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![and precious stones, one of which is estimated at 14,000 écus, and
another at 30,000 écus. On the back of the dressoir was hung a
dorset (dorsal) of cloth of gold and crimson, bordered with black
velvet, and on the black velvet was delicately embroidered the
device of Duke Philip, which was a gun....
“Item, on the dressoir which was in the chamber of the said lady,
there were always two silver candlesticks which they called at Court
mestiers,[1]
in which two lights were always burning, for it was
fifteen days before the windows of her room were allowed to be
opened. Near the dressoir in a corner was a little low table
containing the cups and saucers in which something to drink was
served to those ladies who came to see Madame, after they had
been offered a dragée[2]
; but the drageoir stood upon the dressoir.”
1. Night candles.
2. Bonbons.
In the “chambre de parade” there stood a very large dressoir,
ornamented with superb pieces of gold and silver.
It was the custom for both lords and ladies to receive their
acquaintances informally in the “chambre de parade,” while the inner
room was reserved for their intimate friends. On the occasion of a
birth, these two rooms were as superbly furnished as the house
could afford. The richest cloths and tapestries were brought out, and
the dressoir was adorned with articles of gold and silver that were
only placed on view on important occasions.
When Mary of Burgundy was born, the same authority informs us
that Isabella of Bourbon’s room was very richly furnished; and in
honour of Mary of Burgundy, the daughter and heir of Charles the
Bold, there were five shelves upon the dressoir, a privilege reserved
for queens only.
The drageoir was a very important article. It contained the various
“épices de chambre,” generally called dragée, and meaning all kinds
of sugar plums and confitures, conserves, sugared rose leaves (sucré](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/55446-250602044307-5bc431ea/75/Local-Economic-and-Employment-Development-Skills-Upgrading-New-Policy-Perspectives-Oecd-52-2048.jpg)
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- 5. Local Economic andEmployment Development Skills Upgrading New Policy Perspectives Oecd Digital Instant Download Author(s): OECD ISBN(s): 9789264012509, 9264012508 Edition: Kindle File Details: PDF, 3.56 MB Year: 2006 Language: english
- 6. The full textof this book is available on line via these links: http://www.sourceoecd.org/education/9264012508 http://www.sourceoecd.org/employment/9264012508 http://www.sourceoecd.org/regionaldevelopment/9264012508 Those with access to all OECD books on line should use this link: http://www.sourceoecd.org/9264012508 SourceOECD is the OECD’s online library of books, periodicals and statistical databases. For more information about this award-winning service and free trials ask your librarian, or write to us at [email protected]. Skills are key to a better job and a better life. Yet acquiring them is often most difficult for the people who need them most: those trapped in low-paid jobs with hard working conditions. The result is an imbalanced labour market with unused human resource potential, misused government resources and unmet employer needs. A number of obstacles stand in the way of nurturing employment and social cohesion in our increasingly integrated economies. Innovative experiments throughout OECD member countries show that those obstacles can be overcome. A wide range of actors from government, business and civil society have joined efforts and embarked on initiatives that indeed fill the gap between labour market policy and vocational training, correct workers’ weaknesses and meet employers’ evolving needs. There are rich lessons to be learned from the experiences of Belgium (Flanders), Canada, Denmark, the United Kingdom and the United States, which are investigated in this book. Those lessons are essential reading for policy makers, practitioners and all actors involved in employment services, education and skills development. Skills Upgrading NEW POLICY PERSPECTIVES ISBN 92-64-01250-8 84 2006 01 1 P -:HSTCQE=UVWZU^: www.oecd.org SKILLS UPGRADING New Policy Perspectives Skills Upgrading NEW POLICY PERSPECTIVES
- 8. Local Economic andEmployment Development Skills Upgrading New Policy Perspectives ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT
- 9. ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMICCO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT The OECD is a unique forum where the governments of 30 democracies work together to address the economic, social and environmental challenges of globalisation. The OECD is also at the forefront of efforts to understand and to help governments respond to new developments and concerns, such as corporate governance, the information economy and the challenges of an ageing population. The Organisation provides a setting where governments can compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and work to co-ordinate domestic and international policies. The OECD member countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Commission of the European Communities takes part in the work of the OECD. OECD Publishing disseminates widely the results of the Organisation’s statistics gathering and research on economic, social and environmental issues, as well as the conventions, guidelines and standards agreed by its members. Also available in French under the title: Améliorer les compétences Vers de nouvelles politiques © OECD 2006 No reproduction, copy, transmission or translation of this publication may be made without written permission. Applications should be sent to OECD Publishing: [email protected] or by fax (33 1) 45 24 13 91. Permission to photocopy a portion of this work should be addressed to the Centre français d'exploitation du droit de copie, 20, rue des Grands-Augustins, 75006 Paris, France ([email protected]). This work is published on the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Organisation or of the governments of its member countries.
- 10. FOREWORD SKILLS UPGRADING: NEWPOLICY PERSPECTIVES – ISBN 92-64-01250-8 – © OECD 2006 3 Foreword Today, skills are a chief concern for our societies. In a knowledge-based, integrated economy where labour markets are increasingly flexible, skills represent one of the most valuable assets workers can have. They need to be nurtured and renewed constantly if living standards are to be maintained, let alone increased. That is why lifelong learning is now at the top of government policy agendas in OECD member countries. For many people, however, the rhetoric attached to lifelong learning does not translate into concrete benefits. It often happens that those with low skills feel the pressures of international competition in their everyday working conditions. Worse, they see a widening gap between themselves and the skills that are in demand – skills that hold the promise of a better life. If existing policy tools are all too often inadequate to the challenge, it is also true that a good deal of action now being taken in the field is meeting with success. The actors involved – from government, business and civil society – are joining efforts and coming up with innovative experiments that manage to fill the gap between labour market policy and vocational training, correct workers’ weaknesses, and meet employers’ evolving needs. There are rich lessons to be learned from these experiences. The OECD’s Co-operative Action Programme on Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Programme undertook the Study on Skills Upgrading for the Low- qualified to examine these experiments and extract their lessons. The project is part of LEED’s ambitious policy research agenda on local governance and employment. Work on the agenda began in 1998 with the release of a seminal publication on the local management of employment policies and the Venice high-level conference on decentralisation, both of which explored new frameworks for action. The issues tackled so far in previous books range from using decentralisation to enhance labour market policy effectiveness, to reformulating the role of area-based partnerships in terms of governance outcomes, to outlining new governance mechanisms to promote competitiveness and social cohesion. Work currently under way, to be presented in future volumes, includes such issues as integrating immigrants into the labour market and co-ordinating employment policy and economic development strategies. This project would not have been possible without the support provided by several important partners of the LEED Programme: the European Commission (DG Employment & Social Affairs), the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, the
- 11. FOREWORD SKILLS UPGRADING: NEWPOLICY PERSPECTIVES – ISBN 92-64-01250-8 – © OECD 2006 4 US Department of Labor, Human Resources and Social Development Canada, the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA) in the United Kingdom, the Ministry of the Flemish Community in Belgium and both the Ministry of Employment and the Ministry of Education of Denmark. Thanks to their support, we can now understand the important role played by local governance to the issue of skills upgrading, a crucial factor in the functionning of the labour market and wider society. This book demonstrates how a co-ordinated and integrated approach can be vital to generating concrete results in terms of employment, skills development and social cohesion. I trust it will have an important impact on the current policy debate. Sergio Arzeni Director, OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship Head, OECD LEED Programme
- 12. Acknowledgements. Sylvain Giguère,Deputy Head of the LEED Programme, designed and directed this project; Corinne Nativel, Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow, prepared and edited this publication. Helpful assistance has been provided by Debbie Binks, Lucy Clarke, Sheelagh Delf, Randy Holden and Kay Olbison. The contributors to this publication are: Richard Brisbois, Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN) Randall Eberts, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, United States Vania Gerova, Centre for Longitudinal Studies, Institute for Education, University of London Sylvain Giguère, LEED Programme, OECD Jim Hillage, Institute for Employment Studies (IES), United Kingdom Corinne Nativel, Department of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow Ides Nicaise, Higher Institute for Labour Studies (HIVA), University of Leuven Mette Nørholm, Danish Technological Institute Frank Pirard, Higher Institute for Labour Studies (HIVA), University of Leuven Ron Saunders, Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN) Penny Tamkin, Institute for Employment Studies (IES), United Kingdom Roel Verlinden, Higher Institute for Labour Studies (HIVA), University of Leuven
- 14. TABLE OF CONTENTS SKILLSUPGRADING: NEW POLICY PERSPECTIVES – ISBN 92-64-01250-8 – © OECD 2006 7 Table of Contents Acronyms........................................................................................................... 11 Executive Summary.......................................................................................... 13 Chapter 1. An Introduction to Skills Upgrading: Why a Shift in Policy is Needed by Sylvain Giguère .......................................................................... 23 From a business cycle issue to a structural one........................................... 25 The workplace is changing.............................................................................. 26 A governance failure as much as a market failure ...................................... 27 National issues, local solutions ...................................................................... 28 A shift in policies is needed ............................................................................ 29 Chapter 2. From Welfare-to-work to Welfare-in-work: Concepts and Policies by Corinne Nativel .......................................................................... 33 From “Welfare-to-Work” to “Welfare-in-Work”: challenges and obstacles..................................................................................................... 35 Instruments for upgrading the skills of the low-qualified: an overview.. 44 Actors and institutional arrangements: the governance of workforce development .............................................................................. 56 Conclusions and policy recommendations................................................... 70 Chapter 3. Education and Training for the Low-skilled in Denmark: Linking Public Policy to Workplace Needs and Practice by Mette Nørholm ........................................................................... 85 Introduction....................................................................................................... 86 The national policy context ............................................................................ 87 Regional labour market and skills needs: a case-study from Storstrøm.................................................................................................. 96 Workplace practices: strategic aspects.......................................................... 101 Implementing training initiatives for the low-skilled at company level: processes and outcomes.................................................. 110 Conclusions and recommendations .............................................................. 121
- 15. TABLE OF CONTENTS SKILLSUPGRADING: NEW POLICY PERSPECTIVES – ISBN 92-64-01250-8 – © OECD 2006 8 Chapter 4. The Regional Implementation of the Employer Training Pilots in the United Kingdom by Penny Tamkin, Jim Hillage and Viona Gerova....................... 129 Introduction....................................................................................................... 130 The policy context ............................................................................................ 131 The UK labour market...................................................................................... 143 The Derbyshire labour market ....................................................................... 145 Employer Training Pilots ................................................................................. 148 Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 165 Chapter 5. Sectoral Initiatives to Train Low-qualified Incumbent Workers in the United States: Two Case Studies by Randall W. Eberts....................................................................... 175 Introduction....................................................................................................... 176 Overview of the situation of low-skilled workers in the United States.... 178 Training incumbent workers .......................................................................... 182 Delivery of worker training by workforce investment boards ................... 187 Non-government workforce intermediaries................................................. 192 Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 214 Chapter 6. Skills Upgrading for Low-Qualified Workers in Flanders by Ides Nicaise, Roel Verlinden and Frank Pirard ...................... 223 Introduction....................................................................................................... 224 The position of low-qualified workers in the labour market and lifelong learning in Flanders.................................................................... 225 Institutional and policy perspectives on lifelong learning ........................ 230 The Flemish action plan for lifelong learning .............................................. 231 Specific instruments for the upskilling of low-qualified incumbent workers .......................................................................................... 234 Intensive training measures for low-skilled unemployed workers: the example of Vitamin-W.............................................................................. 239 In-work support for low-skilled re-entrants: the example of the Jobcoach Network.................................................................................. 243 Workplace training for incumbent workers: the example of Harol .......... 250 Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 255 Annex 6.A1.......................................................................................................... 259 Chapter 7. Skills Upgrading Initiatives in Canada: Evidence from Alberta and the Northwest Territories by Richard Brisbois and Ron Saunders ........................................ 261 Introduction....................................................................................................... 262 The national labour market ............................................................................ 263 Adult education and training policy in Canada ........................................... 267 Case studies from the Northwest Territories ............................................... 272 Case studies in the Province of Alberta ........................................................ 283 Lessons learned................................................................................................. 297 Conclusions ...................................................................................................... 303
