December1969
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Detail, actualsize,of theironlock shown on pages 164-167
The
Art
of
the
Medieval Blacksmith JEFFREY
M. HOFFELD
ResearchAssistantfor The Year 1200 Exhibition and Lecturer,Brooklyn College of the City Universityof New York
VWVhilethe biblical metaphor of beating swords into plowsharesprimarily expresses an antiwarsentiment, it also representsthe ancient world's conception of the mutability of material substance. The soul is unchangeable, but the objects of experience are permutable: metal can be heated, turned into a liquid, fashioned, cooled, and resolidified. This conception was inherited by medieval man, and his frequent disdain for the events and objects of the earthly world is a manifestation of his belief in the illusory nature of the tangible and his faith in the realnessof the intangible. The Middle Ages often capitalized, especially in art, on the idea of the changeability of the substantial. The medieval artist often concerned himself with simulating precious materials with common ones, with changing the rigid and coarseinto the plastic and delicate, and the reverse. Medieval art itself sometimes seems to be a form of alchemy. This can be seen clearly in The Art of the MedievalBlacksmith,an exhibition of ironwork that will open this month at The Cloisters. The greatest demand for things made of iron has always come, as Pliny relates in his Natural History, from the farmer, the architect, and the soldier: Iron servesas the best and the worstpartof the meansof life, in that we ploughthe ground with it; we plant and prune trees with it, force vines to renew their annualyouth by removingdecrepitgrowthfrom them. With iron we build housesand quarryrocks.We employ it for all kindsof usefulpurposes,but we alsoutilizeit forwars,slaughter,andplundernot only in direct encounters,but alsoas a wingedmissile. Most of us think of the armoreras the chief medieval worker of iron, and this is probably true; however, the later Middle Ages was practically a second Iron Age, with objects of widely varied uses being made of the metal. Although earlier craftsmen sometimes produced decorated ironwork, these objects, such as Beowulf's sword with an "etched design" and elegant Romanesque doorbands, do not seem to have been made of iron as the result of a taste for the material as such, but because of its strength. The Gothic smith, on the other hand, actually chose iron as a medium for sculpture. While most Gothic ironwork is functional, it represents a taste for the metal's aesthetic qualities as well as for its practical advantages. Such a taste was probably not easily cultivated. There were aspects of the former uses of iron, and possibly of its symbolism, that had to be overcome or reconciled with its use for works of art, especially religious ones. Iron was associated with war and
Contents The Art of the Medieval Blacksmith JEFFREY
M. HOFFELD
Sir Gawayneand the ThreeWhite Knights HELMUT
NICKEL
'74
The Armorers'Shop HELMUT HELEN
ON
THE
NICKEL
AND
BUTTFIELD
I8^
COVER
onpage Hinge,alsoillustrated 163. German, xv century.
Wroughtand incisediron,length 192 inches. Gift of Henry G.
