The leopard was a crest of the house of azure, three fleurs-de-lys or, in a bordure emman-
Este, and, as mentioned earlier, Emilia's uncle, the chee gules and or; and (2 and 3) with the family arms
duke of Ferrara, Ercole II d'Este, had offered to be- of Este: azure, an eagle argent. As a crest there is a

11. The glass vase could also be a pessimistic reminder of vortrefflichen Meisters Hand abcontrafect vorhanden" (Since
the German proverb "Gliick und Glas-wie leicht bricht das!" Cardinal Pio himself points out the relationship, you may, my
(Luck and glass-how easily broken!). dear, on given occasion show him all the ancestors and mention
12. After Ladislaus's death Emilia married again, a Count that our maternal grandmother's brother [called Graf Lassla
Onofrio Bevilacqua. Conte Pompeo Litta, Famigliecelebriitaliane von Haag] had a wife of the house of Pio, and that one of the
(Milan/Turin, 18igff.) IX, dispensa 16, s.v. Pio di Carpi, table Pii, his brother-in-law, gave him a tiger-beast as a present, which
Iv, mentions tersely that Emilia "fu dapprima moglie di un ba- followed him around like a dog, and with which tiger-beast he
rone tedesco." can still be seen to this day at Veldsperg, portrayed by an excel-
13. "Weil der Cardinal Pio die Verwandtnus selbst anziehet, lent master's hand). Quoted from a letter in the Princely Ar-
so konnen Deine Liebden data occasione ihm alle die Ahnen chives.
zeigen und vermelden, das unser Miitterlichen Ahnfrau Bru- 14. E. H. Kantorowicz, "The Este Portrait by Roger van der
der (Graf Lassla von Haag genannt) eine von seinem Hause Pii Weyden,"Journal of the Warburgand CourtauldInstitutes3 ( 1939-
gehabt und das einer der Pii, sein Schwager, ihme ein Tigertier, 40) pp. 165-180; and G. Bauman, "Early Flemish Portraits,
so wie ein Hundt stets bey ihme gewesen, geschenkt habe, mit 1425-1525," MMAB 43:4 (1986) pp. 38-42, figs. 29, 30, and
welchem Tigertier er auch noch bis dato zu Veldsperg von eines cover.

145
 seated leopard blindfolded with a long, fluttering
scarf; two rampant leopards are the supporters of
the shield. Above these arms are inscribed the words
vre tout, while below is written francisque. Flanking
the crested helmet are the monogrammatic letters m
and e tied together by love knots. The inscription non
plus courcellesscratched into the upper left-hand
corner next to the motto vre tout must be a later-
though near-contemporary-addition.
Francesco d'Este was a natural son of Lionello,
margrave of Ferrara (1407-50).'1 He spent most of
his life at the court of Burgundy, where he was sent
by his father for his education, in 1444, at the age of
fifteen; in the 146os "le marquis de ferrare, chambel-
lan du Duc" is repeatedly mentioned, but he also
held several military commands at that time. This
5. Reverse of medal of Lionello d'Este, by Master
service at the Burgundian court would explain the
Nicholaus, Italian, ca. 1445. London, British Mu-
seum (photo: British Museum) French form of his name on the painting, as well as
his French motto: "Votre tout" (All yours) (Figure
4).16 The letters m and e would stand for "marquis
6. The arms of the margraves of Ferrara (center). Gru- este" or "marchio estensis," a title used by his father,
nenbergs Wappenbuch, 1483 (photo: after facsimile Lionello.'7 The last time Francesco's name is re-
edition, 1875) corded is in October 1475, when he is registered in
the Chambre des Comptes of Lille as Captain of Wes-
terloo. Kantorowicz pointed out the possibility that
he might have been killed in one of the luckless
t( i > battles his master, Charles the Bold, had to fight in
the last year of his life, such as Grandson (March 2,
1476), Murten (June 22, 1476), or Nancy (January 5,
1477). Interestingly, right on the edge of the battle-
field of Grandson is a tiny hamlet named Corcelles.
Although there was an important Burgundian fam-
ily, de Courcelles, who might be referred to in the
enigmatic inscription non plus I courcelles (No more /
Courcelles), and in Burgundian territory there are a
couple of dozen towns and villages with names such
as Courcelles, Courselles, or Corcelles, could it be

15. Litta, Famigliecelebriitaliane, fasc. XXVI, s.v. Este in, table

xII, quotes the erroneous date of 1444 for Francesco's birth. For
a discussion of the correct date see Kantorowicz, "The Este Por-
trait," nn. 28-33.
16. The motto was previously read as "Voire(?) tout" (See
everything). However, the abbreviation "vFe" for "votre" is a
common one, as in Emblesmeset devises d'amour by Pierre Sala
(Lyons, ca. 1500), British Library, Stowe MS 955, fol. 16v: "Re-
guardez en pytye / vre loyal amy / qui na jour ne demy / bien
pour vre amytye" (see T. Kren, ed., Renaissance Painting in
Manuscripts: Treasuresfrom the British Library, exh. cat. [New
York, 1983] pp. 169-174, no. 22, pl. xxvII).
17. Kantorowicz, "The Este Portrait," p. 167.

146
 7. Dog collar with the initials of Christian II and Jo- Gundacar'sletter bears witness. In any case, the spot-
hann (Hans) Georg, dukes of Saxony, German ted felines in the Este arms are lacking the character-
(Saxon), 1600--11. The Metropolitan Museum of istic face markings of the cheetah, and Count Ladis-
Art, Bequest of Bashford Dean, 29.150. 154 laus's pet is clearly a leopard.
The cypher LSon the leopard's collar has been in-
that Francesco'smilitary career and life ended on the terpreted as an unusual monogram for Ladislaus, in-
snow-covered battlefield of Grandson/Corcelles? corporating the first and the last letter of his name.
The blindfolded leopard in the crest of the mar- Cyphers and monograms, sometimes of a very elabo-
graves and later dukes of Ferrara was an adaptation rate nature, were commonly used on collars for
of an impresaof Francesco's father, Lionello. On the hunting dogs; the collars of the hounds in the Hunt
reverse of his portrait medals by Pisanello, Amadio of the Unicorntapestries in The Cloisters are fine ex-
di Milano, and Master Nicholaus, a blindfolded fe- amples in art, and in real life the collars of the hunt-
line, identified by its pointed ears and stubby tail as a ing dogs of the dukes of Saxony, monogrammed with
lynx, is seated on a square pillow; on Master Nicho- their owners' names and titles, are the pride of many
laus's medal the animal is encircled by the motto museum collections (Figure 7).20 As it can be pre-
QVAE VIDES NE VIDE (Don't see what you see) (Figure sumed that the leopard's collar was specially made to
5).18The lynx's blindfold would be an allusion to its fit this prized animal, and therefore was probably
superior eyesight, which according to folklore was part of the original gift by the count's generous
even able to penetrate walls. The animals in Frances- brother-in-law, the cypher LSmight stand for Ladis-
co's arms, however, are clearly long-tailed leopards, laus and Scandiano, the lordship the count was on
and a blindfolded leopard was an accepted variant of the point of receiving when family relations at Fer-
the crest of the margraves and/or dukes of Ferrara rara were still friendly.
since Lionello's time (Figure 6).'9
The change from lynx to leopard was probably
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
due to the blindfold in the device. As it was custom-
ary to hood a falcon in order to prevent its taking off I would like to thank my friends and colleagues in the
prematurely after its intended prey, so a hunting MetropolitanMuseum, Guy C. Bauman, Departmentof
cheetah was blindfolded to keep it from chasing off European Paintings, and Stuart W. Pyhrr, Department
at the wrong moment. It is likely that the blindfolded of Arms and Armor, for their kind and generous help
and for sharing information and research results gath-
lynx was mistakenly seen as a hooded cheetah, which ered during their work on the preparationof the exhi-
in turn was misinterpreted as a leopard, a more ca- bition "Liechtenstein:The PrincelyCollections."For val-
nonical heraldic beast. Exact classification of species uable assistancein trackingdown the Sala manuscript,I
of large exotic cats is usually quite vague among am indebted to Donna McCombes, Pierpont Morgan
nonzoologists, as the "Tigertier" quoted from Prince Library,and to my editor, MaryLaing.

18. G. F. Hill, Medals of the Renaissance (Oxford, 1920) pp. 19. KonradGriinenbergs Wappenbuch, I483, facsimile,ed. Graf
37-38, pl. Iv:3; G. F. Hill and G. Pollard,RenaissanceMedals: Stillfried-Alcantara(Gorlitz,1875) pl. vII.
CompleteCatalogueof the SamuelH. KressCollection(London, 20. The letterson the dog collarsignify the dukes of Saxony,
1967) p. 9, pl. 8; U. Middeldorf and D. Stiebral,Renaissance Christian( 1601-11) and Johann Georg (coregentbefore 161i,
Medalsand Plaquettes(Florence, 1983) pls. ni, xxix; and Kan- reigned 1611-56): c H G as a cypher-Christian, Hans Georg;
torowicz,"The Este Portrait,"fig. 4b. H z S c-Herzog zu Sachsen, Churfurst (Duke of Saxony, Prince
Elector).

147
 A Pair of Wheel-Lock Pistols
Attributed to Wolf Lucz of Mergenthal
STUART W. PYHRR
AssociateCurator,Departmentof Armsand Armor,
The MetropolitanMuseum of Art

THE RECENT EXHIBITION at the Metropolitan Mu- series of allegorical figures engraved by the Paris
seum, "Liechtenstein: The Princely Collections," in- goldsmith and printmaker Etienne Delaune. The
cluded a display of one hundred and thirty firearms personifications of Theology and Jurisprudence on
as an evocation of the famous Gewehrkammer, or the backs of the grips (Figure 2) are copied after De-
cabinet of arms, assembled by the princes of laune's prints of the same subjects (Figures 6, 7); on
Liechtenstein from the sixteenth through the eigh- the left side of the stocks (Figure 3), the reclining
teenth century. Among these was a pair of richly dec- river god and goddess between the lock screws are
orated German wheel-lock pistols dating to about taken from Dialectique(Figure 8), and the confronted
1580-90 (Figures 1-5).i The heavy construction of dogs that frame the forward lock screw are from
the barrels and locks, the sharply down-turned angle the print of Phisique (Figure 9).2 The large curved
of the grips, and the large spherical pommels iden- plaques of staghorn serving as ramrod pipes (on the
tify them as belonging to a distinctly German type of underside of the stocks near the muzzle) are en-
cavalryman'sside arm, known as Puffer,that was used graved with equestrian battles; one of these (Figure
during the last quarter of the sixteenth century. 4) is inscribed EVRYTI REGIS FILIAM IOLAM OCCISO
These pistols, invariably made in pairs, were carried PATRE ABDVXIT HERCVLES (Hercules abducted Iole,
in holsters at the front of the saddle, from which the daughter of King Eurytus, after having slain her
they could be drawn in battle and fired at close father), the other (Figure 5) HERCVLESMVLTIS BELLIS
range. As would be expected of practical, deadly LACESSIT TROIAM (Hercules provoked Troy in many
weapons of war, most of these pistols were relatively battles). Both are copied, with considerable simplifi-
plain, although highly decorated (and therefore cation, from two engravings in Hans Sebald Beham's
more expensive) examples were also made to satisfy Laborsof Herculesseries published between 1542 and
customers of wealth and more demanding taste. The 1548 (Figures o1, l1).3
Liechtenstein pair, with their richly etched and gilt Another graphic source for the stock decoration
barrels and locks, and their intricately inlaid stocks, can be added to those already mentioned in the
are among the most elaborately embellished and Liechtensteincatalogue. The satyrs within strapwork
beautiful Puffer-typepistols in existence.
The profusion and variety of figural ornament on
the stocks of these firearms set them apart from the 1. I have described and discussed these pistols in Liechtenstein:
The Princely Collections,exh. cat. (New York, 1985) pp. 118- 19,
majority of late sixteenth-century German pistols.
no. 77, col. ill. Three color illustrations of the pistols were pub-
The stocks are inlaid with dense foliate scrolls inhab-
lished in S. W. Pyhrr, Firearmsfrom the Collectionsof the Prince of
ited by human and allegorical figures, animals, birds, Liechtenstein(New York, 1985) pp. 10-11.
and grotesques. As was noted in the catalogue of the 2. For the Delaune series see A. P. F. Robert-Dumesnil, Le
"Liechtenstein" exhibition, much of the decoration Peintre-graveurfrancais (Paris, 1835-71; repr. Paris, 1967) IX,
was copied from a variety of French and German or- pp. 103-104, nos. 340-345.
3. For Beham see F. W. H. Hollstein, German Engravings,
namental prints. Some of the graphic sources can be Etchingsand Woodcuts,ca. I400-I700 (Amsterdam, n.d.) III, pp.
illustrated here. A number of motifs are based on a 67-69.

149

? The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1987

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 22

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve, and extend access to
Metropolitan Museum Journal ®
www.jstor.org
 1-5. Pair of wheel-lock pistols, German
(Mergenthal/Bad Mergentheim), ca.
158o-9o. L. 20o/8 in. (51.2 cm.). Vaduz,
Collections of the Reigning Prince of
Liechtenstein, inv. nos. 142, 143 (photos:
Walter Wachter)

\K

2. Grips of the pistols, showing the allegori-

cal figures of Theology and Jurispru-
dence

150
 3. Detail of the left (or inner) side
of one pistol, showing the decora-
tion around the lock screws

OVERLEAF:

For purposes of comparison,

Figures 4 and 5 are shown on
the following page.