- 16. TABLE OF CONTENTS SKILLSUPGRADING: NEW POLICY PERSPECTIVES – ISBN 92-64-01250-8 – © OECD 2006 9 Annex 7.A1. Map of Northwest Territories.................................................... 308 Annex 7.A2. Map of Alberta ............................................................................. 309 Annex 7.A3. Web Site Information on Organisations and Government Agencies Included in this Study................................................ 310 About the Authors ............................................................................................ 311 Boxes 2.1. Some definitions....................................................................................... 41 2.2. Workplace essential skills (Canada) ...................................................... 55 2.3. The 2001 collective agreement on training in the metalworking industry in Baden-Württemburg (Germany)........................................ 66 2.4. The EU initiative EQUAL (2000-2006) ..................................................... 68 4.1. ETP employer penetration rates............................................................. 155 4.2. Case studies of employers ...................................................................... 157 Tables 2.1. Behaviour, skills and attributes of enterprising people...................... 39 2.2. Risk and incidence of low-pay by education level in selected OECD countries..................................................................... 40 2.3. Risk and incidence of low pay by tenure in selected OECD countries .. 40 2.4. The fastest-growing occupations in the United Kingdom, 1992-99.. 43 3.1. Public expenditure on adult education and training, 1993-2001....... 95 3.2. Population, 1990, 1995 and 2001............................................................. 97 3.3. Labour force trends, 1990, 1995 and 2001 ............................................. 97 3.4. Unemployment rates .............................................................................. 98 4.1. Percentage of employers providing some form of training, by size.. 144 4.2. Old and new pilot areas........................................................................... 150 4.3. ETP employer participants by size (percentages) ................................ 154 4.4. ETP employer penetration rates, August 2003 (%)............................... 155 4.5. ETP employer participants by sector (percentages) ............................ 156 4.6. ETP employers involved with business support agencies (percentages)............................................................................................. 156 5.1. Shares of hours worked that are low-paid by industry ..................... 180 5.2. Shares of hours worked that are low-paid by occupation ................. 180 5.3. Poverty, income and educational attainment by US regions ............ 180 5.4. Estimated expenditures for public job training programmes in the US, Fiscal Year 2001 (thousands of US dollars)......................... 185 6.1. Activity rates for the “low-educated” in Belgium, Flanders and the EU-15............................................................................ 226 6.2. Activity rates by educational level, 2002............................................... 226 6.3. Unemployment rates of low-educated people, 1999-2002 ................. 227 6.4. Level of qualification of jobs................................................................... 227
- 17. TABLE OF CONTENTS SKILLSUPGRADING: NEW POLICY PERSPECTIVES – ISBN 92-64-01250-8 – © OECD 2006 10 6.5. Proportion of employees in each level of qualification, by company size ....................................................................................... 228 6.6. Participation of adults in education and training during the past four weeks, by gender, age, initial level of education, employment situation and nationality – Belgium and regions, 2001...................................................................................... 229 6.7. Social dialogue on training in Belgium ................................................. 234 Figures 1.1. The institutional framework for skills upgrading initiatives ............ 69 3.1. Denmark’s education and training system .......................................... 91 3.2. Map of Denmark showing Storstrøm .................................................... 97 3.3. Educational level of the employed and the unemployed in the Storstrøm region, 2002 ................................................................. 98 4.1. Percentage of employers providing some form of training, by sector..................................................................................................... 144 4.2. Percentage of employers providing training, by kind of training and size...................................................................................................... 145 4.3. Map of the United Kingdom showing Derbyshire ............................... 146 5.1. Wage rates by education (ages 25-54) ................................................... 179 5.2. Midwest Region ........................................................................................ 195 6.A1.1. The Flemish region of Belgium and the location of the three cases studied in this chapter ............................................ 259
- 18. ACRONYMS SKILLS UPGRADING: NEWPOLICY PERSPECTIVES – ISBN 92-64-01250-8 – © OECD 2006 11 Acronyms AE Adult Education (Voksenuddannelse) (Denmark) AF Arbejdsformidlingens – Name of the Danish Public Employment Service AHRE Alberta Human Resources and Employment (Canada) AMU Adult Vocational Training (Arbejdsmarkedsuddannelserne) (Denmark) APEL Accreditation of prior experiential learning (Flanders) AVU General Adult Education (Almen VoksenUddannelse) (Denmark) AWES Alberta Workforce Essential Skills (Canada) BLOs Business Links Operators (UK) CEGEP Collège d’Enseignement Général et Professionnel (Quebec) CET Continuous Education and Training CPPI Canadian Petroleum Products Institute CTHRC Canadian Trucking Human Resource Council CVT Continuing Vocational Training DDMI Diavik Diamond Mines Inc. (Canada) ERIC Effective Reading in Context (Canada) ESF European Social Fund ESRP Essential Skills Research Project (Canada) ESWL Essential Skills and Workplace Literacy (Canada) ETPs Employer Training Pilots (UK) FOA Public Employees’s Union (Forbundet af Offentlige Ansatte) (Denmark) FVU Preparatory Adult Education (Forberedende VoksenUddannelse) (Denmark) GCSEs General Certification of Secondary Education (UK) GED General Equivalency Diploma (Canada) GVU Basic Adult Education (Grunduddannelse for voksne) HF Higher Preparatory Examination HHX Higher Commercial Examination HTX Higher Technical Examination IAG Information Advice and Guidance JARC Jane Addams Resource Corporation (US) KAD Women Workers’ Union in Denmark (Kvindeligt Arbejderforbund)
- 19. ACRONYMS SKILLS UPGRADING: NEWPOLICY PERSPECTIVES – ISBN 92-64-01250-8 – © OECD 2006 12 LIRI Local Industrial Retention Initiative (US) LLL Lifelong Learning LMDAs Labour Market Development Agreements (Canada) LSEq Low Skill Equilibrium LO Danish Federation of Trade Unions (Landsorganisationen i Danmark) LSCs Learning and Skills Councils (UK) MOWD Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development (US) NNSP The National Network of Sector Partners (US) NVQs National Vocational Qualifications (UK) PES Public Employment Service RAR Regional Labour Market Council (Regionale Arbejdsmarkeds Råd) (Denmark) SERV Flemish Social and Economic Council (Flanders) SID General Workers’ Union in Denmark (Specialarbejderforbundet i Danmark) SSDA Sector Skills Development Agency (UK) SMEs Small and medium-sized enterprises STC Sub-regional Employment Committee (Flanders) TANF Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (US) TIF Tax incremental financing (US) TOWES Test of Workplace Essential Skills (Canada) UPL Educational Planning (Uddannelses Planlægning) (Denmark) VDAB Vlaamse Dienst voor Arbeidsbemiddeling en Beroepsopleiding – Name of the Flemish Public Employment Service VET Vocational Education and Training VESOC Flemish Economic and Social Consultative Committee (Flanders) VET Vocational Education and Training VEUD Adult Vocational Education and Training (Voksenerhvervsuddannelse) (Denmark) VEU-reform Adult Education Reform (Voksen- og Efteruddannelsesreform) (Denmark) VUC General Adult Education Centre (Voksenuddannelsescenter) (Denmark) VUS Act on Educational Support for Adults (Voksenuddannelsesstøtte) (Denmark) VVU Further Adult Education (Videregående VoksenUddannelse) (Denmark) WIA Workforce Investment Act (US) WLP Workplace Learning Program WRTP Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership (US)
- 20. ISBN 92-64-01250-8 Skills upgrading NewPolicy Perspectives © OECD 2006 SKILLS UPGRADING: NEW POLICY PERSPECTIVES – ISBN 92-64-01250-8 – © OECD 2006 13 Executive Summary
- 21. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SKILLS UPGRADING:NEW POLICY PERSPECTIVES – ISBN 92-64-01250-8 – © OECD 2006 14 The governments of OECD member countries have begun to acknowledge the importance of upgrading the human capital of those workers trapped in low-skilled, low-paid and often insecure jobs. As Chapter One indicates, the rationale is threefold. First, many countries are experiencing skill gaps and shortages: in specific industrial sectors, employers cannot find suitably qualified workers. As economies restructure, relocating production in countries with lower labour costs, there is a strong pressure to upgrade the skills of low-qualified workers on the domestic market so that they can fill vacancies for more qualified jobs and fuel economic growth. A second reason is the desire to increase productivity. Higher productivity improves the position of firms on the global market, attracts inward investment and promotes job creation. Differences in productivity across countries are often explained by differences in skills and educational attainment. Recent economic studies have revealed a significant correlation between investment in the human capital of low-qualified workers and a country’s future growth and labour productivity. A third important driver is that the workfare programmes implemented by numerous OECD governments since the 1990s have led to the creation of a vast category of workers in low-paid employment involving harsh working conditions and offering few social benefits, often referred to as the “working poor”. This kind of reintegration is clearly not a sufficient condition to alleviate social exclusion or poverty in a sustainable manner. The high incidence of poverty among working households suggests that policies emphasising job placement must be supplemented by measures to improve employment retention and enhance upward mobility. Current employment trends underline the importance of this third factor: it is becoming increasingly difficult for those occupying entry-level jobs to “move up the ladder” in terms of pay, conditions and security. And because of their peripheral position in the labour market, these workers are particularly exposed to the risk of losing their jobs through economic restructuring. Tackling market and governance failures The under-provision of training for the low-skilled workers has called attention to a gap between the public employment service and the vocational training
- 22. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SKILLS UPGRADING:NEW POLICY PERSPECTIVES – ISBN 92-64-01250-8 – © OECD 2006 15 system. While the former has few resources to follow up those who obtain a job, the latter brings few benefits to low-skilled workers. Lack of co-ordination between the two means that in many countries the government does not provide any assistance to skills upgrading. Such upgrading is thus not only a policy issue but also an organisational issue. Hence both a market failure and a governance failure must be tackled. It is at the local level that the effects of these failures are felt most directly, and where the need for complementary measures is voiced. The difficulty faced by enterprises in recruiting staff with the requisite skills spurs local labour market actors to offer education and training opportunities to the local incumbent workforce. As a result, a great number of local initiatives have emerged in many countries and regions, aimed at filling the gap between labour market reintegration and training programmes. A range of actors and agencies lead these initiatives: local authorities, trade unions, community-based organisations, labour market intermediaries and area-based partnerships. They draw on instruments and funding sources made available by various tiers of government, and through the European Union in the case of EU member states. Some countries have also recently launched pilot programmes. As solutions to fill the training gap for low-skilled and low-paid workers have been designed at the local level, it is on that scale that the OECD LEED Programme has focused its Study on Skills Upgrading for the Low-Qualified. The project explores the question of how local and regional policies intersect with national training systems to deliver innovative, custom-made training programmes targeted at the working poor and their employers in specific occupations, sectors, cities and regions. It analysed the instruments and mechanisms used by local partnerships and other organisations in Belgium, Canada, Denmark, the United Kingdom and the United States. The second chapter examines key challenges and institutional determinants. It begins by defining the nature of workforce development and skills upgrading initiatives. It is stressed that they address a more modest objective than lifelong learning, that of improving the skills, competencies and qualifications of low-qualified incumbent workers as a response to skills shortages and gaps felt in local labour markets and within organisations. Skills are related to the supply-side concept of employability: individuals can offer assets ranging from basic skills (literacy, numeracy, ICT and foreign languages) to vocational qualifications, to “soft” skills such as appearance, communication and teamworking. These skills may be acquired formally or informally, so that the scope of upskilling initiatives is wider than the traditional continuous education and training (CET) measures that mainly provide vocational and technical competences.