Marquand,87.ii.688
i6i
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agriculture,and the associationwith agriculture may have been especiallydifficult to surmount:not only had iron been devoted to farm implements,but the materialitself, coarseand dark,is so clearlya productof the carth.Unlike gold, rock crystal,or diamond, however,it does not have the fascinationof being engenderedof the earth yet unlike its source;it neithergleamsnor sparkles,neither absorbsnor radiateslight mystically. More important,its connectionwith farmingprobably carriedwith it some implicationof inferiorsocialstatus:iron'scoarsenessand color may have linked it with the lower classes. Chaucer'sparson, disturbedat the corruption of the clergy, asks,"if gold ruste, what shaliren do?" In spite of these negative associations, there were severaloverridingpracticalconsiderationsthat may have promptedits more frequent use during the later Middle Ages. First, the methods and equipment used in the forging and casting of iron had greatly progressedsince the earliermedievalperiod, enabling the smith to work more precisely and delicately. Especiallyinfluentialamong the many technologicalchanges were improvementsin furnaces,suchas the introduction of water-drivenmachineryin the fourteenth century.Waterwas now used to operate the bellowsfor each furnace,increasing the quantity of pig iron that could be produced,and to operatelargetilt hammersthat convertedpig iron into wroughtiron. These technical improvements,however, might have been inspired by an increased demandfor worksof iron.Sucha demandun-
doubtedlyaroseas one of the many products of urbanizationin the later Middle Ages. The developmentof towns resulted in the formation of centers for particularcrafts, suchas that of the smith,whichprovidedthe ironworkerwith a stable,centralizedmarket. This marketnot only requiredthose objects traditionallyfashioned of iron, but called upon the blacksmith to create works of strengthand beauty for many differentpurposes.The great churches-the new symbols of urbancenters,often constructedwith the financialassistanceand expertiseof the guilds -needed iron devices to both reinforceand lock theirheavydoors.Becausethesefixtures constituted part of the doors' outward appearance,they had to conform to the exteriordecorationof the building.The smith was also confrontedwith the demands of a growing bourgeoisie,for whom he made elaboratedoor mountingslike those of the churches,as well as other objects for secular use, such as coffers,purse frames,and fireplaceimplements. One couldargue,too, that the proliferation of iron locks, keys, hinges,handles,and window grilles reflectsthe psychologicalatmosphereof the laterMiddleAges,when private ownershipwas an increasinglycommonphenomenon,and when many churcheshad to protect the accumulated wealth of their treasuries.The predominancemust also reflect the religiousemphasison the importance of the entranceto a church,the difficultyof entering both church and heaven, and perhapsanallusionto St. Peterandhis supremely importantkeys.
TheMetropolitan Museumof Art Bulletin VOLUME
XXVIII,
NUMBER
4
DECEMBER
1969
Publishedmonthly from October to June and quarterlyfrom July to September.Copyright? I969 by The MetropolitanMuseumof Art, Fifth Avenueand 82nd Street, New York, N. Y. 10028. Second class postage paid at New York, N. Y. Subscriptions $7.50 a year. Single copies seventy-five cents. Sent
free to Museummembers.Four weeks'notice requiredfor changeof address.Back issuesavailableon
microfilm from University Microfilms, 3I3 N. First Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Volumes I-xxxvii (I905-1942) available as a clothbound reprint set or as individual yearly volumes from Arno Press, 330 Madison Avenue, New York, N. Y. I0017, or from the Museum, Box 255, Gracie Station, New Editor of Publications: Leon Wilson. Editor-in-chief of the Bulletin: Katharine York, N. Y. I0028. H. B. Stoddert; Assistant Editor: Susan Goldsmith; Designer: Peter Oldenburg. I62
Any discussionof the reasonsfor iron's popularityat this time must not neglect the inherent aesthetic qualities of the objects. Much of the decorationof Gothic ironwork may have been drawn from other, highly developedmedia,just as many Gothic artists were interestedin simulatingthe effects of metalworkin theirown crafts,suchas manuscript illuminationor architecture(an example being the Ste. Chapelle in Paris, a thirteenth-centuryroyal chapelconceivedas a large reliquary,with details and materials reminiscentof metal ones). Gothic ironwork often displays extraordinaryprecision and delicacy of detail, despite the difficultiesof workingin thismetal.The draperystylesand facial types of manuscriptsand sculptureare forgedin iron,and the sensitivetraceryof ar-
chitecturalornamentsis simulatedin filigree. In addition, iron objects have an innate monumentality,due to their weight, color, and solidity. Consequently,motifs and subjects could have been derived from architecture or architecturalsculpture that did not lose their effectsof massivenessand permanence when reduced in size. Thus it is often difficult to determinethe use of iron objects, for many seemingly monumental works- such as the lock on pages i64-i 67may have been madefor coffersor furniture, ratherthan largedoors. At times an object'sstyle does not reflect that of contemporarymedia. Such pieces may have been basedon olderones, but it is possible,too, that blacksmiths,awareof the
permanenceof their medium, imitated the styles and imagery of considerablyearlier worksin an attempt to invest their art with a suitablesenseof antiquity. The Cloistersexhibitionpresentsfor the first time one of the largestand most important collectionsof medievalironworkin the world.The worksof art, manyof whichwere originallyin the extraordinarycollectionof SamuelYellinof Philadelphia,comefromthe Museum'sMedieval Department and The Cloisters,with examplesof armorfrom the Armsand ArmorDepartment.In additionto door appliances,thereare agriculturalimplements, technicalinstruments,coffers,and armor. The worksdescribedhere will provide the readerwith an idea of the rangeand the qualityof the art of the medievalblacksmith.