6-9. Etienne Delaune (1518/19-83),

engravings of allegorical figures.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art:
6-8. Gift of Harry G. Friedman,
62.635.62(5, 3, 2); 9. Harris Bris-
bane Dick Fund, 47.139.106

151
 4. Detail of the ramrod pipe beneath the barrel of pis- 5. Detail of the ramrod pipe beneath the barrel of pis-
tol no. 143, showing Hercules abducting Iole tol no. 142, showing Hercules battling the Trojans

-IV
1vL'TI
se Ej JL

Hc;~-

..

10. Hans Sebald Beham (1500-50), Hercules Abducting 11. Hans Sebald Beham, Hercules Battling the Trojans.
Iole. Engraving dated 1544. The Metropolitan Mu- Engraving dated 1545. The Metropolitan Museum
seum of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 17.3.479 of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 17.3.480

152
on the plaques at the muzzle come from the decora-
tive borders framing a series of portrait medallions
engraved by the prolific Nuremberg printmaker Vir-
gil Solis.4 The tiny figures of the bear, cheetah, lion,
and griffin, and probably also the birds, that appear
on the left side of the stocks were adapted from two
series of animal prints issued by Solis in 1557 and
1572 (Figure 12).5 The later date also provides a ter-
minus post quem for the decoration of the pistols.
While the identification of the graphic sources for
the decoration is evidence of the variety of prints
available to the stocker and demonstrates his talent
for integrating different motifs, it does not provide a
clue to his identity or to the town or region in which 12. Virgil Solis (1514-62), engraving of animals, in-
he worked. The prints were widely distributed cluding a griffin and lion in combat, 1572 (photo:
throughout Europe and were utilized by craftsmen after O'Dell-Franke, Virgil Solis, pl. 87, no. g 103)
in all media-goldsmiths, jewelers, cabinetmakers,
and potters, as well as decorators of arms and armor.
There is in fact no internal evidence to indicate
where in Germany these pistols were made. The only snap-matchlock rifles intended exclusively for target-
mark on the pistols-a shield containing the letters shooting; as luxury sporting arms, they were all elab-
WMabove a cogwheel stamped on the breech of each orately decorated.8 The stock is inlaid with scroll-
barrel-is presumably the barrel maker's and is un- work exactly matching that on the Liechtenstein
recorded.6 pistols, including the distinctive bell-shaped pods
An attribution for the Liechtenstein pistols was, which appear to be a characteristic of this decorator's
however, suggested in the exhibition catalogue on style. The rifle's decoration, too, includes a large
the basis of a comparison with a matchlock rifle in number of figures derived from identifiable graphic
the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich (Figures sources. The figures of Adam and Eve on the under-
13-16), which has an identical style of stock inlay. side of the stock are copied after an engraving of
The Munich rifle is signed and dated as by "Wolf 1540 by Heinrich Aldegrever,9 while the piper and
Lucz, gunstocker at Mergenthal, 1584."7This note is drummer on the cheek are reversed copies after Jost
intended to explore more fully the relationship be- Amman.'0 By far the largest number of figures were
tween the rifle and the Liechtenstein pistols, as sup- taken from the oeuvre of Virgil Solis. The figure of
port for the attribution of the pistols to Wolf Lucz. Judith on the underside of the stock is copied from a
The Munich gun belongs to a distinctive group of Solis design for the end of a scabbard (Figure 17),

4. I. O'Dell-Franke, Kupfersticheund Radierungenaus der Werk- by E. Schalkhausser, "Die Handfeuerwaffen des Bayerisches
statt des Virgil Solis (Wiesbaden, 1977) pl. 95, no. h 57. Nationalmuseums," Waffen-und Kostumkunde8 (1966) pp. 7-8,
5. Ibid., pls. 84, 85, nos. g 83-92 (1557 series), and pls. 86, where it is inexplicably called "Bohemian." Following Schalk-
87, nos. g 93-103 (1572 series). hausser, Heer, Der neue St0ckel, I, p. 731, records Wolf Lucz as
6. The mark is not found in the standard compendia of gun- active in "Mergendthal(?) Bohmen."
makers' marks, J. F. St0ckel, Haandskydevaabensbedommelse,2 8. For this snap-matchlock group see Hoff, "Late Firearms
vols. (Copenhagen, 1938-43), and E. Heer, Der neue St0ckel,3 with Snap Matchlocks," p. 16.
vols. (Schwabisch-Hall, 1978-82). Claude Blair (letter of June 9. Hollstein, GermanEngravings, I, pp. 6-7; the Aldegrever
2, 1984) suggests quite reasonably that the wheel, apparently a source was already noted by Schalkhausser, "Handfeuerwaf-
miller's waterwheel, may be a canting device for a maker named fen," p. 8.
Muller. 10. Leonhard Fronsperger, ed., Kriegs Ordnung... (Frank-
7. For the Munich rifle see A. Hoff, "Late Firearms with Snap furt am Main, 1564) p. 51v. Similar figures were also engraved
Matchlocks," T#jhusmuseetsSkifter7 (1963) p. 16, where the town by Solis; see O'Dell-Franke, Virgil Solis, pl. 53, no. f 12 (piper),
of Mergenthal is correctly identified as [Bad] Mergentheim in and pl. 54, no. f 19 (drummer).
northern Wiirttemberg. The rifle was subsequently catalogued

153
13-16. Matchlock target rifle, the stock by Wolf Lucz of Mergenthal, German, dated 1584. L. overall 52'/8 in. (132.5
cm.). Munich, Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, inv. no. W1447 (photos: Bayerisches Nationalmuseum)

11 - - g
-- ---

14. Cheek side of the rifle

and the three female figures holding shields at the the stock is the coat of arms of a member of the
side and underside of the stock, just forward of the Cronberg (or Cronenberg) family,'5 for whom the
lockplate, can be identified as Veturia, Lucretia, and rifle was made. A Walther von Cronberg (d. 1558)
Brigita from Solis's series of the nine heroines (Fig-
ure 18)." The male and female figures to either side 1i.O'Dell-Franke, Virgil Solis, pl. 122, no. i 116, and pl. 22,
nos. c 13, c 14, and c 18 respectively.
of the barrel tang on the top of the stock are ex-
12. Ibid., pl. 59, nos. f 56 (female figure) and f 58 (male fig-
tracted from two prints of dancing couples.'2 The ure).
playful monkeys on the butt and those on the top of 13. Ibid., pl. 63, nos. f go and f 92.
the stock come from a series of engraved playing 14. The stag and doe abovethe lock were copied from Virgil
Solis, ibid., pi. 85, no. g 92. The pelican and ostrich on the
cards (Figure 19),'13 and the many birds and animals undersideof the stockcame from the same seriesof 1557, ibid.,
that inhabit the scrollwork are, like those on the pi. 84, no. g 87 (pelican),and pl. 85, no. g 88 (ostrich).
Liechtenstein pistols, copied from Solis's composite 15. For the Cronberg arms see SiebmachersWappenbuch,ed.
A. M. F. Gritzner(Nuremberg, 1878) I, 3. Abt., II Reihe: "Die
groupings of birds, insects, and animals.'4 erlauchtenGrafengeschlechterin Deutschland,"pp. 6-7, pls. 6,
A staghorn plaque beneath the stock is engraved
7. The arms on the Munichgun were identifiedby Alexander
with two putti framing the inscription WOLFLVCZ von Reitzensteinas probablythose of DeutschmeisterFranzvon
SCHIFDER ZV MERGENDHAL 1584. On the left side of Cronberg(Hoff, "LateFirearmswith Snap Matchlocks," p. 16).

154
 16. Detail of Figure 15, showing
15. Underside of the rifle the gunstocker's signature

17. Virgil Solis, engraved design for

a scabbard chape with the fig-
ure of Judith (photo: after
O'Dell-Franke, Virgil Solis, pl.
122, no. i116)

18. Virgil Solis, Brigita, engraving

(photo: after O'Dell-Franke,
Virgil Solis, pl. 22, no. c 18)

3
-j ,
I .

19. Virgil Solis, Seven Monkeys,from

a series of engraved playing
cards (photo: after O'Dell-
Franke, Virgil Solis, pi. 63, no.
f 90)

155

t' .,1W M
held the double title of Hoch- und Deutschmeister of of late Renaissance ornament. His workshop pos-
the Teutonic Order, whose headquarters were trans- sessed dozens, and probably hundreds, of ornamen-
ferred to Mergenthal in 1527.16 Presumably other tal prints by the leading graphic artists of France and
members of the family can also be associated with Germany, from which he selected and combined mo-
that town. tifs as needed for his decorative schemes. The pres-
There is little documentation about Wolf Lucz or ence of the Cronberg arms on the Munich gun shows
gunmaking in Mergenthal, a town known today as that Lucz enjoyed the patronage of the leading fam-
Bad Mergentheim, in Wurttemberg, about twenty- ily of Mergenthal, and perhaps attained a wider rep-
five miles south of Wurzburg. The town once had a utation through his patrons' connections with the
gunsmiths' guild, but the records are preserved only Teutonic Order.
for the period 1700-49.17 However, a list dated July The original owner of the Liechtenstein pistols is
16, 1586, of burghers residing in Mergenthal men- not known. The pistols unfortunately are not identi-
tions a Wolf Lutz as living in the city's fourth quarter fiable in the early seventeenth-century inventories of
together with his wife, seven children, and a male the princely Gewehrkammer and therefore cannot
servant. He is again mentioned, this time without be definitely associated with a member of the house
family or servant, in a similar list dated March 11, of Liechtenstein. The owner was no doubt a man of
1592.18 Although his trade is not mentioned, this taste, however, and most likely acquired the pistols
Wolf Lutz is presumably identical with the gun- not as weapons but as works of art.
stocker Wolf Lucz. The Munich rifle is the only
known gun signed by Lucz, and it appears to consti-
tute the sole record of firearms making or decorating
in Mergenthal in the sixteenth century.
In spite of the lack of documentation, some con- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
clusions can be drawn about the gunstocker Wolf
I wish to thank especially my colleague and friend Dr.
Lucz based on the signed gun in Munich and the pair Rudolf Wackernagel, who made inquiries about Wolf
of pistols in the Liechtenstein collection. Lucz was a Lucz on my behalf in the archives of Bad Mergentheim,
highly skilled and inventive craftsman, in no way the Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, and the Zentralarchiv des
provincial, and was up to date in the latest fashions Deutschen Ordens, Vienna.

16. P. M. Tumler, ShortHistory of the TeutonicOrder(n.p., n.d.)

p. 30.
17. I am grateful to Dr. A. Seiler of the Staatsarchiv Lud-
wigsburg for this information about the extant records (B284
Bi4o). The only other gun signed by a master from Mergen-
thal/Bad Mergentheim that has come to my attention is one for-
merly in the collection of W J. Bernhard Smith, sold at Sothe-
by's, London, May 14-15, 1884, no. 96: a wheel-lock rifle
bearing the arms of the Kress family, the date 1653, and the
maker's signature on the barrel DAVID ARNET A MERGENSHEIM
(sic). Heer, Der neue St0ckel, I, p. 3o, records the following gun-
makers active in Bad Mergentheim: David Arnet (Arnth), ca.
1653; J. Friedrich Arnet (Arnth, Arneth), ca. 1730; and David
Arnet (Arnth), ca. 18oo.
I would also acknowledge the help of Mr. Leo Springer, hon-
orary keeper of the city archives of Bad Mergentheim, and
Father Dr. Bernhard Demel, O.T., of the Zentralarchiv des
Deutschen Ordens, Vienna, for their search, unfortunately un-
successful, for documents concerning Wolf Lucz.
18. Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg (B289 Bu69).