- 23. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SKILLS UPGRADING:NEW POLICY PERSPECTIVES – ISBN 92-64-01250-8 – © OECD 2006 16 Skills polarisation has increased as the economies of the OECD have restructured, with the growth of high-skilled managerial and technical jobs paralleled by a growth in low-skilled service sector jobs. This trend is compounded by the fact that low-educated adults participate less in learning than their highly educated counterparts. Generally, policy makers use training and skills upgrading instruments to address the barriers of cost, time and access. The chapter groups these into three broad categories: 1) employer oriented, 2) worker oriented and 3) assessment related. (These are of course not mutually exclusive and may be addressed simultaneously.) The first category includes training levies enforced through government legislation, subsidies to employers, symbolic rewards, and sectoral programmes providing tailor-made training packages. The second category includes training leave schemes, job coaching, individual training allowances, accounts and vouchers, and job rotation. Assessment- related instruments include identification of skills needs by regional agencies and the validation of non-formal learning. The chapter examines the governance of workforce development; special attention is paid to the creation of new workforce development agencies (WDAs) and the role of workforce intermediaries. In particular, it discusses the ways in which skills upgrading can be harnessed to local economic development strategies through the provision of information and intelligence; regional skills alliances; social partners’ involvement in programme design and advocacy; brokerage from partners in the educational sector; and supranational programmes such as EQUAL in the European Union. On the basis of this evidence, the chapter makes a series of recommendations for policy makers. It stresses that skill needs must be anticipated through regional skills observatories, and that training must be promoted in the workplace through vigorous information and communication campaigns. Moreover, training – this is never stressed enough – needs to be carefully tailored to the target group and to the workplace, in terms of both content and delivery methods. This means hiring educational consultants, workforce intermediaries and fellow tradesmen as tutors. Of prime importance is the need to convince employers that investing in the training of their workforce will benefit their business performance. At the national level, governments will need to consider making the right to training for all categories of workers a legitimate policy objective, and to adapt their legislation to develop and redesign training levies in order to discriminate positively in favour of low- qualified workers. Finally, the chapter recognises that workforce development is only part of a broader educational agenda and that initial education must provide opportunities to all children and young people. Unless schools, universities
- 24. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SKILLS UPGRADING:NEW POLICY PERSPECTIVES – ISBN 92-64-01250-8 – © OECD 2006 17 and educational institutions succeed at reinventing themselves to become more inclusive and prepare future generations for the world of work, all efforts to upgrade the skills of low-qualified workers will be in vain. An emphasis on educational planning in Denmark The book then turns to a series of in-depth empirical examinations. Chapter 3 seeks to identify the preconditions for successful education and training initiatives for low-skilled workers in Denmark. Drawing on the case studies of three Danish enterprises, it illustrates the proper circumstances for adopting competence development strategies in the workplace. The chapter begins with an overview of recent Danish policy developments in the field of adult vocational education and training. Denmark has a long- standing tradition of offering a favourable environment for upgrading the skills and competencies of the low-qualified. A specific feature of such policies is that they aim to promote employment and economic growth. The public system for both mainstream vocational training and adult education operates under the strong influence of the social partners. Since the 1990s, several reforms have increased provision for adults at all levels. In particular, a reform in 2001 produced two new programmes for the low-skilled: Preparatory Adult Education (Forberedende VoksenUddannelse) and Basic Adult Education (Grunduddannelse for voksne). The case of Storstrøm, a region situated in the southern part of Sealand, and the islands Lolland and Falster, sheds light on the role played by the Regional Labour Market Council. Alongside programmes for unemployed people, the Labour Market Council finances job rotation programmes as well as education and training plans in three selected private sector companies, working in partnership with vocational centres. The experiences and outcomes of the companies (an electronics firm, a textile company and a ferry operator), all located in the Storstrøm region, are then examined. The experiences differ as do the motives for adopting education and training, but the companies do display similarities, such as the reliance on brokers as a means of getting things going. The author concludes that the initial barriers faced by employers and low-skilled workers – and the resulting inertia – can be successfully overcome through a combination of proper preconditions and a well-devised strategy of educational planning. Policy makers therefore need to ensure that employers are kept aware of educational offers.
- 25. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SKILLS UPGRADING:NEW POLICY PERSPECTIVES – ISBN 92-64-01250-8 – © OECD 2006 18 Regional implementation of the nationally designed Employer Training Pilot in the United Kingdom Chapter 4 provides a thorough examination of the Employer Training Pilots (ETPs), a recent initiative of the UK government to encourage skills acquisition at the local level. It begins by mapping out the major policy initiatives in the United Kingdom over the last decade. There is growing concern that the country is falling behind its competitors in terms of productivity and economic performance, having had to cope with the social consequences of a relatively poorly educated and trained workforce. In England, one out of five adults has low or very low levels of literacy and some 48% have low or very low levels of numeracy (i.e. below the level expected of an 11-year-old). It is hence not surprising that skills are at the core of the Labour Government’s labour market policy reforms, as illustrated by the creation of the Learning and Skills Council, the University for Industry, Centres for Vocational Excellence, and the Skills for Business Network which consists of Sector Skills Councils. Moreover, the government has encouraged the establishment of regional skills alliances between Regional Development Agencies, Business Link Operators, the public employment service and others. The Employer Training Pilots were introduced in two successive phases from September 2002 to cover all 12 English regions by 2005. The initiative targets employers or employees who do not normally get involved with qualifications-based training. The offer includes four elements with some scope for local variations: free or subsidised training, paid time off for training, wage compensation, and information, advice and guidance to employers and employees. The authors examine the implementation of ETPs in Derbyshire, a mixed urban and rural county in the East Midlands, and find that the main driver to participation appears to be the availability of free, brokered training, rather than the availability of wage compensation. However, the educational level at which the pilots are aimed means that they are more effective at tackling issues associated with social inclusion than economic regeneration issues, which may require different policies. Workforce intermediaries at the heart of regional skills alliances in the United States Partnerships between businesses and non-profit organisations are crucial in attempting to upgrade the skills of low-qualified workers, as Chapter 5 illustrates. In the United States, workers with low educational attainment and little training are clearly at a significant disadvantage with respect to earnings
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- 27. furniture to standby itself out against the flat wall of a room, it was called a cabinet, or armoire. As late as the middle of the seventeenth century, however, the armoire was generally part of the fixed woodwork. Relai was another name for it. Thus in 1635, Monet defines armoire, armaire, aumoire as a “reservoir pratique en la muraille à servir et garder tout chose”; and Cotgrave (1673) has: “Relai” as “armaire, a hole or box contrived in or against a wall.” The plain box, or chest, was the origin of all the developments of Mediaeval furniture. It had many uses: it contained the treasures and valuables of the lord; it was used as a packing-case or trunk for travelling; with supports at the four corners and back, and arms added above, it served as a chair or settle, with a seat that could be lifted on hinges; raised also on legs and supplied with a daïs, it became a dressoir, credence, or sideboard; chest-upon-chest superimposed, developed into the elaborate armoire; and, finally, supplied with a head and foot rail and made comfortable with mattress or pillows, it served as a bed. In the old manuscripts of the Middle Ages, we find many illustrations of the developments of the chest and its various uses. Fig. 4 shows a long chest with short solid legs on which bedding is laid, and over which a canopy with curtains has been raised. By its side is a chair, the seat of which is manifestly the lid of a small chest. The chest- bed and chair stand on a carpet: the floor is tiled. The shape of the pillow is characteristic of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The carving of the panels in bed and chair show the “linen fold,” which was so popular in the Netherlands and which was laid in even more intricate folds by the English carvers. Gothic tracery in furniture, in combination with the “linen-fold” is shown in the chair of Fig. 5, which exhibits also another chest, or bahut. The original illustration shows flames leaping up the chimney, against which the bed is closely placed. The cushions, with heavy tassels at each corner, are similar in shape to those in Fig. 4. There were several varieties of the chest, known by various names, such as huche, bahut and arche. The huche usually had a flat top: it
- 28. was the oldestand simplest form—a plain oblong box. As time wore on the huche gave its name to the cabinet-makers (the huchiers) of the Middle Ages. They made windows, doors, panels, shutters, bancs, bahuts, armoires, credences, and whatever else was required; and the guild of huchiers was one of the largest corporations of the period. The huchiers were particularly distinguished for their execution of choir-stalls and splendid carving. The huche, at first a very simple piece of furniture, was later decorated with beautiful paintings and rich carvings; moreover, it was enriched and strengthened with chiselled and pierced iron hinges and locks. The chests until the thirteenth century were works of simple carpentry. The faces consist of plain surfaces which are ornamented with paintings on linen or leather; and further adorned with hinges and clamps of pierced and wrought metal. The bancs, benches or settles, were made in the Middle Ages by the huchiers. They were made of planks and often had backs and arms. In the fifteenth century, they were enriched with sculpture and surmounted by a canopy or daïs. They were also called formes or bancs d’œuvre. The Cluny Museum possesses many fine examples of this period, both civil and religious. In the halls and bedrooms of the Mediaeval châteaux the banc is often seen placed laterally before the wide chimney-piece, and its high back was very useful in keeping off the draughts. It may be thought that their rigid form and absence of upholstery rendered them uncomfortable, but the numerous soft cushions with which they were supplied quite atoned for the absence of upholstery. (See Plate II.) The chief use of the Mediaeval sideboard was the display of ornate plate, crystal and similar articles. The kitchen dresser with its shelves holding plates and dishes set upright against the wall is a lineal descendant of the old dressoir. The shelves of the dressoir were regulated by etiquette: every noble person could have a dressoir with three shelves; others, only two; royalty had four and five.