NOTES
AND
REFERENCES
This article and the exhibitionat The Cloisters herald the preparationby the author of a catalogue of the MedievalDepartment'scollectionof ironwork.This is a field in which relativelylittle has been published,and I would be interestedin hearingfromanyonewho hasdoneresearchon the subject or who has informationabout medieval ironwork,especiallyabout the pieces on exhibition.
CharlesSingeret al., The Mediterranean CivilizationsandtheMiddleAges,Vol. I i, A Historyof Technology(Oxford,i957). Made of Iron (Houston, i966), the catalogueof an exhibitionof ironworkheld by the University of St. ThomasArt Department. Henri Rene d'Allemagne,DecorativeAntiqueIronwork(New York, i968). Introductionby Vera K. Ostoia. I63
This wasprobablythe lock for a chest.Designedin the formof a triptych, the mountingrepresentsthe LastJudgmentof Christ.The Day of Judgment is announcedby the trumpetingangelswho flankChristat the top of the center panel. Below him are the Virgin and St. John,demons,and souls risingfrom their sepulchers.The panelon the rightpicturesthe tortureof soulsin hell, while the left panelshowsangelsand St. Peter holdinghis key directingthe blessedthrougha doorto paradise,recallingChrist'sstatement in Johnx:9, "I am the door." This miniaturesculpture-only eight and a half inches high-has been conceivedas if it were the monumentaltympanumabove a churchdoorway.Not only is the pictorialprograman ambitiousone, whichresembleslargerworksof stone,but the decoration,too, is architectural,consistingof archesand traceryexecutedin the flamboyant style of late Gothic. The monumentalityof the subjecthas been tempered by the sensitivityof detail.The surfacehas beenpolishedto producehighlights and a flickeringeffect, which animatesthe figuresand producesa dynamicwhole.
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Iconographically,the lock may be viewed as an elaboratemetaphor.Finding the keyhole may be as difficultas followingthe true course:one must first open the panel with the hell scene, then the panel showing the entry into heaven,and finallyreleasea series of catches.Openingthe sceneillustratingthe fate of sinnersfirstmay serveas a visualwarning to potentialthieves. andchiseled French,latexv century.Wrought iron; height 8'2 inches, width (open) i4/s inches.Gift of . PierpontMorgan, 1 7. I90.362
44"
77-
Z' L
17IRT
PM
Insteadof a chimingbell, this door knocker itself carriesan appropriatesalutationin the inscriptionAve Maria.The bail, or hoop, of the knocker is formed by two thistle-stem volutes,whosedesignis repeatedin the shapes that attach the knocker to the post in the door. The vegetal motifs of the knockerare complementedby those of the escutcheon, which has been piercedand engravedwith a patternof acorn-tippedthistle scrolls. German,late xv century.Wroughtand engravediron;bail,width7y inches;escutcheon, height6Y8 inches.Gift of Henry G. Marquand, 87. 1.701
While there is a modern taste for leaving the heads of bolts and nails exposed, the medieval smith preferred to make them
decorative,if not to disguisethementirely.This studandplate, then, are actuallyan elaboratenailhead:the head is that of a grotesque,which holds a small lizard-likereptile between its jaws.It is interestingto observethat from certainanglesthe lizardlookslike a key. The surfaceof both plate and head,incised or stamped with circular and scroll designs, and the configuration of beasts are reminiscent of many earlier works of medieval art. The smith may have wanted to give his work a sense of antiquity by applying earlier motifs. European, xv-xvi century. Wrought, chiseled, and incised iron; stud, length 64 inches; plate, diameter2 8 inches. The
CloistersCollection, 52.I2I.I3a,b
The keys of the Gothic period are nearly as cumbersome as the locks and door knockers.