156
 Prince Karl I of Liechtenstein's
Pietre Dure Tabletop
CLARE VINCENT
AssociateCurator,Departmentof European Sculptureand DecorativeArts,
The MetropolitanMuseum of Art

A MAGNIFICENT PIETRE DURE TABLETOP in the his artists and diplomats with amassing the enormous
collection of Prince Franz Joseph II of Liechtenstein collection that was housed in the Hradschin, his
is a rare survival of the art of the Prague workshops castle in Prague. The collection included both a
that specialized in this costly and difficult medium. splendid picture gallery and the all-but-legendary
Commissioned by Karl I, the first prince of Liechten- imperial Kunstkammer, a kind of encyclopedic
stein, and reflecting the artistic and intellectual pre- grouping of artifacts and natural curiosities, such as
occupations of late Renaissance Prague, the table- minerals and gems, stuffed animals, bird and fish
top was among the objects lent to the exhibition skeletons, sea shells, scientific instruments, globes,
"Liechtenstein: The Princely Collections," held at clocks that demonstrated the motions of the heavens,
The Metropolitan Museum of Art from October 26, coins, medals, porcelains, small bronzes, and all man-
1985, until May 1, 1986. This article is an expansion ner of objects made of rare and precious materials.'
of some of the exhibition catalogue entries for Prince Although the present distinctions between the sci-
Franz Joseph II's pietre dure objects, focusing, in ences and pseudo-sciences had not yet been precisely
particular, on the tabletop. drawn, Rudolf II's patronage of astronomers and
Karl von Liechtenstein's taste was, in fact, largely natural scientists carried over into support for an ex-
formed in the court of the Holy Roman Emperor, travagant variety of astrologers, alchemists, numer-
Rudolf II (1552-1612), who was perhaps the greatest ologists, and unabashed wizards. Yet in the Danish
patron and collector of his age. Emperor Rudolf's
chosen residence was in Prague, the ancient capital A list of frequently cited sources is given at the end of this ar-
of the kingdom of Bohemia and the seat of the Bo- ticle.
hemian Estates. Rudolf held his councils in Prague
1. See Heinrich Zimmermann, "Das Inventar der Prager
and received foreign ambassadors there, making the Schatz und Kunstkammer vom 6. Dezember 1621," JKSAK 25
city, for a time, the capital of all the territories of the (1905) pp. xiii-lxxv; Alphons Lhotsky, Die Geschichteder Samm-
Holy Roman Empire. The emperor's interests were lungen, Festschriftdes KunsthistorischenMuseums in Wien, 1891-
1941 (Vienna, 1941-45) II, pt. 1, pp. 237-298; R.J. W. Evans,
cosmopolitan in the extreme, and the imperial court Rudolf II and His World:A Studyin IntellectualHistory, 15 76- 16 2
at Prague became a great center of late Renaissance (Oxford, 1973) pp. 176-183; Rotraud Bauer and Herbert
art, science, and humanist learning. Like his father, Haupt, eds., "Die Kunstkammer Kaiser Rudolfs II. in Prag, ein
Inventar aus den Jahren, 1607-11 ,"JKSW 72 (1976); Thomas
Emperor Maximilian II (1527-76), Rudolf II sur- Da Costa Kaufmann, "Remarks on the Collections of Rudolf II:
rounded himself with an extraordinary group of The Kunstkammeras a Form of Representatio,"Art Journal 38:1
scholars and artists from every part of the empire, as (1978) pp. 22-28; Elisabeth Scheicher, Die Kunst- und Wunder-
well as from elsewhere in Northern Europe and Italy. kammernderHabsburger(Vienna/Munich/Zurich, 1979) pp. 142-
His taste as a collector was equally broad. Early in his 178; and EliSka Fu/ikova, "The Collection of Rudolf II at
Prague: Cabinet of Curiosities or Scientific Museum?" in The
reign, Jacopo Strada (1515-88), one of the most re- Origins of Museums: The Cabinet of Curiosities in Sixteenth- and
markable antiquaries of the sixteenth century, was Seventeenth-CenturyEurope, ed. by Oliver Impey and Arthur
his chief adviser and agent, but Rudolf also charged MacGregor (Oxford, 1985) pp. 47-53.

157

? The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1987

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 22

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve, and extend access to
Metropolitan Museum Journal ®
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astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) and the Ger- elevated to the rank of prince. By that time he was
man mathematician Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), already in the service of Archduke Matthias (1557-
who between them put the Copernican system into 1619), the emperor's brother and successor. Matthias,
something resembling its modern form, the imperial as emperor, added substantially to Prince Karl'ster-
court sustained both the greatest observational as- ritories, naming him duke of Troppau in 1613.
tronomer and the foremost theoretician of the age. Prince Karl had become a Catholic not long before
The emperor's Flemish-born personal physician An- his first appointment as Imperial High Steward,
selm Boethius de Boodt (1550-1632) contributed and he remained a loyal supporter of the Catholic
the most influential treatise of the seventeenth cen- Hapsburgs during the Bohemian revolt of 1618 that
tury on gemstones, minerals, and hardstones. First touched off the opening of the Thirty Years' War in
published in 1609, the Gemmarumet lapidumhistoria Central Europe. After the defeat of the Protestant
underwent several subsequent editions, and it ap- rebels at the Battle of White Mountain in 1620, a
peared in a French translation as late as 1644. third Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand II (1578-
The history of the Liechtenstein family began not 1637), appointed him Viceroy and Imperial Gover-
in Prague, however, but in a different section of Cen- nor of Bohemia. As viceroy, Prince Karl presided
tral Europe, with the erection in the twelfth century over the execution of the rebel leaders and the con-
of a castle perched high upon a cliff, not far to the fiscation of their property, the drafting of a new con-
south of the city of Vienna in Lower Austria, known stitution, and the introduction of a thoroughgoing
as the lichteStein or Stone of Light; hence the family Counter-Reformation in Bohemia. In recognition of
name of Liechtenstein.2 The family fortunes were, his service, the emperor bestowed numerous estates
until modern times, bound up with the lands of Aus- upon the prince and in 1623 a second duchy, Jagern-
tria, Moravia, and Bohemia and with the emperors dorf.3
who ruled the lands of the Holy Roman Empire. During the period of his stewardship to Emperor
Thanks not only to the Lutheran Reformation in Rudolf II, Prince Karl's own collection remained
these lands, but also to the legacy in Bohemia and quite modest, probably, as Rudolf Distelberger has
Moravia of the fifteenth-century religious reformer pointed out, a wise policy to avoid the possibility of
Jan Hus, the Liechtensteins in the sixteenth century arousing the emperor's jealousy.4 By 1613, the year
were Protestant, and in this they were, in fact, joined after the emperor's death, a Liechtenstein household
by the majority of the population of their native inventory shows that the prince had begun to collect
land. Besides the castle of Liechtenstein near Vienna, objects made of rock crystal, hardstones, and other
their holdings in Lower Austria and Moraviawere al- rare materials, some mounted in gold and set with
ready extensive, and they had a long history of ser- gemstones, others in silver gilt.5 It was a taste that he
vice to the Austrian Hapsburg dukes. surely must have developed in the emperor's service,
Karl von Liechtenstein was born in 1569. In his for the emperor's Kunstkammer was renowned for
youth he studied in Geneva and traveled to France, its collection of such objects, many of them made in
but by 1596 the death of his father and uncles left the imperial workshops, but others from the great
him head of the Liechtenstein family, and before the Italian centers of the lapidary arts, Milan and Flor-
end of the century he had, through a combination of ence, and others still from the Spanish workshop of
marriage, inheritance, gifts, and financial acumen, the Milanese Leoni family who were employed by
become the richest noble in Moravia,a status that en- Rudolf's cousin, King Philip II. From 1600, when
abled him to lend both money and counsel to Em- Karl von Liechtenstein became Imperial High Stew-
peror Rudolf II. Appointed Imperial High Steward ard, until his death early in 1627, the Liechtenstein
(Obersthofmeister)three times during the years from
1600 to 16o6, he was not only close to the emperor, 2. Liechtenstein,introduction by Reinhold Baumstark, p. xi.
but also very much involved with the practical prob- 3. See Jacob von Falke, Geschichte des fiirstlichen Hauses
lems of the support of the wide variety of artists, LiechtensteinII (Vienna, 1887) pp. 125-242; Haupt, I, pp. 9-
scientists, and craftsmen who held court appoint- 32; and Liechtenstein,pp. xi-xix.
4. Rudolf Distelberger, "Werke der Goldschmiede- und
ments. He left Prague early in 1607 and returned to Steinschneidkunst," in Haupt, I, pp. 71-72.
Moravia as governor. In the following year he was 5. FLH Vaduz, MS 339, quoted by Haupt, II, pp. 189-190.

158
household and court accounts contain the names of Princely Collections of Liechtenstein in Vaduz that
many of the artists and artisans who had been em- survive from Karl I's time. As we shall see, the choice
ployed by the emperor. Among them were the court of medium and form for a prized possession of this
painters Hans von Aachen6 and Georg Hoefnagel,7 ambitious prince could have been no accident. In
the engraver Aegidius Sadeler,8the sculptor Adriaen commissioning the tabletop, Prince Karl I would
de Fries,9 the imperial goldsmith Magnus Korn- have been emulating Emperor Rudolf II, for the em-
blum,'0 the imperial stonecutter Ottavio Miseroni," peror's Florentine pietre dure tabletop was famed as
the imperial instrument maker Erasmus Habermel,'2 one of the most precious objects in the whole of the
and the imperial clockmakers Christof Margraf13 and imperial Kunstkammer.
Jost Biirgi.14 The inventory of the prince's household No written record of Prince Karl'scommission has
made in 1613 describes several paintings by the been found. The tabletop is described for the first
Rudolfine favorite Bartholomaus Spranger,'5 while time in an eighteenth-century catalogue of the
drinking cups and vases of rock crystal, jasper, and Liechtenstein Gallery in Vienna.20 Nevertheless,
exotic materials of the kind prized by the emperor Prince Karl'smonogram, consisting of interlaced ad-
are listed in both the 1613 inventory and another dorsed C's and surmounted by a coronet, is incorpo-
drawn up in 1623.16 In addition, we know from an rated into the decoration of the four corners of the
eighteenth-century gouache that even the design of tabletop and on a banner in one of the military tro-
Prince Karl's crown was patterned on the one made phies. In addition, his coat of arms,2' inlaid in ap-
for Emperor Rudolf II about 16o2.17 propriately colored hardstones, surmounted by a
The tabletop (Figure i),18 with its companion cas- prince's ermine-lined cap of maintenance (Fiirsten-
ket (Figure 2),'9 is one of the few objects in the hut), and framed by a band of gilt bronze inlaid with

6. FLH Vaduz, Schachtel 483: Rechnungsbuch 1599/1600, See Bruce Chandlerand Clare Vincent,"ARockCrystalWatch
fol. Ilv, and FLH Vienna, Schachtel H76: Hofzahlamtsbuch with a Cross-Beat Escapement," MMJ 15 (1981) pp. 193-201.
1604/05, fol. 49r, quoted by Haupt, II, p. 135, no. 30, and p. 15. FLH Vaduz, MS 339, quoted by Haupt, II, p. 186, nos.
138, no. 59- 254N and 255N.
7. FLH Vaduz, Schachtel483: Rechnungsbuch1599/1600, 16. FLH Vaduz, MS 351, fols. 26r/v, 27r/v, quoted by Haupt,
fol. 28v, quoted by Haupt, II, p. 136, no. 41. II, pp. 262-263, 267-269, and see note 5.
8. FLH Vaduz,Schachtel482, ExtractNo. 4, fol. 4v, quoted 17. See GustavWilhelm,"Der historischeliechtensteinische
by Haupt, II, p. 310, no. A16. Herzogshut," Jahrbuch des historischenVereinsfir das Fiirstentum
9. FLH Vaduz,Schachtel33 (1609), quoted by Haupt, II, p. Liechtenstein60 (1960) pp. 7-20; Victoria and Albert Museum,
164, no. 137. Princely Magnificence: CourtJewels of the Renaissance, 1500-1630
o1. FLH Vaduz,aus Schachtel604, quoted by Haupt, II, p. (London, 1980) pp. 6, 131, no. G46; and Liechtenstein,pp. 33-
291, no. 759. 35, no. 20, col. ill.
1 . FLH Vienna,SchachtelH77: Hofzahlamtsbuch1622, fol. 18. See Vincenzio Fanti, Descrizzionecompletadi tutto cib che
29v, quoted by Haupt, II, p. 251, no. 456; FLH Vienna,Schach- ritrovasi nella galleria di pittura e scultura di sua altezza Giuseppe
tel H77: Hofzahlamtsbuch1623, fol. 22r, quoted by Haupt, II, Wenceslasdel S.R.I. Principe Regnante delle cassedi Lichtenstein(Vi-
p. 254, no. 501; and a document,cited by GustavWilhelm,"Die enna, 1767) p. 59, no. 26; Distelberger (1980) p. 63; and Liech-
Fiirsten von Liechtenstein und ihre Beziehungen zur Kunst tenstein,pp. 45-48, no. 26, col. ill.
und Wissenschaft," Jahrbuch der liechtensteinischenKunstgesell- 19. See Fanti, Descrizzionecompleta,p. 47, no. 24; Neumann,
schaft 1 (1976) p. 24, which can no longer be found. See Haupt, pp. 191-192, fig. 217, and p. 201, no. 32; Distelberger (1980)
II, p. 258, no. 555a (1623). pp. 61-63; and Liechtenstein,pp. 42-45, no. 25, col. ills.
12. FLH Vaduz, Schachtel 483: Rechnungsbuch 1599/1600, 20. Fanti, Descrizzionecompleta,p. 59, no. 26: "Una Tavola con
fol. 36r, quoted by Haupt, II, p. 136, no. 47. cornice d'ottone e sostenuta da un piede di legno intagliatoa
13. FLH Vaduz, Schachtel 482, Extract No. 1, fol. 12r, fogliami, lunga piedi 2, once 1 , e larga piedi 2., once 9. e un
quoted by Haupt, II, p. 309, no. A6. 3/4, questa i tutta intarsiatadi pietre dure con diversi Paesetti,i
14. FLH Vaduz,MS99, quoted by Haupt, II, p. 290, no. 753; Medaglie rappresentantidi militari Trofei; nel mezzo evvilo
FLH Vaduz, Schachtel482, Extract No. 4, fol. 3v, quoted by stemma Gentiliziodella serinissmaCasadi Lichtenstein,e tutti
Haupt, II, p. 310, no. A14; and FLH Vaduz, Schachtel 482, Ex- questi lavorisono distintamentecontornatidi granate."
tract No. 1, fol. 48v, quoted by Haupt, II, p. 309, no. A2. The 21. Quarterly,barryof eight or and sable, a crownof rue in
last states that Prince Karl paid Jost Burgi and Johann Poest- bend vert (Kuenring);per fess or and gules (Liechtenstein);per
dorffer 200 florins between 1620 and 1624. The association of pale gules and argent (Troppau);and or, an eagle displayed
the two clockmakersundoubtedlyprovidedthe opportunityfor sable, charged on the breast and wings with a crescent argent
the transmissionof the technical secrets of Burgi'scross-beat trefle at the ends, supportingin the center a cross (Silesia).
escapement for clocks and watches from Prague to Dresden.