- 29. According to someauthorities, the difference between the dressoir and the buffet is simply this: the dressoir was intended to display the articles taken from the buffet, and had no drawers and no cupboard; the buffet, on the other hand, contained both drawers and cupboards. The buffet of our dining-rooms and our cellarets that close with lock and key, are therefore survivals of the credence of the Middle Ages. Sometimes the credence and dressoir were combined in one piece, or rather the dressoir served as a credence. A small one shown in the illuminated MS. of the Histoire de Gérard, Comte de Nevers, has but one shelf, upon which the silver platters are arranged, leaning against the back, which is covered with some kind of fabric. The cupboard serving as a credence is covered with a cloth on which are placed three silver ewers—aiguières. This was, therefore, more of a buffet than a dressoir, for the real dressoir, as we have seen, was composed of shelves (gradins) and had a back (dorsal), or sometimes a daïs of stuff or sculptured wood.
- 30. Plate III.—Flemish Dressoir (FifteenthCentury). Figs. 6–7: Dressoirs (Fifteenth Century); Fig. 8: Table on Trestles; Fig. 9: Metal Chair. Varieties of the dressoir of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries appear in Plate III, and Figs. 6 and 7; and a credence of the fifteenth century of Gothic decoration from the Cluny Museum, Paris, on Plate IV. The Mediaeval table was a simple affair, with either fixed or movable supports. In nine cases out of ten, either in hall or cottage, it consisted simply of a board and trestles. In court and castle, kings and nobles sat only on one side, the other being left free for service, and for a clear view of the mummers, jongleurs and minstrels who entertained the company during the feast. These boards and trestles could be readily folded up and packed away in carts for travelling. A good example of the fifteenth century table of this construction occurs in a picture of Mary Magdalen at the feet of Jesus, by Derick Bouts (1410–1475). This is represented in Fig. 8. We have seen that the chest with its various developments—chair, bench, bed and dressoir—furnished the Mediaeval chamber. The ordinary hall contained merely a plain buffet and a table, consisting of boards and trestles, with simple forms for seats. Chairs there were none, except for the lord and honoured guests at the head of the board. It must not be supposed, however, that there was no attempt at comfort or decoration in the homes of the Middle Ages. It would be difficult to attach too much importance to the use of cushions and hangings. We have already seen one form of chair in Figs. 4 and 5, which show a box with a lid for the seat, on which is a cushion. This chair has arms and a high panelled back. The common stool, faldstool, or
- 31. escarbeau also appearsin Fig. 4. The rigid square high-backed chair, however, was not the only form known in the Middle Ages. The type represented in Fig. 9 was in great favour. This chair is reproduced from a miniature by Jehan de Bruges (fl. 1370). This form of chair, with curved lines in the back, arms and supports, was a great favourite, not only in the Netherlands, but throughout Europe for several centuries. Sometimes it was made of wood, and carved on the extremities of the back, arms and legs; and sometimes it was made of wrought metal, brass, silver and even gold. In the latter case it was probably plated. Sometimes the inventories mention chairs of great value and very precious workmanship. Some of them were even ornamented with enamel. These were the work of the orfèvre. Brass and copper chairs of this type were made in large numbers by the skilful smiths of Dinant. Naturally they were comfortably and sumptuously upholstered. An inventory of 1328 contains an item of a chair of copper garnished with velvet. Flanders was always famous for its woven stuffs: wool was the staple on which its prosperity depended. The Duke of Burgundy recognized this when he chose the Golden Fleece as the emblem of his great Order of Knighthood. Apart from the looms, the art of the needle was also held in high esteem; and ladies of high and low estate devoted much of their time to embroidery. Everything was embroidered: vestments and cloths for the church; shoes, gloves, hats and clothes of men and women; and cushions and draperies for the house. Notwithstanding the lavish use of tapestry, the taste for embroidered materials was ever on the increase. The entire furnishings for a bedroom were often the product of the needle; for instance, the “embroidered chamber” of Jane of Burgundy, Queen of Philip V, at her coronation at Rheims in 1330, was ornamented with 1321 parrots, with the arms of the King, and 1321 butterflies, with the arms of Burgundy. In Mediaeval days, the word “chambre” had a broader signification than it has to-day. By chambre was meant the whole of the rugs, curtains, hangings and upholstery that adorned a bedroom. There
- 32. was a distinctiondrawn between “court pointerie” and “tapisserie.” “Court pointerie” included everything pertaining to the bed, such as the daïs, mattress, head-board, etc. The “tapisserie” was changed every season like the altar cloths and vestments of church and clergy. Cords were run across the rafters, and the curtains and canopies were hung on these with hooks. Thus the rooms at the various seasons received such names as the “Easter,” “Christmas,” or “All Saints’ Chamber.” Then again the rooms were named after the subjects (mythological, historical, romantic or religious), of the tapestry that adorned them, such as the Chamber of the Cross, of the Lions, of the Conquest of England, of Queen Penthesile, of the Nine Paladins, of the Unicorn and Maiden, etc., etc. Plate II shows how the canopy and curtains of the bed were usually supported. Sometimes, however, the hangings were attached to the rods by means of tenterhooks. The inventories and chronicles of the Middle Ages frequently mention textiles; but it is difficult to know from the numerous terms the old scribes employ whether they are describing woollen and silk tapestry, brocades, damasks, velvets, or embroidered material. The fabrics are of many varieties, and their names vary with the details of production and places of manufacture, as well as the material of which they are composed, and the subjects they depict. A great deal of Byzantine tapestry, with other hangings and carpets, was brought into Western Europe, by those returning from the First Crusade (1096–1099); and after 1146, when Count Robert of Sicily brought home from his expedition into Greece some captive silk- workers, and established a manufactory for brocades and damasks at Palermo, beautiful materials were carried northward from Italy. During the early centuries the use of tapestry was very extensively devoted to the decoration of churches, and therefore represented scenes from the Scriptures, and lives of the Saints and the Virgin. Cathedrals and monasteries were very rich in hangings of tapestry, brocades, and embroideries of various kinds, as well as stuffs on
- 33. which ornaments werelaid and sewn. About 985, the Abbot Robert of the monastery of Saint Florent of Saumur, ordered a number of curtains, carpets, cushions, dossers and wall-hangings, all of wool; and, moreover, had two large pieces of tapestry made in which silk was introduced, and on which lions and elephants were represented upon a red background. In 1133, another Abbot of the same monastery had two dossers made to hang in the choir during festivals. On one of these the twenty-four elders of the Apocalypse with citharas and viols were depicted. The hangings he got for the nave, represented centaurs, lions and other animals. On all festal occasions, the cathedrals were beautifully decorated with superb tapestries. Some of them served as hangings and door- curtains, others draped the altars, while the seats and backs of the benches were covered with pieces called bancalia, spaleriae, and dossalia. Tapestries also covered the baldachins, or canopies; and foot-carpets, called substratoria, tapetes, tapeta, or tapecii were lavishly spread upon the ground. During the thirteenth century tapestries came into general use for hangings in private mansions. It is not unlikely that Baldwin, Count of Flanders, who came into power in 1204, stimulated the work of the Netherland looms; for, from the very opening years of the thirteenth century, the Flemish weavers adopted brighter colours in their tapestries; and Damme, the poet of Bruges, received all kinds of goods from the East, including “seeds for producing the scarlet dye.” This was the period when the Roman was in full flower, and the tapestries naturally turned from Biblical to heroic stories. The artists and weavers now begin to devote their energies to the production of secular subjects. The stories of Paris and Helen, Æneas, and others from Grecian mythology, become as popular as those inspired by the Bible.
- 34. High-warp workers wereestablished in Paris, Arras, Brussels and Tournay in the first half of the fourteenth century; but it is not until the reign of Charles V (1364–1380) that they are explicitly described in the inventories. The King was a collector of French and Flemish tapestries: he had more than 130 armorial tapestries and 33 “tapis à images” that decorated the walls. The Dukes of Anjou, Orleans, Berry and Burgundy, had very valuable sets. Charles VI also had fine pieces. He bought from Nicholas Bataille, a Flemish worker, who calls himself a citizen of Paris in 1363, about 250 hangings. Bataille produced many superb pieces for the wealthy houses of the day, and many sets for Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. A fellow-worker, Jacques Dourdain, who died in 1407, made tapestries for the Duke of Burgundy, to whom he sent in 1389 The Conquest of the King of Friesland by Aubri the Burgundian, The Story of Marionet, Ladies setting out for the Chase, The Wishes of Love, The Nine Amazons, The History of Bertrand Duguesclin, and A History of the Romance of the Rose. The latter must have been very choice, as it was woven “in gold of Cyprus and Arras thread.” He also furnished this rich patron with other hangings, the greater number of which were cloth of gold. The marriage of Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, to the daughter and heir of the Count of Flanders, in 1369, greatly helped the Flemish tapestry-workers, who soon equalled those of Paris. For instance, the Duke gave an order to Michel Bernard of Arras for a fine piece, called The Battle of Rosbeck, of colossal dimensions. It measured 285 square yards, and cost 2,600 francs d’or. Other sets purchased from the Arras looms were: The Coronation of Our Lady, The Seven Ages, Story of Doon de la Roche, History of King Pharaoh and the People of Moses, Life of St. Margaret, The Virtues and Vices, History of Froimont de Bordeaux, Story of St. George, Story of Shepherds and Shepherdesses, Life of St. Anne, Story of Percival the Gaul, Hunt of Guy of Romany, History of Amis and Amile, History of Octavius of Rome, History of King Clovis, History of King Alexander, and of Robert the Fusileer, History of William of Orange, and a Pastoral.