Keys fromthe earlierMiddleAgesareusually simple and undecorated,fashioned exclusivelyfor utility, whileGothic keys areoften elaborately conceived and decorated. This
piece is a cylinderon which two keys rotate. The sides of the cylinder are pierced with tracery,and the circumferencehas a nowillegible inscriptionon one end and a vinetendrildesignon the other.This designitself conveysthe spiritof all theseworks:in small scale the smith has reproducedthe monumentalGothic tracerystyle. European,xv-xvi century.Wroughtand chiseled iron, length (open) 54 Cloisters Collection, 55.61.44
inches. The
LEFT
This doorknockerrevealsthe skillof the blacksmith, who createdin a singleworkdelicateeffectsalongside rugged ones. The plate, which secured the heavy knockerto the door, is decoratedwith a deep openwork design,which ends at the bottom in the form of a stylizedface. This face is the first in a seriesof headsarrangedin totem-pole-likedescent;next is a griffinwith two pairsof wings,coilingits serpentine tail aroundthe bar above;and last is a devilishface. The heads complete the separateelements of the knockerin the same way that drawingsof human and animalfeaturespunctuateline endingsin contemporarymanuscripts.There is an extraordinary play of light along the surfacehere: it is caughtand containedwithin the deep recessesof the openwork design,while it flits alongthe facesof the grotesques, on differentplanes. accentuatedby theirarrangement European, xv-xvi
century. Wrought and chiseled
iron, length 20 inches. The CloistersCollection, 55.6i.27
RIGHT
The provenanceof worksof iron is sometimesestablished on the basisof the style and identity of the figures embellishingthem. Just as a stained-glass of the patron windowmight containa representation of a buildingor the saintof the areain which it was built, ironworkis often a vehicle for acknowledging patronage.Such may ultimatelybe found to be the casewith thisknocker,whichbearslikenessesof three figures.The knockeritself is in the form of a man standingon a foliatecrocketbeneatha canopy,conceived very muchlike the trumeaustatueof a building. He is flanked at the bottom by two smaller figures,whichalsoserveas the boltsfor the plate.The backgroundwithin the niche,formedby two lancets design. crownedby a quatrefoil,is like a stained-glass The naturalisticmannerin which the draperyripples and fallsat the man'sfeet, combinedwith the depth of the niche, producesthe illusionof a living, freestandingfigure. European, xv-xvI
century. Wrought and chiseled
figure 7 iron, height20o4 inches;heightof knocker inches. The CloistersCollection,55.76.I
Many objectsof iron can be characterizedby their achievementof a balancebetween the massiveness and solidity of architecturalmotifs and delicatedetails,suchas openwork,usuallyfoundin othermetalwork. Nothing, perhaps, exemplifiesthis sense of balancebetter than the iron framesmadefor purses: the weightof both the materialand the architectural membersthat it simulateshas been modulatedand softenedby skillfulcastingand piercingto produce a light, elegantdesign.The wheel at the top of the claspis removable;it is used as the key for the hole in the back. Many secularobjects of iron were produced,but they do not constitutea separateartisticgenre for, as we can see in this purse, they often include the same kind of architecturaldecorationthat is found in religious ironwork. European,xv-xvi century.Iron and red, cut, voided velvet (xv century), height of clasp 6 inches. The CloistersCollection,52.12I.3
Although the provenanceof mostof the otherpieces is unknown, we do know that this nearly square grille is from the Palazzo Sanudo ora Barozzi in Venice. While it is more subtle than barbedwire, this grille would discourageanyonefrom putting his hand through it. Yet its function is softened by a designthat is almostheraldic.The incongruouscombinationof the roundnessof the quatrefoilsand the needle-likeprojectionsat the intersticesof their arcs producesthe effect of a pincushionon the surfaceof the piece. This compositioncan be comparedwith thosein other mediaof the time: designsstampedon leatherbook coverswere especiallyclose. Italian(Venice:PalazzoSanudoora Barozzi),xvXVI century. Wrought iron, I418 x
144
inches. The
CloistersCollection,55.61.48