159
 1. Tabletop, made by the workshop of the Castrucci (act. 1596-ca. 1622?), Bohemian (Prague), probably finished ca.
i620-2 3. Hardstones, garnets, and gilt bronze; 365/8 X 35 in. (93 x 88.5 cm.). Vaduz, Collections of the Reigning
Prince of Liechtenstein, inv. no. 1401 (photo: Walter Wachter)

i6o
garnets (Figure 3) in the center of the tabletop, un- tabletop can be found in a suggestion of Rudolf
mistakably identifies the original owner. Moreover, Distelberger's that among the banners in the military
the choice of quarterings in the coat of arms permits trophies, the one with a device of a crowned F (Fig-
a fairly accurate estimate of the date of the comple- ure 4) probably alludes to Ferdinand II, whose
tion of the table. Evidence provided by a former di- election in 1619 as Holy Roman Emperor and de-
rector of the Liechtenstein collection indicates that feat in 1620 of Elector Palatine Frederick V in a
Prince Karl I did not use the quartering for Kuen-
ring in the upper left-hand corner until 1620, and
that when he became duke of Jgerndorf in 1623, he
22. Gustav Wilhelm, "Fiirst Karl von Liechtenstein und seine
promptly added a golden hunting horn that is not to
be found in the arms on the tabletop.22The date of genealogischen und heraldischen Bestrebungen (Die Entwick-
lung des Wappens der Fiirsten von Liechtenstein)," NeuesJahr-
the table can thus be narrowed to the period between buch der heraldisch-genealogischen
Gesellschaft"Adler"2 (1947-50)
1620 and 1623. Further support for the date of the pp. 7-8 and p. 11, fig. 6.

_
-_ .. _ . . . . . .. . . _

"

_r ~r -
A r ~ S s.D

2. Casket, by the workshop of the Castruccibut probablyfinished in the workshopof Ottavio Miseroni (ca. 1588-
1624), Bohemian (Prague), finished ca. 1620-23. Hardstones, marble, garnets, gilt bronze, and ebony veneer;
215/8 X 345/8 X 19'/8 in. (55 x 88 x 48.5 cm.). Vaduz, Collectionsof the Reigning Prince of Liechtenstein,inv.
no. 599 (photo: Walter Wachter)

161
 3. Detail of Figure 1 showing the coat of arms used
by Prince Karl I of Liechtensteinbetween 1620 and
1623

4. Detail of Figure 1 showing a militarytrophy with a

banner and a crowned F device probablyalluding
to the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II (1578-
1637) (photo: Vincent)

A-
_.* ~ 1
~A

struggle for control of Bohemia constituted the open- later it was reorganized under the Medici Grand
ing events of the Thirty Years' War.23Prince Karl's Duke Ferdinand I (1549-1609). Grand Duke Ferdi-
brother Maximilian (1578-1643) served as Grand nand gave a table with a Florentine pietre dure top
Master of the Ordinance to Emperor Ferdinand II, to Emperor Rudolf II not long after the reorganiza-
and for his own loyal support during this troubled tion of the Opificio. Almost immediately, Rudolf II
period, Karl I was richly rewarded by the emperor. ordered a second table from the Opificio.24The Mil-
Like the trophies and the coat of arms, the remain- anese brothers Gian Ambrogio and Stefano Caroni
ing surface of this splendid tabletop is composed of (d. 1611) and Cristofano Gaffuri (d. 1626) began
plaques of inlaid hardstones and minerals, called work on the second tabletop in 1590 under the su-
Florentine mosaic or pietre dure work (commessodi pervision of the goldsmith Jacques Bylivelt (1550-
pietredure). It is a technique which has more in com- 1603). The final payment was made in 1597.25
mon with another Italian specialty, wooden intarsia, This table is now lost, but the introduction to the
than with traditional mosaics made of numberless 1609 edition of de Boodt's Gemmarum et lapidumhisto-
small cubes of stone or glass. Florentine mosaic is ria refers to "the jeweled table, which your Majesty
composed, instead, of larger, irregularly shaped ordered to be made, the eighth wonder of the world,
pieces cut and polished to exploit the color and fig- in the manufacture of which so many years and so
ure of the stones-marble, petrified wood, minerals, much money has been spent, and which has been so
and the hardstones such as jasper, agate, chalcedony,
alabaster, lapis lazuli, or onyx-in order to create 23. Distelberger (1980) p. 63.
naturalistic pictorial effects. The Florentine work- 24. Neumann, pp. 168-173.
25. C. Willemijn Fock, "Pietre Dure Work at the Court of
shop for this medium, the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Prague: Some Relations with Florence," LeidskunsthistorischJaar-
was established in the Uffizi by 1586, and two years boek 1 (1982) pp. 264-267.

162
cunningly executed, that the gems (joined invisibly) 3037, 3397, and 3002). He identified these with en-
represent forests, trees, rivers, flowers, clouds, ani- tries in the inventory of the Prague Kunstkammer of
mals, and various shapes of beautiful things so well, the emperor made between 1607 and i611.29 Neu-
that they appear to be painted from life." De Boodt mann noted that the earliest mention of Cosimo Ca-
went on to say that a similar work was not to be strucci as a stonecutter in Prague was a record of a
found in all the world.26 payment to him in 1596.30Payments to Giovanni Ca-
The table had a base provided for it by the impe- strucci were made between 1605 and 1612, and Gio-
rial sculptor Adriaen de Fries, and it is the base vanni was appointed hardstone cutter (KammerEdel-
rather than the top which is primarily visible in the to the emperor in 1610, suggesting that
steinschneider)
only surviving visual records of the table. These con- Cosimo had died in that year.31
sist of two paintings by David Teniers the Younger Additional records of the Castrucci have subse-
(1610-90) illustrating the seventeenth-century cab- quently been discovered in Florence. In 1611 Gio-
inet of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm, a younger vanni was invited to work in the Florentine Opificio,
brother of Emperor Ferdinand III who was Stad- but he seems to have remained in Prague and died
holder of the Netherlands. One is in the Gemalde- about 1615.32 The workshop in Prague also em-
galerie of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna,27 ployed Giovanni's son, Cosimo di Giovanni, at least as
and the second is in the Musee Royal des Beaux-Arts early as 1615, and a son-in-law, Giuliano di Piero
in Brussels.28 Pandolfini, who is mentioned in a document of
At about the same time that this prodigious work 1622.3 Pandolfini became a master in the Florentine
of lapidary art was completed, the emperor installed Opificio,34 and he is probably the maker of the pietre
two Florentine specialists in pietre dure, Cosimo Ca- dure tabletop commissioned by Prince Karl I's son
strucci and his son Giovanni, in the workshops at his Prince Karl Eusebius, which is also still in the
imperial court in Prague. Erwin Neumann was the Princely Collections of Liechtenstein at Vaduz.35 The
first to recognize the artistic identities of the two Ca- existence of yet another member of the Prague work-
strucci in three pietre dure plaques that are now in shop, Hans Bartzels, is evident from the record of a
the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna (inv. nos. payment made to him as late as 1627, but it is not

26. Anselmi Boetii de Boodt, Gemmarum et lapidumhistoria Rechnungbuch, 1605, fol. 148r, Oct. 1, 1605, quoted by Wen-
(Hanau, 1609) pp. 7-8: "HancSacr.Caes. Majest.vestraeesse delin Boeheim, "Urkunden und Regesten aus der K.K. Hof-
mentem, ostendit mensa illa gemmea quam Sacr.Caes. Majest. bibliothek,"JKSAK 10 (1889) p. xv, no. 5645. The second and
vestra extrui iussit, octauum mundi miraculum,in qua fabri- third records of payments, dated Aug. 31, 1608, and Apr. 1,
canda tot annis, tantisque expensis desudatum est, quaeque 1610, are quoted by Boeheim, JKSAK 1o (1889) p. xvii, no.
tanto artificio elaborata est vt gemmae sibi inuicem commis- 5672, and p. xviii, no. 5685. The 1612 payment recorded in
suris, quae conspectumfugiunt vnitae siluas,arbores,flumina, the Hofzahlamts-Rechnungbuch, 1611-14, fol. 476v, Mar. 1o,
flores, nubes, animalia,variasquererum pulcherrimarumfor- 1612, is quoted by Heinrich Zimmermann, "Ausziige aus den
mas ita referent, vt depictaead viuum videantur,ac simileopus Hofzahlamtsrechnungen in der K.K. Hofbibliothek,"JKSAK 29
in toto orbe reperiri non possit." The passage describing (1910-11) p. v, no. 19517.
the tabletop was noted by Arpad Weixlgarten,"Die weltliche 32. J. Krtalova and Kirsten Aschengreen Piacenti, Dizionario
Schatzkammer in Wien,"JKSW n.s. 2 (1928) p. 280. Weixlgar- biograficodegli italiani XXII (Rome, 1979) p. 251.
ten'sGermantranslationwas reprintedby Neumann, pp. 171- 33. Archivio di Stato, Florence: Guardaroba Medicea, Filza
172. I wish to thankJ. H. Leopold, however,both for the Latin 433, fol. 17r, quoted by Claudia Przyborowski, Die Ausstattung
original and for the English translationused here and below der Fiirstenkapellean der Basilika von San Lorenzoin Florenz, diss.
(see note 66). (Berlin, 1982) II, pp. 593-594. See also Los Angeles County
27. See Neumann, p. 173, fig. 202. Museum of Art, The Art of Mosaics: Selectionsfrom the GilbertCol-
28. See Fock,"PietreDure Work,"p. 267, fig. 7. lection, catalogue by Alvar Gonzalez-Palacios and Steffi Rottgen,
29. This inventory was discovered in recent times in the rev. ed. (Los Angeles, 1982) pp. 83-84.
Liechtenstein collection by the former director, Gustav Wil- 34. Antonio Zobi, Notizie storicheriguardanti 'lImperialee Reale
helm. It was subsequently published by Rotraud Bauer and Stablimentodei Lavori di commessoin pietre dure di Firenze (Flor-
Herbert Haupt (see note i). ence, 1841) p. 266.
30. Hofkammer- und Finanzarchiv,Vienna: Hofzahlamts- 35. See Liechtenstein,pp. 48-50, no. 27. I should like to thank
Rechnungbuch,1596, fol. io8v, Apr. 23, 1596, quoted by Wen- Reinhold Baumstark for locating the document that identified
delin Boeheim, "Urkunden und Regesten aus der K.K. Hof- Pandolfi or Pandolfini as the maker of a tabletop that is prob-
bibliothek,"JKSAK 7 (1888) p. ccxxvi, no. 5554. ably this one.
31. Hofkammer- und Finanzarchiv,Vienna: Hofzahlamts-

163
164
 5. Landscapewith a Chapel, signed by Cosimo Castrucci 6). The arms of Emperor Rudolf II are prominently
and dated 1576 or 1596, Italian (Florence) or Bohe- displayed on the plinth of the obelisk, enabling Neu-
mian (Prague). Hardstones, 9/V x 71/4 in. (24.5 x mann to recognize the plaque in one of the entries
18.3 cm.). Vienna, KunsthistorischesMuseum, inv. in the 1607-11 inventory of the emperor's Prague
no. 3037 (photo: KunsthistorischesMuseum)
Kunstkammer, where it is stated to be from Giovan-
6. Riverscapewith a Bridge and Obelisk,by Giovanni Ca- ni's own hand.38The scene is based on an engraving
strucci, Bohemian (Prague), probably early 17th by Johannes Sadeler I (1550-ca. 1600) titled River-
century. Hardstones, x 131/2in. (49.3 X 34.2
19/8
scapewith a Scenefrom Aesopand dated 1599 (Figure
cm.). Vienna, KunsthistorischesMuseum, inv. no. 7); this, in turn, is based on a drawing by Lodewijk
3397 (photo: KunsthistorischesMuseum)
Toeput (ca. 1550-1603/05), which is in the Hermi-
tage Museum in Leningrad.39Toeput, an artist of the
known just how long the workshop itself remained in so-called Netherlandish-Venetian School, was born in
existence.36 Malines. He spent much of his career in Italy, how-
The only surviving work that is unquestionably by ever, where he was known as Lodovico Pozzoserrato;
Cosimo Castrucci is a signed landscape (Figure 5) in hence the inscription Lodovicopozzo inuet on the en-
the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna (inv. no. graving. Giovanni's pietre dure plaque displays a
3037), which is dated 1576 or 1596, depending upon more ambitious composition than Cosimo's, perhaps
how the third digit is interpreted.37 This plaque is owing to its engraved model, but Giovanni's attempts
distinguished by a highly successful choice of colored to suggest pictorial depth are inconsistent with the
hardstones that are used to suggest a directional laws of perspective, and he shows himself to be far
source of light and to create the illusion of aerial per- less skillful than his father in the use of this difficult
spective. medium to create illusionistic effects.
Neumann identified Giovanni Castrucci'sstyle in a Neumann also attributed another plaque in the
plaque titled Riverscape with a Bridge and Obelisk now Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (inv. no. 3002),40
in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna (Figure to Giovanni, a landscape with a man drawing water
from a well (Figure 8). The motif of a well with a
long wellsweep counterweighted by a heavy stone can
7. Riverscape with a Scene from Aesop, engraving by Jo- also be found at the left edge of the Riverscapewith a
hannes Sadeler I after LodewijkToeput, Flemish,
dated 83/8 x 1o'/2 in. X 26.7 cm.). Bridgeand Obelisk,but the motif is not taken from the
1599. (21.2
same engraved source. The counterweighted well-
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, Rijksprentenkabinet
(photo: Rijksmuseum-Stichting) sweep does appear, however, in another roughly con-
temporaneous engraving, this one by Johannes Sade-
ler's nephew Aegidius (Figure 9).41
Aegidius Sadeler was born in Antwerp about 1570
and in 1597 went to Prague, where he became the
leading engraver at the court of Rudolf II. He died
in Prague in 1629. As the inscription on the engrav-
ing indicates, Aegidius Sadeler's print is based on a

36. FLH Vienna,SchachtelH77: Hofzahlamtsbuch1626/27,

fol. 64r, Mar.22, 1627, quoted by Haupt, II, p. 287, no. 739,
and p. 324.
37. Neumann, p. 168, figs. 197, 198, p. 184, n. i l, and p.
199, no. 1. From the absence of any evidence of Cosimo Ca-
strucci'spresencein Praguebefore 1596, it would seem that the
date of the plaqueis more likelyto be 1596.
38. Neumann, p. 170, fig. 200, p. 171, fig. 201, p. 185, and
p. 199, no. 3.
39. Boon, XXI, p. 180, no. 583; XXII, p. 161, no. 583.
40. Neumann, p. 175, fig. 203, and p. 199, no. 4.
41. Boon, XXI, p. 52, no. 252; XXII, p. 64, no. 252.