- 35. The Flemish loomsthus early acquired a great reputation, rivalling those of the midland and northern provinces of France. Paris, Arras, Brussels and Tournay were the chief centres for the most beautiful high-warp tapestry. Arras was celebrated as early as 1311, when Marchaut, Countess of Artois, paid a large sum for “a woollen cloth worked with various figures bought at Arras”; and in 1313 she ordered from the same town “five cloths worked in high warp.” The name became generic: the Italians called all woven tapestries Arazzi; the Spaniards, Panos de raz; and the English, “Arras,” a name that was used for many centuries. Polonius hides “behind the arras,” in Hamlet, and Spenser, in The Faerie Queen, says: Thence to the hall, which was on every side With rich array and costly arras dight. Book I., Canto iv. Agnes Sorel owned a superb specimen at her Château de Beauté in 1350. It is described as “a large piece of Arras, on which are pictured the deeds and battles of Judas Maccabaeus and Antiochus, and stretches from one of the gables of the gallery of Beauté to the other, and is the same height as the said gallery.” During the troublous times in France under Charles VI, the Paris looms ceased to work, and Flanders supplied all the tapestry that came to France. In 1395, the Duke of Orleans orders his treasurer to deliver to Jaquet Dordin, “merchant and bourgeois of Paris,” 1,800 francs for “three pieces of high-warp tapestry of fine Arras thread.” Leather was also extensively used during the Middle Ages for interior decoration: it was hung upon the walls and beds; it was spread upon the floors; and it covered the seats and backs of chairs, coffers, cabinets, shelves, folding stools, frames, frames for mirrors, and all kinds of boxes both large and small. In 1420, we hear of a piece of Cordovan called cuirace vermeil “to put on the floor around a bed,” and also a “chamber hanging” of “silvered cuir de mouton, ornamented with red figures.” Charles V of France had “fifteen cuirs d’Arragon to put on the floor in summer,” and the Duke of
- 36. Burgundy’s inventory of1427 mentions “leathers to spread in the chamber in summer time.” The Duke of Berry had twenty-nine great cuirs among his possessions, which were used to cover the walls, beds and chairs. Leather made a very sumptuous, durable and decorative wall- hanging. The patterns of flowers, foliage, arms, devices and other figures were richly gilded, and stood out in high relief from the brilliant backgrounds of red, blue, green, orange, violet, brown or silver. Although the use of gilded leather (cuirs dorés) did not become general until the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the art of gilding, silvering, painting and goffering leather had long been known. It is more than probable that the First Crusaders brought home specimens; but it is certain that Cordova was making beautiful gilded leathers in the eleventh century. The most beautiful, as well as the most beautifully worked, leathers came from Spain, where they were often called Guadameciles, from Ghadames in Africa where they were prepared for many years, and from which town the Moors carried the art into Cordova. Ebn’ Abd el Noûr el Hamîri el Toûnsi (of Tunis), in his geographical work written in the twelfth century, thinks it worth while to mention that the djild el Ghadâmosi comes from Ghadames. The monk, Theophilus, in his Diversarum artium Schedula shows how well Arabian leather was known, and describes the methods of preparing it for decoration; but from what he says it appears that leather was used at that period only for the coverings of chairs, stalls, benches, stools, etc., and not for wall- hangings. From Cordova the manufacture spread into Portugal, Italy, France and Brabant. The great centres for gilded leathers in the Middle Ages were Cordova, Lille, Brussels, Liège, Antwerp, Mechlin and Venice; and each town impressed a special style upon its productions, which connoisseurs are able to recognize. The Cordovan leathers are stamped with patterns of very high relief, gilded and painted, the designs consisting of branches or large flowers in the style of the textiles of Damascus and India. The South
- 37. Kensington Museum hasa very fine collection of Spanish leathers ornamented with foliage, flowers, vases, birds and pomegranates. The colours of the background are green, blue, white, gold, red, etc. The Flemish leathers are very similar to those of Cordova, but the relief is less pronounced and the designs are more delicate. The hangings of Flanders are almost exclusively made of calfskin, and they were highly prized throughout Europe. Generally speaking, the earliest specimens of gilded leathers resemble on a large scale the miniatures in the manuscripts: there is little or no perspective, and the subjects are like those of the contemporary tapestry drawn from sacred or mythological stories. The details of the faces, ornaments, costumes, arms, etc., are stamped by hand-work and finished with a brush; and the background, instead of representing sky, is ornamented by guilloches (twisted bands) in gold and colour, applied by means of a goffering iron. The Low Countries were almost as celebrated for their orfèvrerie as for their tapestries. Celebrated schools of goldsmith’s work existed in the Netherlands during the tenth and eleventh centuries in Waulsort under the direction of d’Erembert, in Stavelot and in Maestricht; and the diocese of Liège had an important atelier for enamel-work in the twelfth century. A very skilful goldsmith named Godefroid de Clerc worked in the town of Huy in the first half of the thirteenth century, and another was Friar Hugo, who made in the Abbaye d’Oignies the famous pieces now in the treasury of the Sisters of Notre Dame in Namur. The principal towns of Flanders, Ghent, Bruges, Tournay, Liège and Brussels, possessed in the thirteenth century skilful goldsmiths who followed the principles of the School of the Rhine. In 1266, the Brussels goldsmiths formed an important Corporation to which John III, Count of Hainault, granted privileges. It was in the fourteenth century particularly that the Flemish goldsmiths acquired a great reputation.
- 38. A great dealof the goldsmith’s work during these centuries was ornamented with niello, the style of decoration following the Rhenish School. The goldsmiths were sculptors, chisellers and engravers, as well as designers; and, moreover, modelled beautifully in wax. When their works were cast in silver, they ornamented these themselves with beaten bas-reliefs, or traced delicate patterns upon the surface of the metal with the burin. Wishing to make the figures stand out more prominently, they used cross-hatchings on the background and cut out the shadowy parts, which they then filled with black enamel. This made the uncovered portions of the silver shine with more brilliancy. To this effective work was given the name niello (nigellum), on account of its colour. This black enamel was used to ornament the chalices and other church vessels, the hilts of swords, handles of knives, and particularly the handsome little coffers, or cabinets, which, with the bahut, comprised the furniture that the bride always carried to her new home. These little boxes were usually of ebony, ornamented more or less with incrustations of ivory, shell, mother-of-pearl, pietra-dura, or niello, according to the wealth of the respective families. When decorated with niello, the designs consisted of simple ornaments or arabesques, single figures or groups. Western Europe made no glass in Mediaeval days: what was used in church and castle all came from the East. In the early inventories, whenever an object of coloured glass is found, it is always accompanied by a mention of its Oriental origin. It is doubtful whether even plain glass was manufactured in England, France, Germany or the Netherlands before the close of the Crusades. The efforts made as late as the fourteenth century by several French and German princes to attract glass-blowers to their dominions shows how scarce they were. In 1338, we find a feudal noble giving a portion of his forest to a certain Guionet, who was acquainted with the methods of glass- making, to set up a glass factory, on condition of supplying his house
- 39. every year withone hundred dozen bell glasses, twelve dozen little vase-shaped glasses, twenty dozen hanaps, or cups with feet, twelve amphorae, and other objects. As in all the other industrial arts, Flanders was well to the fore in the manufacture of plain glass. Before 1400, glass factories existed there; but the products were only white glass, not gilded nor enamelled. The Flemish wares, however, were highly prized, and were freely exported to other countries. In 1379, we find in the inventory of Charles V of France: “Ung gobelet et une aiguière de voirre blant de Flandres garni d’argent.” To have glass mounted in silver shows how precious it was considered in those days. Moreover, the royal accounts of the end of the fourteenth century prove that Charles VI accorded high protection and recompense to the Flemish glass-blowers who established their industry in France. Before the end of the fifteenth century, we find entries that would seem to show that the Low Countries were no longer exclusively dependent on the Orient for coloured and enamelled glass. In the inventory of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy (1477), we read: “Une coupe de voirre jaune garny d’or; ... une couppe de voirre vert garny d’or; ... un pot de voirre de couleur vert, garny d’or; ... un aiguière de voirre vert torssé garny d’or; ... deux petis pots de voirre bleu espez, garnis d’argent doré; ... ung voirre taillé d’un esgle, d’un griffon et d’une double couronne garny d’argent.” These, however, may have come from Venice, which city had in the latter half of the fifteenth century learned from the Greeks the secret of making coloured, gilded and enamelled glass. Painting on glass was never held in higher honour than during the fifteenth century: castles and mansions were adorned with coloured windows like the churches; and, therefore, a considerable number of windows of this period have survived. The Cathedrals of Tournay, Dietz and Antwerp offer splendid examples. In M. Levy’s Histoire de la peinture sur verre, are the names of several Flemish glass- painters that have escaped oblivion.
- 40. The principal schoolsthat fostered all forms of Decorative Art were the Guilds of St. Luke. They sprang up in every prosperous city, and were very close corporations of trades unionism. The idea probably originated in Italy. A Society of St. Luke was established in Venice before 1290, and another in Florence in 1349. One Gerard de Groote organized a brotherhood of this kind in Cologne in the fourteenth century; and Societies of St. Luke were founded in Flanders in the fifteenth century. These Guilds exerted the greatest influence upon taste and skill, for in these Societies of Guilds of St. Luke, side by side with the Masters of Painting and Sculpture, were placed what we may call the Masters of the Decorative Arts. There were workers in stone and marble including mosaics in colour for the decoration of churches and chapels; workers in enamel and ceramics for vases, panelling and pavements; workers in wood, sculptors and carvers for the altar fronts, canopies, choir stalls, etc. (these menuisiers also worked in marquetry and intarsie, and produced furniture for the sacristy, coffers, bahuts, etc., and pontifical seats); glass-workers who produced windows, panels and embroideries with glass beads for decoration; metalworkers, including goldsmiths, bronze-workers, who made sacred vessels, luminaries, fonts ornamented with repoussé-work, chiselling, engraving, incrustation with precious stones and niello-niellure; leather-workers (including makers of harness for wars and tourneys); gilders, setters of jewels; bookbinders; illuminators and painters of manuscripts; weavers and embroiderers of tapestries, silken stuffs, etc. Society benefited by development of these arts very greatly, and the sumptuous adornment of the churches soon extended to private dwellings. Carved panels, or panels inlaid with precious woods, soon decorated the walls of wealthy houses that were further enriched by magnificent tissues of silk and gold, tapestries or panels of stamped leather as a background for pictures beautifully framed in carved and gilt wood. In marquetry furniture, the most remarkable objects were the coffers for jewels, and the cabinets (stipi), in ebony, shell and ivory, embellished with gilt, bronze, and the dower chests, “arches de mariage.”