This animal was originally one of a pair of supports for a spit. Its stylized vertebrae were used as notches for adjusting the level of the spit above the fire. In view of the similarities between this piece and some from the early Middle Ages, there is reason to believe that the function of such objects determined their form to such an extent that the Gothic blacksmith was disinclined to introduce any radical changes in their traditional design. Spanish ( v), XVI century. Wrought iron, height i8 inches. The Cloisters Collection,
58.I74.2
This is one of a pair of hinge bands,which, becauseof its fragility,was probablynot used to reinforcea door but ratherto ornamentallyextend the doorhinges.The floralscrollsreflectthe Gothicinterestin organicplantlike motifs.Like manyof the otherpieces,this one seemsto displaya desire to integratethe materialsof the door and its mountingsby treatingthe woodendoor as if it were still alive and able to sprout new branches. European,xv-xvi century.Wrought,chiseled,andincisediron,length2612 inches. The CloistersCollection,55.61.46
t 11 -
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..
Sir
Gawayne
the
Three
and
White
Knights
H E L M U T N I C K E L Curatorof Arms and Armor
the many adventures Sir GaiAmong in Wolframvon Eschengoes through wayne bach's Parzivalis the delightful episode in which he is playingat chesswith the beautiful princessAntikoniein her bower;suddenly her enragedbrothersarriveand start breaking down the door. Sir Gawayne,who had left hisweaponswith hishorse, singlemindedly snatchesup the chessboardas a shieldand the bolt from the shattereddoor as a mace,while the lovely Antikonlepelts the spoilsportswith the carvenchessmen,and "whomshe hit with rookor king, he sankto the floor,and forgot to rise for a while." The chessmenthat the quick-wittedprincesslet fly so freely were -as Wolfram carefully points out-massive ivory pieces, certainly of the abstract,geometric Oriental pattern; western European chessmen,thoughoften solid enough,tended andlesscompact.Many to be representational of themwereintricatelycarvedin the shapeof kings,queens,bishops,and,of course,knights. The knightsseemto havesurvivedin relatively largenumbers:perhapsthey weremoreattractive to collectors,when other pieces of the set were permitted to scatter and pass out of sight.In the famoushoardof medieval chessmenfoundat Uig on the Islandof Lewis -now in the British Museum-there are fourteenknightson sturdyponiesas the largest groupamong cheforty-sixfigurines. The Metropolitan Museum owns three remarkablemedieval chessmen,all knights, rangingfrom the thirteenthto the sixteenth century in date. Every one of them is extremelyinterestingand importantas a repreI
sentative of a particular stage in the development of knightly armor. The first, of walrus ivory (Figure i), is armored in the style of around 1250 (about forty years after Wolfram wrote his story), with large triangular shield and flat-topped helm, his mail hauberk covered by a fluttering surcoat. Though the equipment of knights of this period was fairly uniform throughout western Europe, this knight always has been called French, probably because of the elegance of his style; it is interesting, however, that one of the closest equivalents to his armor in sculpture is a statue of a knightly saint on the west front of Wells Cathedral that dates from about I230 to I240. His horse is rearing over a gruesome dragon, between whose gnashing teeth the point of the lance is still visible, though arm and lance shaft are now broken off. The tail of the dragon blends into a tangle of floral scrollwork like a suggestion of an enchanted forest from which the dragon slayer bursts forth on his quest. A chesspiece showing two knights pursuing each other through a similar thicket is in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (Figure 2); though apparently by the same carver, it must have belonged to a different set, since it is carved without a base. The National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland owns a rook (Figure 3) that represents two armored men on foot, back to back, peering out from similar scrollwork; the demi-fleur-de-lis on one of the shields has a decidedly north European, even Scandinavian, look, but the arms have defied identification so far.