165
 8. Landscapewith a Man Drawing Water
froma Well,attributedto GiovanniCa-
strucci,Bohemian (Prague),before
1611. Hardstones, 77/8 x 51/2 in.
(20 x 14.6 cm.). Vienna, Kunsthisto-
risches Museum, inv. no. 3002 (photo:
KunsthistorischesMuseum)

design by another Flemish artist, Pieter Stevens (ca. or Giovanni Castrucci. They were apparently made
1567-after 1624), who worked at the imperial court by various members of the workshop whose personal
between 1594 and 1612. Stevens, born in Malines, styles can perhaps be differentiated, but whose iden-
was one of a group of Flemish and Dutch landscape tities may never be known.43
painters, many of whom had traveled in Italy, who Although the date of the completion of the table-
were drawn to the Rudolfine court. There they cre- top can be placed with confidence between 1620 and
ated a new and fanciful form of landscape, full of 1623, the dates of the individual scenes incorporated
mysterious and foreboding forests and dotted with within the tabletop are harder to determine. We
ruined castles and peasant huts. Their style is evident must, therefore, try to decide whether the landscapes
in a number of the plaques incorporated into the of the tabletop were left from an earlier period in the
Liechtenstein pietre dure objects, especially the workshop's production or whether the evident awk-
casket. wardness in execution to be found, for example, in
The motif of the well with a long, stone-weighted the scene with a well represents the work of a later,
wellsweep appears in two of the Liechtenstein less skilled member of the workshop.
plaques, one on the casket (Figure o1) and one on The similarities of some of the motifs in the
the tabletop (Figure 11). Although the casket scene is plaques to one another are probably traceable to the
much more successful in creating an illusionistic ef- use as models of drawings or prints by one or an-
fect than the one on the tabletop, neither appears to other of the artists working at the imperial court.
be the work of the maker of either of the Kunsthisto- While none of the plaques of the Liechtenstein casket
risches Museum's plaques with wells. It has been or tabletop is as close to an identifiable engraving as
suggested, in fact, that the third Kunsthistorisches Giovanni Castrucci'sRiverscapewith a Bridgeand Obe-
Museum plaque (inv. no. 3002) is only a workshop lisk, similarities between the plaques and engravings
piece and not by Giovanni Castrucci as Neumann made in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth cen-
thought.42The suggestion seems a reasonable one, as turies are found too often to be entirely coincidental.
the jagged silhouettes of the trees in the scene and
the somewhat nervous, expressionistic composition 42. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Art of Mosaics,
are quite unlike the rather placid and comparatively p. 84.
literal interpretation of the Riverscape with a Bridge 43. I am indebted to Rudolf Distelberger not only for allow-
ing me to study these and the rest of the pietre dure plaques
and Obelisk.All of them ate surely products of the made in Prague that are in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in
Castrucci workshop, however, if not by either Cosimo Vienna, but also for his invaluable advice.

166
9. Riverscapewith Some Crafts
(with a counterweighted well-
sweep and a man fishing),
Flemish, before 1614. From a
series of eight Scenes in Bohe-
mia engraved by Aegidius Sad-
eler after Pieter Stevens.
93/8 x 141/2 in. (23.7 X 36.7
cm.). Amsterdam, Rijksmu-
seum, Rijksprentenkabinet
(photo: Rijksmuseum-
Stichting)

10. Landscapewith a Man Drawing

Waterfrom a Well, detail from
the casket in Figure 2

11. Landscapewith a Man Drawing

Waterfroma Well, detail from
the tabletop in Figure 1

167
12. Gondolason a Canal, Flemish, probably early 17th century. From
a series of eight Scenesin Bohemiaengravedby Aegidius Sadeler
after Pieter Stevens. 93/8 x 141/2 in. (23.7 X 36.7 cm.). Amster-
dam, Rijksmuseum,Rijksprentenkabinet(photo: Rijksmuseum-
Stichting)

13. Canal with Gondola, detail from the

casketin Figure 2

..1

4*i
14. Pieter Stevens, Riverscapewith Gondolas
and a Tower,pen and watercolor,Flem-
ish, probablyearly 17th century.
73/4 x 13/8in. (19.7 x 32.2 cm.). Oslo,
Nasjonalgalleriet,inv. no. B. 16606
(photo:J. Lathion,Nasjonalgalleriet)

The point will be best made using plaques from vari- hand corner are typical of the distinctive vessels used
ous sources in the Liechtenstein collection rather in Venice, but the architectural background with its
than from the tabletop alone. An Aegidius Sadeler towers and colonnade and the rustic structure in the
engraving, Gondolas on a Canal (Figure 12), comes center foreground have no known counterparts in
from a series of imaginary landscapes in which the Venice. This same juxtaposition of gondolas and ar-
artist drew upon motifs from a variety of sources.4
In this engraving, the gondolas in the lower right- 44. Boon, XXI, p. 51, no. 250; XXII, p. 63, no. 250.

i68
chitectural background appears in a pietre dure like elements among the gables of one of the build-
scene on the central panel of the front of the Liech- ings that are also prominent on the palazzo in the
tenstein casket (Figure 13), where a Venetian gon- pietre dure plaque.45The ruins, the bridge spanning
dola floats in a canal before a towered structure a gorge, and the turreted castle atop a rocky land-
fronted by an arcade. While the palazzo in the left scape in another plaque on the front of the casket
foreground of the pietre dure plaque bears no re- (Figure 15) seem to be similarly rearranged elements
semblance to anything in the print, the potted shrubs from still another Aegidius Sadeler print, one of a se-
and strange, finial-like forms set along its roof line ries after designs by Pieter Stevens titled Bohemian
are reminiscent of the obelisk and potted tree that Land- and Riverscapes (Figure 16).46
Sadeler placed on top of the building on the far right Not all the Liechtenstein pietre dure plaques are
of the engraving. Two surviving drawings by Pieter from the same sources of design. There is a land-
Stevens are connected to the Sadeler engraving. One scape on the left side of the casket depicting an arch
of these, in the National Gallery in Oslo (Figure 14), between a group of buildings and a tower which can
shows more clearly the northern character of the ar-
chitectural setting into which the gondolas have been
introduced than the Sadeler engraving does. In the 45. See An Zwollo, "Pieter Stevens: Nieuw Werk, Contact
met Jan Brueghel, Invloed op Kerstiaende Keuninck,"Leids
second drawing Stevens introduced the gondolas 1 (1982) p. 97, fig. 2, and p. 98, fig. 4.
kunsthistorischJaarboek
found in Sadeler's print, as well as the peculiar, finial- 46. Boon, XXI, p. 52, nos. 255-262; XXII, p. 66, no. 255.

kff .0 As. A 15. Landscapewith a Stone Bridge, detail

from the casket in Figure 2
F-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-

16. Landscapewith a Stone Bridge, Flemish,

before 1614. From a series of eight
BohemianLand- and Riverscapesen-
graved by Aegidius Sadeler after
Pieter Stevens. 87/16 X 111/8in.
(21.4 x 28.2 cm.). Amsterdam, Rijks-
museum, Rijksprentenkabinet(photo:
Rijksmuseum-Stichting)

169
 17. Landscape,detail from the casket
in Figure 2

be identified with those of the Roman ruins of Ripa

Grande (Figure 17). This scene was probably taken
from an engraving (Figure 18) by the Flemish artist
Willem van Nieulandt II (ca. 1584-1636), which be-
longs to an engraved series of Roman ruins that ap-
4 peared shortly after Nieulandt's visit to Rome be-
.i tween 1602 and 1605 and was reissued in 1618 by
, C. I. Visscher.47
Paul Bril (1554-1626), another Flemish artist who
left his native land and settled in Rome, was probably
the source of at least one design used by the Ca-
strucci. This appears on a plaque in the Liechtenstein
collection which was formerly incorporated into
the decoration of a wooden cabinet of nineteenth-
century origin (Figure 19).48 The plaque, showing a
landscape with a tower and houses on a rock, is prob-
ably closer in quality to the one signed by Cosimo
Castrucci in the Kunsthistorisches Museum than any
other of those in the Liechtenstein collection. It is
also one of the most literal of all the adaptations
known to have been made from an engraving, this
one signed Joan Sadelerexcuditand dated 1593 (Fig-
PY "'?-:r?
.....,-
.?a
ure 20). The print, in turn, is believed to have been
made from a drawing of the subject in reverse, which
L
is now in the Hessisches Landesmuseum in Darm-
?s
stadt (Figure 21). The drawing has been attributed to
Paul Bril on the basis of an inscription giving the art-
18. View of Ripa Grande, Flemish, 1618 ed. From the Va- ist's name, the place (Rome), and the date (1603) in
riae Antiquitates Romanae Sive Ruinae ad Vivum by
Willem van Nieulandt II. 4 x 61/8 in. (10.2 x 15.5
47. F. W. H. Hollstein, Dutch and FlemishEtchings, Engravings
cm.). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Eli- and Woodcuts,ca. I450-I700 XIV (Amsterdam, 1956) pp. 164
sha Whittelesey Collection, The Elisha Whittelesey and 165, fig. 18.
Fund, 49.95.1033(5) 48. Liechtenstein,pp. 50-51, no. 28.

170
19. Landscapewith a Towerand Houses on a Rock, made by
the workshop of the Castrucci, Bohemian (Prague),
late 16th or early 17th century. Hardstones,
71/4 X 10i/8 in. (18.3 x 25.5 cm.). Vaduz, Collec-
tions of the Reigning Prince of Liechtenstein, inv.
no. 1461 (photo: Walter Wachter)

20. Landscape with a Tower and Two Houses on a Rock, 21. Riverscapewith a Towerand TwoHouses on a Rock, in-
engraved by Johannes Sadeler I, Flemish, dated scribed 1603 IP. Brilfe Roma but attributed to either
1593. 9'5/16 x 11 in. (22.6 x 27.8 cm.). Amsterdam, Paul Bril or Lodewijk Toeput and presumably dated
Rijksmuseum, Rijksprentenkabinet (photo: Rijks- before 1593. Pen and charcoal, 83/4 x 1/8 in.
museum-Stichting) (22.1 X 28.9 cm.). Darmstadt, Hessisches Landes-
museum, inv. no. AE 396 (photo: Hessisches Lan-
desmuseum)

22. Landscapewith a Towerin the Middle Ground,engraved 23. Landscapewith Towers,engraving signed P. Bril iven-
by Justus Sadeler after Paul Bril, Flemish, probably tor / Sadelerexcud:, Flemish, probably early 17th cen-
early 17th century. 73/4 X o03/4 in. (19.6 x 27.3 tury. 713/6 X 109/16 in. (19.8 x 26.8 cm.). The Met-
cm.). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harris ropolitan Museum of Art, The Elisha Whittelesey
Brisbane Dick Fund, 53.601.351(46) Collection, The Elisha Whittelesey Fund, 6o.628.43
 which he is identified as either the source of the de-
sign or the engraver of it. One (Figure 22)5' is signed
lusto Sadeler excud. and Paulus Bril inuentor. Another,
showing the same tower in a somewhat rearranged
landscape identified as a view of the coast of Cam-
pania, was engraved by Bril himself and dated
1590.52 There is also a version of the latter scene in
reverse, this one signed P. Bril iventor I Sadeler excud:
(Figure 23).
Whether or not the drawing in the Hessisches Lan-
desmuseum can be firmly attributed to Bril, the Jo-
hannes Sadeler I engraving of 1593 is clearly the
source of the pietre dure landscape in the Liechten-
stein collection, and Bril can be connected to three
other engravings incorporating the tower. It seems
justifiable, therefore, to look for similarities between
other designs by Bril and the pietre dure landscapes
24. Riverscape, in Foreground Two Men Rowing, engraved from the Castrucci workshop. Thus, a rustic church
by Johannes Sadeler I after Paul Bril, Flemish, on a hillside above a stream with a bridge in an en-
late x lo11/6 in.
probably 17th century. 7'/16 graving signed P. Bril inuetor and Joares I Sadeler scal.
X 27.1 cm.). Amsterdam,
(20.2 Rijksmuseum, (Figure 24)53seems not unlike the church in the small
Rijksprentenkabinet (photo: Rijksmuseum-Sticht- oval landscape above the arms of the Liechtenstein
ing)
tabletop (Figure 25), while the large landscape set be-
tween the oval and the arms (Figure 26) may be com-
25. Landscape with a Church, detail of the tabletop in Fig-
ure 1 pared to an engraving by another of the Sadelers
after a design by Bril (Figure 27).54Finally, the small
oval plaque with a man fishing (Figure 28), to the
right of the arms on the tabletop, which like the man
drawing water from a well is a repetition of a plaque
on the casket (Figure 29), may have been drawn from
the same printed source. Although none of the pi-
etre dure plaques are exact reproductions of these
engravings, or in fact precise copies of details, they
have the appearance of being products of a work-
shop well supplied with pictorial models suitable in

49. Inv. no. AE 396. See Gisela Bergstrasser, "Niederlan-

dische Zeichnungen 16. Jahrhundert im Hessischen Landes-
museum Darmstadt," Kunst in Hessen und am Mittelrhein 18-19
(1979) p. 31, no. 21.
50. Boon, XXI, p. 288, no. 26; XXII, p. 227, no. 26.
the lower right-hand corner;49 but the date is ten 51. Boon, XXI, p. 205, no. 69; XXII, p. 18o, no. 69.
52. Hollstein, Dutch and Flemish Etchings III (Amsterdam,
years later than that of the print, and the attribution n.d.) p. 219, no. 1. The scene is a somewhat rearranged version
has been questioned. D. de Hoop Scheffer thought of the fresco by Bril in the Lateran Palace in Rome (see Anton
the inscription to be a later addition and the draw- Mayer, Das Lebenund die Werkeder BriiderMatthausund Paul Brill
ing to be either by Bril or by Toeput,50 and such [Leipzig, 1910] p. xiii). Mayer dates the fresco about 1589.
caution seems justified. Bril's connection with the 53. Boon, XXI, p. 179, no. 579; XXII, p. 160, no. 579. The
Bril drawing in the Berlin Kupferstichkabinett is illustrated by
drawing is supported, however, by the existence of at Mayer, Das Leben, pl. LlIb.
least three prints depicting variants of the tower for 54. Boon, XXI, p. 298, no. 19; XXII, p. 236, no. 19.