- 41. T CHAPTER II THE BURGUNDIANPERIOD The luxurious Dukes of Burgundy—Possessions of the House of Burgundy—The Burgundian Court—Household of Philip the Good—the Feast of the Pheasant—the Duke of Burgundy at the Coronation of Louis XI—Arras Tapestries—Sumptuous Dressoirs and their Adornments—Celebrations in honour of the Knights of the Golden Fleece—Luxury of Charles the Bold— Charles the Bold at Trèves—Furnishings of the Abbey of Saint-Maximin— Charles the Bold’s Second Marriage—Furnishings of the Banqueting Hall at Bruges—Descriptions by Olivier de la Marche—Aliénor of Poitier’s Descriptions of the Furniture of the Duchess of Burgundy’s Apartments— Rich Dressoirs—the Drageoir and its Etiquette—the Etiquette of the Escarbeau—Philip the Bold’s Artisans—Flemish Carving—the Forme or Banc —Burgundian Workmanship—Ecclesiastical Work—Noted Carvers—Furniture of the Period—the “Golden Age of Tapestry”-Embroideries—Tapestry- weavers of the Low Countries—Introduction of Italian Cartoons— Goldsmiths’ Work—Furniture of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries. he most luxurious prince of his age was Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404), son of John the Good, King of France. By its alliances, conquests and inheritances, the House of Burgundy attained such wealth and power as to overshadow the French throne itself. Under his grandson, Philip the Good, the Burgundian Court displayed greater splendour than any other in Europe. The reigning dukes were powerful protectors of the arts. Their immense resources, drawn from the Flemish hives of industry, enabled them to indulge their taste for architecture, painting, sculpture, illuminated books, tapestry, goldsmiths’ work and sumptuous furniture. They were also insatiable collectors of everything that was curious and rare. Any able artist, sculptor, architect, goldsmith, or image-maker,
- 42. driven from homeby the perpetual civil wars in England, France and Italy, was sure of refuge and employment at the Court of Burgundy. Thus, for a century and a half, the Low Countries were the most important art centre of Europe. Dijon and Brussels, the capitals of the Burgundian dominions, were Meccas of Mediaeval Art; and Tournay, Bruges, Ypres, Ghent, Dinant, and many other industrial centres swarmed with craftsmen who produced all that was luxurious and beautiful for domestic comfort and decoration. The house of Burgundy constantly increased its possessions. Some idea of its power is gained by a list of Philip the Good’s titles. He was Duke of Burgundy, of Brabant, of Lothier, of Luxembourg; Count of Flanders, of Artois and of Burgundy; Palatine of Hainault, of Holland, of Zeeland, of Namur and of Charolais; Marquis of the Holy Empire; and Lord of Friesland, of Salins and of Mechlin. The brilliance and luxury of the Burgundian Court are attested by many chroniclers. The pages of Philip de Comines, Olivier de la Marche, and others are full of descriptions of feasts and pageantry from which we can form an idea of the luxurious appointments of the palatial dwellings of the day. Foreigners also, who were well acquainted with other European courts, bore witness to Burgundian splendour. One of these, Leo von Rozmital, who visited the courts of Europe in 1465–7, saw the Duke of Burgundy’s treasures. His suite was overpowered by the magnificence. The scribe, Tetzel, tried to enumerate and describe these marvels, but gave up the task in despair, noting “there was nothing like it in the whole world and that it far exceeded the Venetian collection.” The son and successor of John the Fearless, Philip the Good (1396– 1467), was even more luxurious than his grandfather, Philip the Bold. His Court was unequalled in Europe, and when in attendance upon the King of France, his retinue completely eclipsed royalty. His palaces in Brussels, Dijon and Paris were sumptuously furnished; and his collections of tapestries, silver, gold, jewels, embroideries, illuminated manuscripts and printed books excited the admiration of the travellers and chroniclers of the age. His household, composed É
- 43. of four greatdivisions—the Panetrie, Échansonnerie, Cuisine and Écurie, with subordinate departments, was subject to the strictest rules of etiquette and was adopted as a model by the Spanish sovereigns of the sixteenth century. The ceremonies of the levee, procession, council, audience, service of spices, banquet, etc., were selected as precedents for Vienna and Paris, as well as Madrid. One of Philip’s most celebrated banquets—the Feast of the Pheasant, which took place at Lille in 1454—will serve to give a glimpse of the Court entertainments in his day. The large hall was hung with tapestry representing the labours of Hercules, and was encircled by five tiers of galleries for the spectators. The dressoir of enormous size was adorned with gold and silver vessels, and on either side of it stood a column. One of these had attached to it a carved female figure from whose breast flowed a fountain of hippocras; and to the other was fastened by an iron chain a live lion from Africa, a great curiosity in those days. The three great tables were covered with the most ingenious productions of the cooks, confectioners and machinists. “On a raised platform at the head of the first table sat the Duke. He was arrayed with his accustomed splendour—his dress of black velvet serving as a dark ground that heightened the brilliancy of the precious stones, valued at a million of gold crowns, with which it was profusely decked. Among the guests were a numerous body of knights who had passed the morning in the tilting-field, and fair Flemish dames whose flaunting beauty had inspired these martial sports. Each course was composed of forty- four dishes, which were placed on chariots painted in gold and azure, and were moved along the tables by concealed machinery.” As soon as the company was seated, the bells began to peal from the steeple of a huge pastry church with stained windows that concealed an organ and choir of singers, and three little choristers issued from the edifice and sang “a very sweet chanson.” Twenty- eight musicians hidden in a mammoth pie performed on various instruments, and the fine viands and wines were circulated. After the exhibition of entremets, the pheasant was brought in, the Crusade proclaimed against the Sultan, and the vows registered.
- 44. Another instance ofthe magnificent display of this Duke occurred when he accompanied Louis XI to Rheims for the ceremony of his coronation in 1461. This is described as follows by the Duke of Burgundy’s chronicler, Georges Chastelain (1403–75): “Their journey resembled a triumphal procession, in which the Duke of Burgundy appeared as if he were the conqueror and Louis the illustrious captive. The trappings of the horses, that reached to the ground, were of velvet and silk, covered with precious stones and ornaments of gold, embroidered with the Burgundian arms and decorated with silver bells, the jingling of which was very agreeable and solacing. A great number of wagons draped with cloth of gold and hung with banners carried the Duke’s tapestries, furniture, silver and other table service and the utensils for the kitchen. These were followed by herds of fat oxen and flocks of sheep intended for food during the progress of the Duke and his suite. Philip and his son, with the principal nobles, appeared in their greatest magnificence, and were preceded and followed by pages, archers and men-at- arms, all in gorgeous costumes and blazing with jewels.” Their entrance into Rheims was regarded as the most superb spectacle France had ever witnessed. Louis was crowned by the Duke of Burgundy, “the dean of the peers of France”; and at the banquet that followed the coronation, the Duke of Burgundy was still the most conspicuous figure. The same chronicler continues: “Though the King sat at the head of the table, arrayed in regal attire, with the crown upon his head, he was still the guest of his fair uncle, whose cooks had provided the dinner, whose plate was displayed upon the sideboards and whose servants waited upon the company. In the midst of the repast, the doors were opened and porters entered bearing a costly present for the new sovereign. Such of the guests as were strangers, except from hearsay, to the splendours of the Burgundian Court, gazed in astonishment at the images, goblets, miniature ships, and other articles of the finest gold and rarest workmanship—amounting in value to more than two
- 45. hundred thousand crowns—whichPhilip presented to the King as an emphatic token of his loyalty and good-will.” Chastelain’s note of the great number of wagons that were required to carry the Duke’s tapestries in his journeyings is of interest. The products of the Flemish looms were highly prized by the Burgundian dukes, and great encouragement was given by them to the best work of this nature. It was from Arras that they chiefly filled their superb store-chambers in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The Arras looms had become famous, far and wide; for, when Philip the Bold’s son was taken prisoner at the Battle of Nicopolis (1396), the Sultan Bajazet said to the Duke of Burgundy’s envoy that he “would be pleased to see some high-warp tapestries worked in Arras and Picardy,” and that “they should represent good old stories.” Philip thereupon sent two pack-horses laden with “high-warp cloths, collected and made at Arras, the finest that could be found on this side of the mountains.” The set he chose was The History of Alexander. In 1374, there is an entry in the accounts of the Duke of Burgundy “to Colin Bataille, tapissier et bourgeois de Paris,” for six pieces of tapestry “of Arras workmanship,” with the arms of M. the Duke of Burgundy “to cover the pack-horses of Monseigneur when he travelled.” The favourite subjects produced at Arras were romances of chivalry, such as Charlemagne and his Peers, Doon de la Roche, Baudouin de Sebourg, Percival the Gaul, Renaud de Montauban, Aubri de Bourguignon, etc.; stories from Greek mythology, such as Theseus, Jason, Paris and Helen, The Destruction of Troy, etc.; and contemporary events such as The Battle of Rosbeck, The Battle of Liège, History of Bertrand Duguesclin, The Jousts of St. Denis and The Battle of the Thirty. Hunting scenes and pictures of cavaliers and ladies in everyday life were popular, and stories from the Old and New Testaments, Lives of the Saints and Acts of the Martyrs. Allegory also makes its appearance as a subject for cartoons, such as the Virtues and Vices, the Seven Cardinal Sins, the Tree of Life, Fountain of Youth, etc.