172
 Johannes Sadeler I engravings (Figure 20) and a date
of probably before 1600 for the other (Figure 24), as
Johannes I is believed to have died about that year.
None of the Aegidius Sadeler/Pieter Stevens prints
shown here is dated, but the Bohemian landscapes
which include the Gondolas on a Canal (Figure 12)
and Riverscape with Some Crafts (Figure 9) are earlier
than 1614, because about that time they are known
to have been reissued in an edition by Marcus Sade-
ler.55The van Nieulandt scene (Figure 18) must be
dated earlier than 1618 and perhaps as early as 1605.

55. Boon, XXI, pp. 51-53, nos. 247-254, and p. 207. While
there is a record of payments made by Prince Karl to Pieter
Stevens (Peter Steffan) between Sept. 7, 1620, and Aug. 31,
26. Landscape with a Castle and a Bridge, detail of the 1624 (see Haupt, II, p. 309, no. A7), there is no evidence that
Stevens supplied designs for pietre dure work during this pe-
tabletop in Figure 1
riod.

28. Landscape with a Man Fishing, detail of the tabletop

in Figure 1

29. Landscapewith a Man Fishing, detail of the casket in

Figure 2

27. Rocky Riverscape, engraving signed P. Bril ivent: I

Sadeler excud:, Flemish, probably late 17th century.
75/8 x 101/2 in. (19.4 x 26.6 cm.). Amsterdam,
Rijksmuseum, Rijksprentenkabinet (photo: Rijks-
museum-Stichting)

subject and style for adaptation to the needs of its

medium.
From some of these engraved sources, whether
more or less exact in their imagery, we can make a
rough estimate of the date of some of the pietre dure
plaques. We have a firm date of 1593 for one of the

173
 E

-".- 7 . . .

~d~ ~/ .....
- .
~? 1~......
??.

30. Detail showing a geometricfigure from the tabletop

in Figure 1 S
e-r

. - *.r '
7" '

It seems, therefore, that the relevant sources for the 31. Detail of pl. E.VIengraved by Jost Amman (1539-
landscape plaques come from the period of 1593 to 91) from Wenzel Jamnitzer's Perspectivacorporumre-
about 1614 or 1618 at the latest. By 1610 Cosimo gularium (Nuremberg, 1568), showing the geomet-
Castrucci was presumably dead, and we hear no ric figure in Figure 30. The MetropolitanMuseum
of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 24.45.1
more of Giovanni after 1615. Certainly, when com-
pared with the plaques by Cosimo and Giovanni Ca-
strucci in the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the the latest phase of the Castrucci workshop produc-
plaque in the Liechtenstein collection that is based on tion of pictorial plaques. It is impossible to be certain
the Johannes Sadeler I engraving of 1593, the land- that any of these are later than 1614, and we know
scapes of both casket and tabletop demonstrate a di- almost nothing of the fate of the Prague workshop
minishing skill in creating naturalistic effects. They after about 1615 except for the mention of Giovan-
are far from the least skilled of the products of the ni's son, Cosimo di Giovanni, and his son-in-law Giu-
workshop, however. The landscapes incorporated liano di Piero Pandolfini in later documents. The
into an ebony cabinet in a private collection that have landscapes may, in fact, have been older, unmounted
been compared elsewhere56to those of the Liechten- plaques that were incorporated into the Liechten-
stein tabletop are more simplified, both in the forms stein commissions. The practice was not unknown,
represented and the attempts at perspective they dis- for there is a table signed by Lucas Kilian and Hans
play. At the other extreme, the landscape plaques Georg Hertel and dated 1626 in the Residenz in Mu-
from Prague incorporated into a tabletop now in the
Museo degli Argenti, Florence,57are of a very high
order of skill indeed. Unfortunately, in neither case 56. Eugen von Philippovich, "Eine bunte Welt aus Steinen,"
Kunst und Antiquititen 5 (Sept.-Oct. 1981) pp. 22-27.
can we be certain of a date for these plaques. It
57. Umberto Baldini, Anna Maria Giusti, and Annapaula
would appear that the landscapes of both the Liech- Pampaloni Martelli, La Cappella dei Principi e le pietre dure a Fi-
tenstein casket and the tabletop, however, represent renze (Milan, 1979) p. 260, no. 13, and figs. 18-28.

174
 ...... ..~ ..... ........ - .........,...: ..i.._... - ..
._,',I -. -.. -.* i

_..i

Figure i

nich with a Prague pietre dure plaque inlaid in its 1'

top,58 as well as a cabinet made for Max Emanuel, .
elector of Bavaria, in the latter part of the seven-
teenth century,59 now in the Bayerisches National-
museum in Munich, that incorporates Prague land-
scape plaques from the beginning of the century.
If the pictorial style of the landscapes has been 33. Detail of pl. A.IIII fromJamnitzer's Perspectiva,show-
shown to have been strongly influenced by Flemish
ing (upper left) the geometricfigure in Figure 32
artists working at the end of the sixteenth century
and the beginning of the seventeenth, the geometric
figures (Figure 30) that were used in the ornamental ventory of Rudolf II's Prague Kunstkammer has ref-
scheme of the tabletop have their origins in an earlier erences to no fewer than eleven works by Jamnitzer,
period of the sixteenth century. They are direct cop- but one of the best extant examples of his use of var-
ies of a fanciful construction of a star octahedron ious creatures cast from life for decorative purposes
nested inside an openwork octahedron (Figure 31) il- is a silver inkstand (Figure 34) from the Schloss Am-
lustrated in Wenzel Jamnitzer's Perspectivacorporum bras collection of the emperor's uncle, Archduke Fer-
regularium,published in Nuremberg in 1568.60The dinand II of Tyrol (1529-95), which is now in the
geometric figures set in the outermost borders of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.63The inkstand
tabletop (Figure 32) are taken from another illustra- is one of the most extreme examples of the style
tion in the Perspectiva, that of two interpenetrating christened "Stil Rustique"by Ernst Kris, a style which
tetrahedrons (Figure 33).61 In Jamnitzer's text, Pla-
tonic solids are equated with the elements of Renais-
sance cosmology: the tetrahedron with fire and the
58. See Hans Kreisel,Die Kunstdes deutschenMobelsI (Mu-
octahedron with air.2 The identification of these fig- nich, 1968) pp. 169-170; and Herbert Brunner, Die Kunst-
ures also helps to explain the presence of the small schiitzederMunchnerResidenz(Munich, 1977) pp. 278-279.
lizards, frogs, caterpillars, snails, and moths that 59. AlvarGonzalez-Palacios,
Mosaicie pietredure:Firenze-Paesi
Germanici-Madrid(Milan, 1981) pp. 62-63.
populate the jasper borders separating the pietre 60. Jamnitzer, pl. E.vI. I should like to thank Bruce Chandler
dure plaques of the tabletop. for his assistancein describingthis geometricfigureand the one
Wenzel Jamnitzer (1508-85) is better known as the in Figure 33.
greatest of the Nuremberg goldsmiths of the six- 61. Jamnitzer, pl. A.III.
62. Jamnitzer, pls. A.I, A.vI.
teenth century who specialized in the kind of literal
63. See ErnstKris,"'DerStil Rustique':Die Verwendungdes
borrowing from nature found in the decorative mo- Naturabgusses bei Wenzel Jamnitzer und Bernard Palissy,"
tifs on the Liechtenstein tabletop. The 1607-11 in- JKSW n.s. 1 (1926) p. 155, pl. xxii; Scheicher, Die Kunst- und

175
had its beginnings in the fountains and artificial grot- cious stones, rock crystal, and hardstones, as well as
toes of Italian gardens in the 1530s, but which soon for the pietre dure work we have been discussing.
traveled northward with School of Fontainebleau art- The emperor also had a deep interest in the mines of
ists of the 154os and had perhaps its most exuberant Bohemia and Saxony, and he spent large sums on
expression in the late sixteenth century among the minerals and gems. His Kunstkammer contained an
goldsmiths of Nuremberg and Augsburg. extensive collection of these,64 which he prized not
Taken together, the choice of these decorative mo- only as natural specimens but also for their mystical
tifs for the tabletop-the creatures of water, earth, properties. The space devoted to explaining the mys-
and air (Figures 35-37)-suggests a deliberate play tical properties of gemstones and hardstones in de
upon their correspondences with the four elements: Boodt's Gemmarumdemonstrates how pervasively the
earth, air, fire, and water. Indeed, Jamnitzer in- science of description and classification was still allied
cluded frogs and snails in the decorative trophies to notions of magic and the occult.
used for the frontispiece of the chapter of the Per- The splendidly decorative objects made in these
spectivaequating the geometrical figures of the icosa- intractable media could thus be viewed by the initi-
hedron with the element water (Figure 38), and a ated on various levels: as costly rarities, as prodigies
moth, which flies above the decorative frame of the of craftsmanship, or as symbols and visual manifes-
frontispiece of the chapter on air as symbolized by tations of higher abstractions. R. J. W. Evans has in-
the octahedron (Figure 39). cluded an excellent analysis of this typical Rudolfine
In its use of rare and costly materials for the way of thinking in the chapters on the arts, sciences,
scheme of its decoration, the tabletop also reflects and the occult in Rudolf II and His World:A Studyin
Rudolfine taste. The emperor's Kunstkammer was
renowned for its collection of objects made of pre-
Wunderkammern (cited in note i), pp. 91-92; Manfred Leithe-
34. Inkstand,with creatureson the sides and cover cast Jasper and Rudolf Distelberger,TheKunsthistorische[s] Museum,
Vienna(London, 1982) pp. 96-97; and GermanischesNational-
from nature by WenzelJamnitzer,German(Nurem- Goldschmiedekunst
museum, Wenzel Jamnitzerund die Niirnberger
berg), ca. 1560-70. Silver, 23/8 X 85/16 X 4'/16 in. I500-I700 (Munich, 1985) pp. 226-227, no. 21.
(6 x 22.7 X 10.2 cm.). Vienna, Kunsthistorisches 64. Evans,RudolfII andHis World(cited in note 1), pp. 192-
Museum, inv. no. 1155-64 (photo: Kunsthisto- 193, 215-218; and Bauer and Haupt, "Die KunstkammerKai-
risches Museum) ser Rudolfs II. in Prag"(cited in note 1), p. xvi.

176
 ??r 0?~~~~~F
t~~~~~~~~~~~~~i
~c~*0S
p E mt i

35-37. Details of the tabletopin Figure 1 showinga snail, a frog, and a moth

38. Detail of pl. c.III from Jamnitzer's Perspectiva,with 39. Detail of pl. A.vI from Jamnitzer's Perspectiva,with
creaturesof the water creaturesof the air

Intellectual History.65 Gems and various kinds of min- The rich and costly medium of the Liechtenstein
erals and stones were valued not only for their intrin- tabletop reflects the wealth and power of the prince
sic worth or as specimens worthy of scientific study, who commissioned it. It reflects his aesthetic discrim-
but also for their mystical properties. As Evans ination as well, but above and beyond, it suggests a
pointed out, de Boodt himself provides the most suc- man cognizant of the new intellectual interest in the
cinct explanation for the abiding belief of Rudolf II natural and mathematical sciences, as well as of their
and his contemporaries in the mystical properties importance to the greater understanding of the cos-
of gems. The emperor, said de Boodt, was more mos and its creator. Prince Karl I could hardly have
learned than all other princes in the understanding left us a more resonant example of his taste.
of gems. "Not however so that by them your dignity
and majesty may be increased (which is by itself al-
ready so great, that it needs no external support) but
so that in them you may contemplate the perfection 65. Evans, Rudolf II and His World,pp. 162-274.
66. De Boodt, Gemmarumet lapidumhistoria(cited in note 26),
of God and his ineffable power, which seems to have p. 7: "non quidem vt iis suam augeat dignitatem et majestatem,
brought together the beauty of the whole world and (quae per se tanta est, vt adminiculis nullis extraneis indigeat)
to have enclosed the power of all other matter in sed vt in iis Dei excellentiam, eiusque vim ineffabilem, qui in
tam exiguis corpusculis totius mundi pulchritudinem coegisse,
such minuscule bodies, and that you may ever have ac omnium aliarum rerum vires inclusisse videtur, contemple-
before your eyes something of the light and appear- tur, ac ante oculus diuinitatis quandam lucem et speciem per-
ance of divinity."66 petuo habeat."

177
 FREQUENTLY CITED SOURCES

Boon-K. G. Boon, ed., Hollstein's Dutch and Flemish

Etchings, Engravings and WoodcutsXXI and XXII
(Amsterdam, 1980)
Distelberger (1980)-Rudolf Distelberger, "Pietra Dura
Works of the Prince of Liechtenstein," Connaissance
des Arts 343 (Sept. 1980) pp. 52-59
FLH Vaduz-Furstlich liechtensteinisches Hausarchiv,
Vaduz
FLH Vienna-Furstlich liechtensteinisches Hausarchiv,
Vienna
Haupt-Herbert Haupt, Furst Karl I. von Liechtenstein,
ObersthofmeisterKaiser Rudolfs II. und Vizekinig von
Biihmen: Hofstaat und Sammeltitigkeit (Vienna/Co-
logne/Graz, 1983) Textband [I], Quellenband [II]
Jamnitzer-Wenzel Jamnitzer, Perspectivacorporumregu-
larium (Nuremberg, 1568)
JKSAK-Jahrbuch der KunsthistorischenSammlungen des
AllerhochstenKaiserhauses
JKSW-Jahrbuch derKunsthistorischenSammlungenin Wien
Liechtenstein-The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Liech-
tenstein:The Princely Collections,exh. cat. (New York,
1985)
Neumann-Erwin Neumann, "Florentiner Mosaik aus
Prag," Jahrbuch der KunsthistorischenSammlungen in
Wien n.s. 17 (1957) pp. 157-202

178
 Bodies by Rubens: Reflections of Flemish Painting
in the Workof South German Ivory Carvers
JOHANNA HECHT
AssociateCurator,Departmentof European Sculptureand DecorativeArts,
The MetropolitanMuseum of Art

IN HER CLASSIC EXPLORATION of the inventive- out, the left sharply bent; and a cloth is draped over
ness of German relief artists vis-a-vis their graphic the left thigh, falling between the legs and over the
sources, Erika Tietze-Conrat revealed how these art- genitalia.
ists still remained dependent upon two-dimensional Students of the ivory have long seen in it a com-
compositions.' My purpose in this note is to suggest mingling of Northern European stylistic traits with
some heretofore unremarked ways in which the carv- elements of classical antiquity. In the past it has been
ers of ivory figures in the round also reflect the influ- attributed to such disparate artists as the Fleming
ence of such sources and, in particular, the extent to Francois Duquesnoy (1597-1643), or the Augsburg
which their art was permeated and transformed by sculptor Georg Petel (1601/2-34), presumably on the
the style of Peter Paul Rubens. basis of a generalized resemblance to Petel's much-
In the course of preparing Liechtensteincatalogue replicated sculptures representing the Good and Bad
entries for two ivory sculptures which have recently Thieves from a Crucifixion.4Subsequently it was rec-
been attributed to the Master of the Martyrdom of ognized as the work of a distinctly different hand,
St. Sebastian (see Figures 11, 13),2 my attention was although later cataloguers still inclined to see in it
drawn to two other carvings (one in Liverpool, the
other in Buffalo, N.Y.), which, while not by the same
1. "Die Erfindung im Relief: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der
hand, nonetheless appeared to relate to them in cer- Kleinkunst," Jahrbuch der KunsthistorischenSammlungen in Wien
tain respects. Both previously published although 35 (1920/21) pp. 99-176.
not widely known, they are of considerable interest 2. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Liechtenstein: The
not only on their own account but also for the light Princely Collections,exh. cat. (New York, 1985) pp. 97-100, nos.
65, 66, ills. The master is named after reliefs in Vienna and Linz
they shed on the creative processes of their makers (see Figures 9, io). See E. von Philippovich, Elfenbein, 2nd. ed.
and the world of virtuoso ivory carving that flour- (Munich, 1982) pp. 303-304, figs. 255, 256, where this master is
ished in southern Germany and Austria in the later identified, incorrectly in the view of others, with the carver J. C.
seventeenth century. Schenck. This theory is developed more extensively in idem,
Of primary interest to the student of imagery is "Hauptwerke des Elfenbeinkiinstlers Johann Caspar Schenck"
Kunst in Hessen und am Mittelrhein 13 (1973) pp. 47-51.
the relation each bears to the work of Rubens. The 3. Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Steven A. Nash (with Katy
first of these ivories is a sprawling male nude in the Kline, Charlotta Kotik, and Emese Wood), Painting and Sculpture
Albright-Knox Art Gallery (Figure 1).3 Long desig- from Antiquityto 1942 (New York, 1979) pp. 168-169. The pos-
sible relationship between this carving (acquired from Mathias
nated "The Unrepentant Thief," this has always been
Komor) and the Liechtenstein ivories was first pointed out to
photographed in conformity with the conventional me by Dr. Reinhold Baumstark, Director of the Princely Collec-
iconography of that subject. The powerfully muscled tions, when I was studying the Vaduz pieces in 1983.
torso has traditionally been oriented vertically and 4. No examples of the Christ that was presumably central to
the group are known but numerous figures of the thieves exist.
frontally, the right arm stretched upward, the left The prime examples of these, in gilt bronze, are in Berlin; see
arm bent and cradling the head thrown back in ag- K. Feuchtmayr and A. Schadler, GeorgPetel (Berlin, 1973) no. 7,
ony; the right leg is extended downward and slightly figs. 22, 23 and 27, 28.

179

? The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1987

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 22

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve, and extend access to
Metropolitan Museum Journal ®
www.jstor.org
 1. Figure called "The Unrepentant Thief," probably an awareness of Hellenistic sculpture, suggesting
South German, second half of 17th century. Ivory, some sort of immediate Roman experience.5 There
H. 115/ in. (29.5 cm.). Buffalo, Albright-Knox Art is, however, little reason to infer such a direct
Gallery, George B. and Jenny R. Mathews Fund
acquaintance with the antique on the part of its crea-
(photo: Albright-Knox Art Gallery) tor. When the figure is viewed from a fresh perspec-
tive, recumbent on the ground (Figure 2), the paral-
lel with Rubensian imagery leaps to the eye and it
becomes apparent that, whatever distant connection
the work may bear to the sculptures of antiquity, a
far more direct prototype is available.
The general pose to which the present ivory corre-
sponds is a recurrent one in Rubens's early painting,
appearing over the course of several years, generally
speaking between 1605 and 1620. Variations on the
theme appear in paintings and sketches by Rubens
too numerous to list here. Most, however, show the
figure in a more dynamic pose.6 The example closest
to the ivory occurs in the painting depicting the
Death of Decius Mus (Figure 3), one of eight can-
vases making up the great cycle in the Liechtenstein
collection devoted to the heroic Roman's personal
sacrifice.7 There, stretched out the vast length of the
picture and anchoring the tumultuous equestrian
combat above, lies a moribund warrior. By virtue of
its stark placement as well as the pallid glow it emits,
this form at once heroic and pathetic stands out from
the enormous composition almost more vividly than
the figure of the wounded Decius himself.8

5. Schadler, who linked it to the Barberini Faun, put it in

the circle of the Roman sculptor Alessandro Algardi (ibid., p.
go n.), while the Albright-Knox, still seeing in it signs of North-
ern origin, published it as the work of a Flemish or German
artist trained in Rome (Nash, Painting and Sculpture,p. 168).
6. The earliest appears to be the Fall of Phaeton of 1605 (M.
Jaffe, Rubens and Italy [Ithaca, N.Y., 1977] col. pl. iv). Rubens's
interest in the motif continued until as late as 1620, when he
used it for the figure of Lucifer in the Fall of the Rebel Angels
(J. R. Martin, The Ceiling Paintingsfor theJesuit Churchin Antwerp
[London/New York, 1968] pp. 5-58, figs. 8-16). See also note
16 below.
7. The relationship between the Liechtenstein canvases and
the numerous sets of tapestries woven after Rubens's cartoons
has not been conclusively settled, but because of the reversal of
left and right it is only the painting and not the tapestry that
can be at issue as the model for this ivory. No 17th-century
prints of the paintings, which have been dated to 1616-18, are
known. The pictures remained in Flanders until they were
brought to Vienna by Prince Johann Adam of Liechtenstein,
who acquired them in 1693.
8. While prototypes for the equestrian battle scene itself are
too numerous to name, the Battle of Anghiari being generally
considered the most important, none includes a moribund fig-
ure in the foreground. Rubens's conflation of these images is

180
2. The ivory in Figure i seen in a recumbent position
(photo: Albright-Knox Art Gallery)

3. Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), The Death of Decius

Mus, 1616-18. Oil on canvas, 113/8 x 1953/4 in.
(288 x 497 cm.). Vaduz, Collections of the Reign-
ing Prince of Liechtenstein (photo: Walter Wachter)
-
- .
-- v ***4 '^ -
 4. Rubens, The Lament
for Adonis, ca. 1614.
Oil on canvas,
831/2 x 1283/8 in.
(212 x 326 cm.).
New York, Saul P.
Steinberg collection
(photo: Geoffrey
Clements)

Another instance of Rubens's use of the motif oc- ture and thus relates to the viewer on a different
curs in a radically different iconographical context: plane. The body serves as a framing device, anchor-
the Lament for Adonis, in the collection of Saul P. ing the somewhat schematic triangular composition,
Steinberg, New York (Figure 4).9 Despite the fact that and as a vivid reminder of the corporeal reality of
this painting includes only six figures (plus two dogs), death, furnishing a gloss on the elevated and noble
its scale is nearly as imposing as that of the Decius spirituality embodied in the main subject."
Mus;'? the recumbent figure, however, plays a very Those who have previously noted the recurrence
different role in the two pictures. In the Adonis the of this motif in Rubens's work have also attempted to
function of the motif is less emblematic and its inter- find his source in the sculpture of antiquity.'2 But
action with the dramatis personae, as well as with its while in many instances his recollection of antique
audience, is more poignant and tenderly intimate. compositions is evident, and his acquaintance with
However powerful and tragic an emblem the warrior the originals is often documented by surviving draw-
fallen in battle is, he remains thematically and psy- ings,13 here none of these identifications is really
chologically distant from the main action of the pic- more than suggestive.14 More to the point as far as we

not entirely seamless, but the dead warrior's air of isolation con- bens:A Critical Catalogue (Princeton, 1980) I, no. 3a, where cop-
tributes to the power of his composition. In the closely related ies and other sketch stages of the composition are noted.
Fall of Sennacherib(A. Rosenberg, P. P Rubens: Des MeistersGe- 12. Giinther Brucher, Der Decius Mus-Gemdldezyklus von Peter
malde, ed. R. Oldenbourg, Klassiker der Kunst V, 4th ed. [Stutt- Paul Rubens (Graz, 1984) pp. 56-68. Among the ancient com-
gart/Berlin, 1921] p. 156), the slain figure is more fully inte- positions the author cites as precedents are the Dying Niobid in
grated into the composition. the Uffizi Gallery (G. A. Mansuelli, Galleria degli Uffizi: Le scul-
9. Royal Museum of Fine Arts, P. P. Rubens: Paintings, Oil- ture [Rome, 1958] I, no. 73) and the Dying Gaul in the Museo
sketches,Drawings, exh. cat. (Antwerp, 1977) pp. 27-29, with Archeologico, Venice.
previous literature; dated 1612-14; notes oil sketch in Dulwich. 13. Jaffe, Rubens and Italy, pp. 79-84, figs. 267-317; also
io. The New York picture measures 212 x 326 cm.; the G. B. Fubini and J. S. Held, "Padre Resta's Rubens Drawings
Liechtenstein canvas, 288 x 497 cm. After Ancient Sculpture," Master Drawings 2 (1964) pp. 123-
1 1. See H. G. Evers, Rubens und sein Werk:Neue Forschungen 141.
(Brussels, 1943) pp. 129ff., for a thorough discussion of the 14. It is worth observing, however, that while at first glance
emotional impact of the compositional variants. It should also the Laocoon would not suggest itself as a source for this figure
be noted that the oil sketch in the Prado shows a somewhat dif- as a whole, in his drawings between 1601 and 1606 (Jaffe, Ru-
ferent emphasis. See J. S. Held, The Oil Sketchesof PeterPaul Ru- bens and Italy, figs. 306, 307) Rubens displays his evolving pre-