- 46. When Philip theGood married Isabella of Portugal, Le Fèvre de Saint Rémy notes that on each side of the hall there was a dressoir twenty feet long on a platform two feet high and well enclosed by barriers three feet high, on the side of which was a little gate for entrance and exit; and both dressoirs had five stages, each two and a half feet high. The three upper tiers were covered and loaded with vessels of fine gold; and the two lower ones with many great vessels of silver gilt. Again, Chastelain, describing a banquet given by Philip the Good, says: “The Duke had made in the great hall a dressoir constructed in the form of a round castle, ten steps (degrés) in height filled with gold plate in pots and flagons of various kinds, amounting to 6,000 marks (argent doré) not counting those on the top which were of fine gold set with rich gems of marvellous price.” The above gives some idea of the importance of the dressoir, which undoubtedly was the most showy piece of furniture in hall or chamber. It often assumed enormous proportions on great state occasions. A very ornate one of this period is reproduced in Plate III. It is beautifully carved with Gothic tracery, leaf-work, Biblical scenes and personages, and coats-of-arms. It is interesting to compare this with the simple form of Plate IV, which has no intermediate shelf for the display of plate; but is also interesting on account of its carving. This, with its drawers and cupboards, was a most serviceable piece of furniture and must have produced a fine effect in a room when the cupboard head was decked with plate. The great celebrations in honour of the Knights of the Golden Fleece also offered occasion for the display of the greatest splendour at the Burgundian Court. A veritable army of painters, sculptors, illuminators, carvers and machinists was employed to design and prepare the entremets exhibited during the banquets. Among the huchiers who worked for the banquet given to the Knights of the Golden Fleece in 1453 were Guillaume Maussel and his son, Jacob
- 47. Haquinet Penon, JehanDaret and his two companions, and Jehan de Westerhem. Plate IV.—Credence (Fifteenth Century). CLUNY MUSEUM, PARIS. When Charles the Bold (1433–1477) succeeded his father, Philip the Good, in 1467, he maintained his Court with the same state, ceremony and luxury. His daily life was surrounded by pomp and punctilious etiquette. He dined in state every day and was always attended by a retinue of knights, equerries and pages. When he
- 48. went to war,he always carried rich silver and tapestries, as well as costly viands and wines. The Swiss gained rich spoils after the Battle of Nancy and carried away among other articles of value tapestries which can be seen to-day in Nancy, Berne and other cities. The meeting of Charles the Bold with the Emperor at Trèves, in 1473, occasioned a great display of magnificence. The far-famed luxury of the Burgundian Court was well exhibited during the eight weeks that the two Courts spent in the Rhenish city. Charles gave the most superb entertainments. The Abbey of Saint Maximin, which the Duke chose for his temporary residence, was fitted up for the occasion with furniture, tapestries, richly embroidered stuffs, gold and silver from his palaces. The great hall was hung with tapestries, and the chair of state for the Emperor, the canopy and the seats for the other great personages on the daïs were covered with rich embroidered hangings. The arms of Burgundy, the insignia of the Golden Fleece and other heraldic decorations were conspicuously displayed. Many of the most valuable ecclesiastical treasures collected by Philip the Good, such as silver images, candlesticks, and crucifixes, and reliquaries of gold studded with gems were brought to adorn the altars and shrines of the church; and, in the refectory, an immense dressoir, twenty feet broad, reached from floor to ceiling, its ten receding shelves gleaming with gold and silver plate. Charles the Bold’s second marriage in 1468 to Margaret of York furnished another occasion for the display of his wealth and magnificence. John Paston, who went to Bruges to attend the wedding, was simply dazzled and overwhelmed by what he saw. Writing to his mother, he says: “As for the Dwkys coort, as of lords, ladys and gentylwomen, knyts, sqwyers and gentylmen, I herd never of non lyek it, save King Artourys cort. And by my trowthe, I have no wyt nor remembrans to wryte to you, half the worchep that is her.” Passing by the descriptions of jousts and other entertainments, we may note that workmen—painters, decorators and machinists—had been engaged for many months to adorn Bruges fittingly for the nuptial festivities. The streets were hung with tapestries and cloth of
- 49. gold, triumphal archeswere erected at intervals, and at different points along the road the bride was diverted with “Histories,” the joint productions of dramatist, decorator, painter and machinist. The front of the palace was covered with paintings of heraldic devices and magnificent decorations, and behind the palace, in the tennis court, a new banqueting hall was erected for the occasion. This building was a hundred and forty feet long, seventy feet wide and more than sixty feet high. The walls were hung with some of the Duke’s most famous tapestries, one set of which represented Jason’s quest of the Golden Fleece; the ceiling was painted, and at every possible place banners and heraldic devices were hung. An enormous dressoir in the centre of the hall displayed on its tiers of shelves an overwhelming exhibition of gold and silver treasures glittering with gems. The tables were arranged lengthwise on either side of the hall, except one reserved for the Duke’s family and the guests of highest rank. This table was placed on a raised platform at the upper end of the hall, and over it was spread a canopy with curtains hanging to the floor, so as to present the appearance of an open pavilion. The chroniclers of the day note that “the hall was lighted by chandeliers in the form of castles surrounded by forests and mountains, with revolving paths on which serpents, dragons and other monstrous animals seemed to roam in search of prey, spouting forth jets of flame that were reflected in huge mirrors, so arranged as to catch and multiply the rays. The dishes containing the principal meats represented vessels, seven feet long, completely rigged, the masts and cordage gilt, the sails and streamers of silk, each floating in a silver lake between shores of verdure and enamelled rocks, and attended by a fleet of boats laden with lemons, olives and condiments. There were thirty of these vessels and as many huge pasties in a castellated shape with banners waving from their battlements and towers; besides tents and pavilions for the fruit, jelly dishes of crystal supported by figures of the same material dispensing streams of lavender and rosewater, and an immense profusion of gold and silver plate.”
- 50. The festivities continuedfor more than a week. Every day a tournament, banquet and dance took place. At one of the banquets, the decorations were so wonderful that the guests marched around the tables to examine the artistic creations. These consisted of gardens made of a mosaic-work of rare and highly polished stones, inlaid with silver, and surrounded with hedges made of gold. In the centre of each enclosure was placed a tree of gold with branches, foliage and fruit exquisitely enamelled in imitation of orange, pear, apple and other trees. Fountains of variously perfumed waters rendered the air deliciously fragrant. Olivier de la Marche’s description of the banqueting hall is as follows: “In this hall were three tables, one of which was placed across the ends of the others. This table, higher than the others, stood upon a platform. The other two tables were placed on the two sides of the hall, occupying the whole length; they were very long and very handsome, and in the centre of the said hall a high and rich buffet in the form of a lozenge was placed. The top of the said buffet was enclosed with a balustrade, and the whole was covered with tapestries and hung with the arms of Monsieur le Duc; and above rose the steps and degrees on which were displayed many vessels, the largest on the lowest, and the richest and smallest on the top shelves; that is to say, on the lowest shelves stood the silver-gilt vessels, and above them the vessels of gold garnished with precious stones, of which he had a great number. On the top of the buffet stood a rich jewelled cup, and on each of the four corners large and entire unicorns’ horns, and these were very large and very handsome. These vessels of parade were not to be used, for there were other vessels, pots and cups of silver in the hall and chambers intended for service.” Turning now from the buffet d’apparat, he describes the “buffet d’usage.” Regarding the service, “The new Duchess was served by the cup-bearer, the carver and the pantler, all English, all knights and men of noble birth, and the usher of the hall cried: ‘Knights to the meat!’ And then they all went to the buffet to fetch the meat, and all
- 51. the relations ofMonsieur and all the knights marched around the buffet in the order of the great house two by two after the trumpeters before the meat.” We sometimes get a glimpse of a luxurious chamber of the Burgundian Court from Aliénor of Poitiers, who wrote Les Honneurs de la Court. Her testimony is trustworthy, for her mother was maid of honour to the Duchess Isabella, third wife of Philip the Good; and, therefore, she undoubtedly witnessed what she describes. She tells us that the chamber of Isabella of Bourbon, wife of Charles the Bold, Count of Charolais, was very large and contained two beds, separated by a space four or five feet wide. A large ciel, or canopy, of green damask covered both beds; and from it hung curtains of satin which moved on rings, and could completely screen the beds when desired. The lambrequin of the canopy and the curtains were fringed with green silk. On each bed was an ermine counterpane, lined with very fine violet cloth. The chronicler expressly notes that the black tails were left on the fur. “La grande chambre” from which the “Chambre de Madame” was entered, called the “chambre de parement,” contained one large bed in crimson satin. The ciel was very richly embroidered with a great gold sun, and “this tapestry was called la chambre d’Utrecht, for it is believed that Utrecht gave it to the Duke Philip,” writes Aliénor, who adds: “The curtains of crimson samite are looped up like those of a bed in which nobody sleeps.” The hangings of the wall were of red silk. At one end of the bolster was a great square cushion of gold and crimson, and by the side of the bed a “large shaggy carpet.” In each of these rooms there was a handsome dressoir; and our scribe continues: “In the chamber of the Countess de Charolais there was a large dressoir of four beautiful shelves, the whole length of the dressoir, each covered with a cloth; the said dressoir and the shelves filled with vessels of crystal garnished with gold and precious stones, and some of fine gold; for all the richest vessels of Duke Philip were there—pots, cups and beakers of fine gold, and other vessels that are never exhibited except on state occasions. Among other vessels there were on the said dressoir three drageoirs of gold
- 52. and precious stones,one of which is estimated at 14,000 écus, and another at 30,000 écus. On the back of the dressoir was hung a dorset (dorsal) of cloth of gold and crimson, bordered with black velvet, and on the black velvet was delicately embroidered the device of Duke Philip, which was a gun.... “Item, on the dressoir which was in the chamber of the said lady, there were always two silver candlesticks which they called at Court mestiers,[1] in which two lights were always burning, for it was fifteen days before the windows of her room were allowed to be opened. Near the dressoir in a corner was a little low table containing the cups and saucers in which something to drink was served to those ladies who came to see Madame, after they had been offered a dragée[2] ; but the drageoir stood upon the dressoir.” 1. Night candles. 2. Bonbons. In the “chambre de parade” there stood a very large dressoir, ornamented with superb pieces of gold and silver. It was the custom for both lords and ladies to receive their acquaintances informally in the “chambre de parade,” while the inner room was reserved for their intimate friends. On the occasion of a birth, these two rooms were as superbly furnished as the house could afford. The richest cloths and tapestries were brought out, and the dressoir was adorned with articles of gold and silver that were only placed on view on important occasions. When Mary of Burgundy was born, the same authority informs us that Isabella of Bourbon’s room was very richly furnished; and in honour of Mary of Burgundy, the daughter and heir of Charles the Bold, there were five shelves upon the dressoir, a privilege reserved for queens only. The drageoir was a very important article. It contained the various “épices de chambre,” generally called dragée, and meaning all kinds of sugar plums and confitures, conserves, sugared rose leaves (sucré
- 53. rosat), etc. Awriter in the sixteenth century mentions “Curious dragées of all colours, some in the shape of beasts, others fashioned like men, women and birds.” Sometimes the bonbons were taken with the fingers, as may be seen in one of the fine set of tapestries in the Cluny Museum, representing The Lady and the Unicorn. An attendant kneeling presents the drageoir to the lady, who is standing with a pet bird on her left arm, and she is about to dip the fingers of her right hand into the drageoir to get something to delight the bird. The drageoir was generally handed to the guests after dinner, and made its appearance at all ceremonial feasts. Froissart, describing the reception to the English knights sent by the King of England in 1390 to negotiate peace in France, says they were entertained at the Louvre, and “when they had dined they retired to the King’s chamber, and there they were served with wine and sweetmeats in large drageoirs of silver and gold.” It was always handed with solemnity, and subject to strict etiquette. The Constable of France had the honour of presenting the drageoir to the King. At the Duke of Burgundy’s Court, according to Olivier de la Marche, the steward handed the drageoir to the first chamberlain, who handed it to the most important personage present, who then presented it to the prince or duke. When the latter had helped himself, the honoured guest returned it to the chamberlain, who gave it to the steward. Aliénor also informs us: “When one of the princes had served Monsieur and Madame (the Duke and Duchess of Burgundy) with sweetmeats, one of the most important personages, for example, the first chamberlain, or Madame’s chevalier d’honneur, took the drageoir and served the Duke’s nephews and nieces; and after they had been served it was handed to everybody.” The drageoir was one of the most valued and popular presents during the Middle Ages. In the inventory of Margaret of Austria occurs a beautiful and large silver-gilt drageoir, fluted, presented to Madame by the gentlemen of the town of Brussels for her New Year, 1520.