l82
are concerned, none of these sculptures is the source can be seen merely to have lost the weapon it was
of the ivory carving itself; the Rubens composition, gripping at the moment of death. What now presents
whatever its minor differences, presents a far closer itself is a coherent and moving composition whose
link to the figure in Buffalo than do the Greek or Ro- vivid outline evokes the masterly draughtsmanship
man prototypes. of its Flemish source.
From the perspective suggested by the Rubens This is not to imply that the perspective corre-
composition, the Buffalo figure conveys an entirely sponding to the Decius Mus composition is the only
different impression from the one it creates in the one that should govern one's view of this carving. In-
pose of "Unrepentant Thief." The numerous awk- deed, other views of the figure, recumbent, turn out
ward elements, the uncoordinated, disjointed, and to be equally rewarding, especially those that show
sprawling quality, suddenly disappear, and odd com- the powerfully expressive face (Figures 5, 6).'6 Simi-
positional elements fall into place. Among them, larly, recognizing the source of the versatile motif
what formerly seemed to be a strangely artificial fall does not impose any particular iconographic inter-
of drapery, which when the figure was displayed up- pretation on the carving. One possible identification,
right appeared magically suspended over the loins, however, although at variance with any of the Ru-
now appears far more logical. Further, if perhaps bensian models, is suggested by a small pair of holes
more subjectively,the oddly splayed and twisted right (now filled in) on either side of the right heel. The
foot no longer strikes the viewer as unmoored from notion that the shaft of an arrow once protruded
its ligaments,'5 and the vacantly clutching right hand from the ankle is, perhaps, not farfetched, and could
indicate that the carving may have been intended to
portray the dead Achilles.
5, 6. The ivory in Figure 1 seen from other viewpoints The second carving whose possible Rubensian con-
(photos: Albright-KnoxArt Gallery) nection I should like to point out is one in Liverpool
(Figure 7), which by its nature suggests a narrower
range of subject.17 In an early publication, this prone,
decapitated nude was described as Holofernes or,
possibly,John the Baptist.'8 Despite the fact that the

occupation with an aspect of that sculpture that parallels ele-

ments of the motif under discussion, in particular the raised
arm and expanded chest. Rubens's perspective infuses the Hel-
lenistic group with a degree of contortion even stronger than it
would display from a normal point of view.
15. Although the figure's left foot and right leg below the
knee are both separately carved (as is the right arm), only the
left foot seems to be an obvious replacement. Another element
of the figure's condition, its shaved-down backside, might be
noted as well, as it tends to confirm the hypothesis that the fig-
ure was intended not to hang from a cross but rather to lie
securely against a flat ground.
16. As noted above (see note 6), Rubens also drew upon the
motif to serve other compositional functions. These sketches
and paintings bring to mind particularly the Flemish artist's in-
terest in the Sistine Ceiling. The image most specifically remi-
niscent of these more dynamic airborne creatures is the tor-
I mented figure of the crucified Haman (Jaffe, Rubens and Italy,
figs. 9, 11).
17. The figure is now in the Merseyside County Museum.
See British Museum, Department of British and Medieval An-
tiquities, Catalogue of an Exhibition of Ivory Carvings Lent by the
City of LiverpoolPublic Museums, Mostlyfrom the Mayer-Fejervary
Collection(London, 1954) p. 19, no. 52.
18. Burlington Fine Arts Club, Exhibitionof Carvings in Ivory
(London, 1923) p. 98, no. 183; called Italian, late 16th century.

183
Rubens composition it most closely resembles is the to the anonymous Master of the Martyrdom of St.
Head ofJohn theBaptistPresentedto Salome(Figure 8),19 Sebastian.21Characteristic of the style in its purest
there is again no reason to believe that the sculptor form (most noticeable in those works attributed to
adhered to the subject so closely. Taken on its own, the Sebastian Master's immediate circle) are distinct
the ivory might indeed represent Holofernes, as it is remnants of medieval Swabian carving technique: an
currently designated by the museum.
What is the implication of these connections for 19. Unfortunately, neither the original painting nor its sketch
the student of sculpture? Unfortunately, the addition has survived, but copies, one of which is in the Staatliche Kunst-
of these carvings to the already considerable list of halle, Karlsruhe, show this parallel most vividly. See Held, Oil
Sketches,I, p. 572, no. 414; II, fig. 471. Somewhat further afield
small sculptures that derive from Rubensian imagery
iconographically is the similarly posed but fully clothed figure
is of little assistance in narrowing the field of possible of the sleeping St. Peter in Goltzius's Agony in the Garden,
attributions. Many ivories previously linked to Ru- pointed out by Lionel Burman, Keeper of Decorative Arts,
bensian sources have been attributed to Flemish art- County Museum, Liverpool, in a written communication to the
author.
ists (such as Duquesnoy, Artus Quellinus the Elder 20. Some of the ivories after Rubens drawings once attrib-
[1609-68], and Lucas Faydherbe [1617-97]); to the uted to the Flemish sculptor Lucas Faydherbe (see G. Gluck,
Augsburg sculptor Georg Petel, who also worked in "Uber Entwiirfe von Rubens zu Elfenbeinarbeiten Lucas Faid-
close proximity to Rubens in Antwerp; or to carvers herbes," Jahrbuchder KunsthistorischenSammlungendes Allerhoch-
sten Kaiserhauses25, no. 2 [1905] pp. 73-79) have been recently
in Petel's circle.20 The present carvings, however, reconsidered. See, e.g., Feuchtmayr and Schadler, Georg Petel,
point even farther south; they are stylisticallyjust as nos. 14, 21; also K. Aschengreen-Piacenti, "Rubens e gli inta-
plausibly linked to a somewhat more eccentric group gliatori di avorio," in M. Gregori, ed., Rubense Firenze (Florence,
of loosely related ivory works that derive from 1983). For a general discussion of broader sculptural influences
on Rubens and vice versa see W. Kitlitschka, Rubensund die Bild-
an area stretching from southwestern Germany to hauerei: Die Einwirkung der Plastik auf sein Werkund Rubens'Aus-
Vienna. These often virtuoso creations (sometimes wirkung auf die Bildhauer des I7. Jahrhunderts, diss. (Vienna,
more Rubensian even than those Flemish and Augs- 1963).
21. Some other artists linked to this master's circle are Mat-
burg carvings which we know to have been done thias Rauchmiller (see C. Theuerkauff, Studien zur Elfenbeinpla-
after Rubens's designs) have been attributed to a stik des Barock:MatthiasRauchmillerund Ignaz Elhafen, diss. [Frei-
number of different artists who all share stylistic links burg im Breisgau, 1965]; also V. Birke, Matthias Rauchmiller
[Vienna, 1980]). The Monogrammist B. G. and the Swabian
carver C. M. Maucher also show affinities to this group (C.
7. Holofernesor St.John the Baptist. Probably South Ger- Theuerkauff, "Zum Werk der Monogrammisten B. G.," Aache-
man, second half of 17th century. Ivory, L. 81/6 in. ner Kunstblitter44 [1973] pp. 245ff., and Wadsworth Atheneum,
(22.1 cm.). Liverpool, Merseyside County Museum J. Pierpont Morgan, Collector,exh. cat. [Hartford, Conn., 1986]
no. 30).
(photo: MerseysideCounty Museum)

184
 U ?J :
C

?t?
b: .1'11
:;It?--?: .

8. The Head of John the Baptist Presentedto Salome, after

a lost painting by Rubens, ca. 1609. Oil on panel,
tain softness of carving and a lessening of the fanatic
115/8 143/4in. (29.5 x 37.5 cm.). Karlsruhe, Staat-
liche Kunsthalle(photo: StaatlicheKunsthalle) commitment to detail that we generally find in both
of these workshops.
Whatever precise attributions and relationships
extreme linearity of detail (which manifests itself may ultimately be established among these various
most notably in separate, parallel carved strands of objects and artists, what strikes one most in the end
hair) and a tendency towards exaggerated facial ex- is the extent to which so many of them adhered to a
pressions that at times verge on parody. graphic prototype and how fundamentally their art
The present carvings also share certain character- was grounded, in both conception and technique, in
istics with this style. The Buffalo figure in particular, the act of carving in relief. Indeed, much of their
with its heightened expressiveness, exaggerated mus- style can be understood as an attempt to liberate
culature, and flat, bony forearms, recalls the work- their designs from the realm of the plane. This effort
shop of the Sebastian Master and the closely asso- can be judged effectively through a comparison of
ciated Schenck family.22The Liverpool figure shows the two St. Sebastianreliefs (Figures 9, lo). While the
some of these same characteristics, as well as others: earlier version of the subject from the Sebastian Mas-
for example, the parallel cords delineating the fig- ter's circle, dated 1655, is characterized by extremely
ure's calf muscles and the schematic configuration of high relief carving, the second of the two, dated
the toes. At the same time, both figures exhibit a cer- 1657, scarcely appears to be a relief at all; rather, the
figures almost resemble statuettes mounted against a
22. See note 2 above. relief background.

185
 9. Master of the Martyrdom of St. Sebastian, The Mar- 10. Master of the Martyrdom of St. Sebastian (Work-
tyrdomof St. Sebastian, South German or Austrian, shop?), The Martyrdomof St. Sebastian,South German
dated 1655. Ivory, 211/4 x 311/2 in. (54 x 80 cm.). or Austrian, dated 1657. Ivory relief, 2o7/8 X 317/8
Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum (photo: Kunst- in. (53 X 81 cm.). Linz, Oberosterreichisches Lan-
historisches Museum) desmuseum (photo: Oberosterreichisches Landes-
museum)

i86
11. Master of the Martyrdom of St. Sebastian, Man
Struggling with a Serpent,South German or Austrian,
third quarter of 17th century. Ivory, H. 9 in. (22.8
cm.). Vaduz, Collections of the Reigning Prince of
Liechtenstein (photo: Walter Wachter)

12. Attributed to the Workshop of the Master of the

Martyrdom of St. Sebastian, The Judgment of Solo-
mon, South German or Austrian, third quarter of
17th century. Ivory relief, 57/8 81/4 in. (15 X
21 cm.). Darmstadt, Hessisches Landesmuseum
(photo: Hessisches Landesmuseum)
 In a similar way, the Man Struggling with a Serpent
(Figure 11), one of the two Liechtenstein ivories
mentioned earlier, also relates to a flat carving: the
small, highly pictorial Judgment of Solomon in Darm-
stadt (Figure 12).23 The graphic outlines of the statu-
ette parallel so closely those of the executioner in
composition that one imagines this aspect must
surely have dominated the sculptor's imagination.
The other Liechtenstein figure, a Kneeling Captive
(Figure 13), also presents a dominant view that com-
pels one to associate it immediately with the conven-
tional bound figures that Rubens (as well as many
others) utilized as attributes in depicting allegories of
victory.24
The characteristic emphasis on powerfully
bunched and craggy back and shoulder muscles that
all these ivory figures share has a particularly enliv-
ening effect on their sculptural outline; and whether
or not one can identify specific pictorial models, one
feels that some such source must have played a role
in the conception of the object and the sculptor's ap-
proach to his task.25 Hence the great interest of the
13. Workshop of the Master of the Martyrdom of St. Buffalo and Liverpool figures: their allusions to Ru-
Sebastian, Kneeling Captive, South German or Aus- bens's compositions indicate that the broad swath cut
trian, third quarter of 17th century. Ivory, H. 41/4 by his artistic presence was one of the main routes
in. (10.8 cm.). Vaduz, Collections of the Reigning through which the style of the classical Baroque en-
Prince of Liechtenstein (photo: Walter Wachter) tered the idiosyncratic and somewhat provincial
world of the virtuoso South German ivory carver.

23. Philippovich,"Hauptwerke,"fig. 6, there attributedto cept. The carving presents itself in a series of faceted views as if
J. C. Schenck.This relief has recentlybeen classifiedby Theuer- the carver were attacking the piece of ivory one side at a time,
kauff among the works he attributes to the workshop of and engraving these images on a succession of flat surfaces. The
the Sebastian Master.See C. Theuerkauff, StaatlicheMuseen most vivid example of this impulse, however, is the recently
Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Die Bildwerkeder SkulpturengalerieBer- published Adam and Eve group in Hartford (Wadsworth Athe-
lin: II. Die Bildwerkein Elfenbein des i6.-I9. Jahrhunderts(Berlin, neum, J. Pierpont Morgan, Collector,pp. 106-109, no. 27). This
1986) p. 285, no. 81. ambitious and beautiful carving, which Theuerkauff also attrib-
24. See also Philippovich, "Hauptwerke,"figs. 3-5, who utes to the Sebastian Master, has been connected to a drawing
points to similaritiesbetween this figure and the Sebastianre- in East Berlin from which it nonetheless appears to differ in
liefs. minor ways. The correspondence is, however, decidedly closer
25. Even such a fully sculpturalcreation as the Herculesand if one imagines the drawing distributed around a cylindrical
Antaeus in the Linsky Collection (TheJack and Belle LinskyCollec- form. The images of Adam and Eve correspond more nearly to
tion in The MetropolitanMuseum of Art [New York, 1984] no. 93, the drawing if each is seen from the side, and they appear more
entry by James David Draper) reveals this graphic approach, physically coherent as well.
both internally,in its delineationof detail,and in its overallcon-

188
continuedfromfrontflap

Three Fifteenth-Century Sculptures

from Poligny
WILLIAM H. FORSYTH

A Drawing of Fame by the Cavaliere d'Arpino

LAWRENCE TURt I(

A Terracotta Relief of the Agony in the

Garden by Massimiliano Soldani Benzi
KATE McCLUER

Five Scenes from a Romance: The Identifica-

tion of a Nineteenth-Century Printed Cotton
LOURDES M. FONT

Liechtenstein Studies

Schaufelein as Painter and Graphic Artist

in The Visitation
MARYAN WYNN AINSWORTH

A Heraldic Note About the Portrait of

Ladislaus, Count of Haag, by Hans Mielich
HELMUT NICKEL

A Pair of Wheel-Lock Pistols Attributed to

Wolf Lucz of Mergenthal
STUART W. PYHRR

Prince Karl I of Liechtenstein's Pietre Dure

Tabletop
CLARE VINCENT

Bodies by Rubens: Reflections of Flemish

Painting in the Work of South German
Ivory Carvers
JOHANNA HECHT

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