- 54. Aliénor de Poitiersalso says there should always be in the lady’s room a chair with a back near the bolster of the bed; and that this chair should be covered with silk or velvet, for “velvet is the most honourable covering, no matter what colour”; and “near the chair should be placed a little bench, or stool, covered with a banquier and some silk cushions for visitors to sit on when they call to see the invalid.” The little stool or bench, called escarbeau, was very low and without back or arms. Sometimes it was triangular in form. Sometimes it served for a low table. Rich people often threw over these bancs a piece of tapestry or silk, known as banquiers. The memory of the vast majority of the artists of this period has perished, but a few names have survived. When Philip the Bold built a second St. Denis for his race at Dijon (1390), his art and craftsmen were all drawn from the Low Countries. Nicholas Sluter was in charge; and under his direction the Chartreuse became a veritable Flemish museum of carving. He sent for his nephew, Nicholas van de Werve, and paid him from six to seven shillings per week. Other Flemish workmen in his employ were: Jehan Malouel, Hennequin van Prindale, Roger Westerhen, Peter Linkerk, John Hulst, John de Marville, John de Beaumetz and Williken Smout. The coloured windows were made at Mechlin, by Henry Glusomack. The oak retables with their numerous figurines, were the work of a Flemish carver named Baerze of Termonde. In fact, the only Frenchman who had any part in the work was Berthelot Héliot, “varlet de Monseigneur,” an ivory-carver. The two retables carved by Jacques de Baerze in 1391 for the Chartreuse are now in the Dijon Museum. One was made for the Duke’s chapel at Termonde (Dendermonde), and the other for the Abbey of Billoche, near Ghent. These were painted and gilded by Jehan Malouel and Melchior Broederlam, who had been engaged by the Counts of Flanders; and worked in Hesdin and Ypres before becoming court-painters to Philip the Bold.
- 55. The same Museumcontains three cylindrical boxes of beautiful workmanship of the same period. Two of these are ornamented with arabesques and birds painted and gilded; the third is decorated with polychromatic bas-reliefs, and a round boss representing scenes from the New Testament. These boxes are supposed to have belonged to the toilet-tables of the Duchesses of Burgundy. Two retables, ornamented with bas-reliefs in the Cluny Museum are called “oratoires des Duchesses de Bourgogne.” These were bought from Berthelot Héliot, “valet de chambre” of Philip the Bold; and it is thought that they came from Italy. Another fine piece of Flemish wood-carving is preserved in the old Salles des Gardes of the Palace in Dijon, where it forms a decoration of the chimney-piece. This is a panel of carved wood, the last remnant of the choir-stalls in the ducal chapel. The centre of the panel was the back of John the Fearless’s seat. The upper part terminating in a pointed arch and bordered with festoons ornamented with foliage surrounds the Duke’s shield, which is supported by two angels. The arms of eight dependent provinces are carved in the lower part of the panel, enlaced in a trellis of mouldings decorated with chicory leaves, and further enriched by four angels playing various instruments. The Dijon Museum contains another splendid piece of wood-carving of the same date in the seat or forme for the accommodation of the priest, deacon, and subdeacon of the Chartreuse. This was carved in 1395 by John of Liège, a carpenter, for the sum of two hundred and fifty francs, to which another hundred were afterwards added in recognition of the excellence of the work. The forme is a species of banc divided by arms into stalls like choir- stalls. The forme always had a back which grew larger about the end of the twelfth century, and at a later date, it was surmounted by a daïs. The forme was always considered to be a seat of honour. John de Marville set to work on the Duke’s tomb in 1383, and in 1388 was succeeded by Claus Sluter, who also executed much important work. In the chapel of the Chartreuse at Dijon, he
- 56. represented Philip theBold and the Duchess Margaret kneeling at the feet of St. Anthony and St. Anne. In 1404, he retired to the monastery of St. Etienne de Dijon, and was succeeded in his post of “imagier and valet de chambre” to the Duke of Burgundy by his nephew Claes, or Nicholas, van de Werve. In 1393, Philip the Bold sent his painter, Jehan de Beaumetz, and his sculptor, Claus Sluter, to see the works that his brother, the Duke of Berry, had had André Beauneveu make at the Château Mehun-sur- Yèvre. Burgundy was especially famous among French provinces for its woodwork. Many masterpieces were created by the Dukes of Burgundy. There were, however, other patrons of this art, the great Abbeys of Clairvaux, Citeaux, Cluny and Vézélay. Numerous schools of workmen gathered around these monasteries, faithfully preserving the traditions of the master-sculptors of the past and bequeathing them to their successors of the Renaissance. A great deal of their most ornate and skilful work was naturally upon the choir-stalls. Those in the Abbey of Charlieu with figures of saints painted on wooden panels (later in the Church of Charolais), and the old Abbaye de Montréal (Yonne) are especially notable. The Brabant artists perhaps manifested their fertility most in wood- carving. Flanders, during the fifteenth century, produced an enormous number of retables, choir-stalls, pulpits, chairs, tables, communion benches, and similar work. The energies of the skilful wood-carvers found vent in civil as well as ecclesiastical work. The public buildings of the prosperous cities contained many beautiful products of the chisel. The ducal expense accounts that have come down to us contain many entries of payments made to various Flemish joiners and cabinet-makers (huchiers-menuisiers). When the great Halles of Brussels had to be rebuilt in 1409, the following experts were employed to do the work: Louis Van den Broec, Pierre de Staete, Henry and Godefroy den Molensleyer, Adam Steenberch, Henry van Duysbourg, Pierre van Berenberge, Henry van Boegarden and John
- 57. van den Gance.We find these names employed on other contemporary work. A few years later, Charles de Bruyn executed the wood-carving for the Louvain cathedral. In 1409, John Bulteel of Courtray was commissioned to carve the choir-stalls for the chapel of the oratory of Ghent. Peter van Oost received the order for the ceiling of the town hall of Bruges; and in 1449, W. Ards was carving that of the town hall of Mechlin. In 1470, the great altar-piece of Saint Waltrude in Herentals was executed by B. van Raephorst. In 1459, the beautiful stalls of the Abbey of Tournay, which were unfortunately destroyed by fire in the following century, were carved by Jan Vlaenders. A noted carver of this age was Jehan Malouel Hennequin van Prindale, who, as we have seen, was in the employ of the Duke of Burgundy. The hands only of a Magdalen that he made (1399–1400) are in the Dijon Museum. This statue was remarkable as having a copper nimbus, or diadem. The fame of the Flemish wood-carvers spread far beyond the confines of their own provinces, and their services were eagerly sought in England, France, Spain, Italy and even Germany. Although German wood-carvers were plentiful, John Floreins was employed on the choir-stalls of the Cologne Cathedral. In 1465, Flemish huchiers were called upon to carve the stalls of Rouen. Italy attracted many artists whose work still attests their ability. Among the innumerable workers in intaglio and marquetry of that period, we find the names of almost as many Northerners as native Italians. The Church of St. Georgio Maggiore, Venice, contains forty-eight stalls, adorned by Van der Brulh of Antwerp with carved bas-reliefs illustrating the life of St. Benedict. The armoires of the sacristy of Ferrara bear the signatures of Henry and William, two Flemish carvers; and many other examples might be cited. In Spain, the entire Spanish school, until Berruguete brought the New Art from Michelangelo’s studio in 1520, was led by Philippe Vigarny, a Burgundian, who was considered the best wood-carver in Spain. His style was frankly Gothic.
- 58. The influence ofthe Flemish and French was so great in Spain at this time, that Juan de Arphe severely reprimands his fellow- workers, who never cease copying the “papelas y estampas flamencas y francesas.” There was not a prosperous city in the Netherlands whose public and private buildings were not embellished with the products of the great artists in wood-carving. The great masters of Bruges were Guyot de Beaugrant, L. Glosencamp, Roger de Smet and André Rasch, sculptors and carpenters who executed the chimneypiece in the Palais du Franc in Bruges after the designs of Lancelot Blondeel. One of the most characteristic specimens of Flemish carpentry-work of the fifteenth century is the oak pew richly carved in the Gothic style (1474), belonging to the Van der Gruuthuuse family in Notre Dame of Bruges that is connected by a passage with the Gruuthuuse Mansion, built in (1465–70). It is important to keep constantly in mind the fact that at this period architects, sculptors, painters and goldsmiths did not confine themselves to one particular field of labour. Sculptors worked both in wood and stone in both civil and religious buildings, and the best talent was employed equally on retables, choir-stalls, pulpits, bishops’ thrones, armoires, dressoirs, chests and seats. The Duke’s accounts show many entries of payments for elaborate furniture. Two examples will suffice: “June 20, 1399: From the Duke of Burgundy to Sandom, huchier, living in Arras, for a dressoir, with lock and keys, which was placed in the chamber of our very dear and much-loved son Anthoyne, xxxii sols pariis”; and again, “To Pierre Turquet, huchier, living in the said town of Arras, for a bench, a table, a pair of trestles, and for a dressoir with lock and key for our chamber in our abode in the said place, for goods supplied by him four livres pariis.” The fifteenth century has been called the “Golden Age of Tapestry.” Not only were the halls and chambers of rich lords hung with “noble auncyent stories,” woven in silk and wool of the most gorgeous hues and enlivened with shining threads of gold, but the store-rooms
- 59. were filled withsets that were brought forth to decorate the outsides as well as the interiors of houses on the occasion of some great festival, marriage, tournament, or return of a conqueror from the wars. Wealthy princes often took valuable sets to war to decorate their tents. Charles the Bold, for example, had with him some of his richest treasures, which became the trophies of his Swiss conquerors and are now in Berne. Owing to her wars, the industries of France had declined, and among them her tapestry. Flanders now, particularly under the patronage of the rich and powerful Dukes of Burgundy, enjoyed the greatest prosperity. Flanders became the centre of the manufacture of tapestry; and Arras, Brussels and Bruges produced works that have never been surpassed. Every subject lent itself to reproduction. The inventory of a princely but small collector in 1406–7 mentions: A Stag in a Wood, Story of Pyramus and Thisbe, History of the God of Love, History of King Pepin, Hawking, A Lord and Lady playing at Chess, A Trapped Hare, Monkeys, Castles, Parrots, and Verdures. The latter shows how early the beautiful landscapes were valued. Throughout this century the tapestries show charming backgrounds of daisies, violets, strawberries, jessamine, primroses, bellflowers and lovely leaves often scattered in artistic disorder. The influence of Memling and the Van Eycks and their school was insistent, although comparatively few of their pictures were translated into tapestry. One of the pupils of the Van Eycks, Roger van der Weyden, designed many cartoons, among which were the Legend of Trajan and Story of Heckenbald for the Town Hall of Brussels. The great impetus to the Flemish looms was given by the Dukes of Burgundy. Philip the Bold (1384–1404) encouraged the weavers of Arras by giving orders and large payments in advance. Finally, he owned such a superb collection that he had a special officer, a garde de la tapisserie, to take charge of it.
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