74
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s. Chessman (knight).ProbablyFrench,about Walrusivory, height318 inches.Gift I250. of . Pierpont Morgan, I7. 70.231.
A
reconstruction of thispieceis illustratedat thetop of page z74; the otherdrawings arereconstructions of Figures4 and 20 2.
Chessman (knight).ProbablyFrench,about I250. Walrusivory. Ashmolean Museum,
with Oxford.From"AncientChess-men SomeRemarks on TheirValueas Illustrationsof MedievalCostume"by Albert Wayin Archaeological Journal3 (1846) (rook).North European,about 3. Chessman I250. Walrusivory.NationalMuseumof Antiquitiesof Scotland
4. Chessman(knight). English, about
370o.
Ivory,height2Y46 inches. Gustavus A. Pfeiffer Fund, 68.95
Our second knight (Figure 4), solitary survivor of an otherwise vanished set, wears armor that can be dated to the second half of the fourteenth century. He wears a bascinet with raised visor, its camail covering his neck and shoulders; his body is protected by a hauberk of mail and by a large shield held by a strap slung over his shoulder. Gauntlets of typical "hourglass" form, knee cops, and greaves protect his hands and legs. The armor of this knight shows, as mentioned in its first publication, i846, a marked resemblance to the famous description of the arming of Sir Gawayne in Sir Gawayne and the GreenKnight:
5. Reconstructionof Figure 4
6. Sir Gawayne on the Magic Bed, detail of an ivory casket used as a modelfor the reconstructionof the visor in Figure5. French, xiv century.Gift of J. PierpontMorgan, 17.190.173
. . . they set the steel shoeson the strongman's feet, Lappedhis legs in steel with lovely greaves, Completewith knee-pieces,polishedbright, And connectingat the knee with gold-knobbed hinges. Then came the cuisses,which cunningly enclosed His thighs thick of thew, and with thongs secured. Next the hauberk,interlinkedwith argentsteel rings And restingon rich material,wrappedthe warriorround. He had polishedarmoron armsand elbows, Glinting and gay, and gloves of metal, And all the goodly gear to undergowhat might Betide; With richly wroughtsurcoat And red-goldspursto ride, And swordof noble note At his silken-girdledside.
Our little knightdiffersfrom this description in that he lacksa surcoat.This is a ratherunusual feature, though not unique and not attributableto any specific region, since it occurson representations in suchwidelyseparatedplacesas Pistoia (on a silver altarpiece of I376 in the cathedral) and Thann in Upper
7. Guardian,detailof the brass effigyof BishopRobertWyvill (diedI375) in Salisbury Cathedral. FromTheMonumentalEffigiesof GreatBritain (London,1817) by C. A. Stothard
Alsace (on a statue of St. George at the minsterportal). The shield,an earlyformof the targewith U-shapedoutline and concave face, is also peculiar;it has a nearly exact counterpart, however,on the brasseffigyof BishopRobert Wyvill (i375) in Salisbury Cathedral (Fig-
ure 7). But the most remarkablefeature of this figurineis the armorof the horse.Its head is completelyenclosedin a chanfron,while its body is coveredwith a bardof mail coming down nearly to the fetlocks, and overhung by trappingsthat in the originalwere presumablyof fabricor leather.We alwaysimagine knightly steedsas being deckedout in shining steel and fluttering caparisons,but among medieval representationsbefore the fifteenth century relatively few show horse trappingsthat are actuallyarmorratherthan fabric. Practicallyall these examplescome from northernFrance or England;perhaps it was the tactics of using the longbow in battle that made better protection for the horsedesirable.(In other parts of Europe a knight was supposedto battle his peers,and it was againstthe code of chivalry to resort to so knavisha trickas maulingan opponent's of horse.)One of the earliestrepresentations a fully mail-cladchargeris to be foundin the muralsof the PaintedChamber,Westminster
8. Erroneousreconstructionof the chessmanin Figure4. From "Ancient Chess-men"by Way; the same engravingappearedin Ancient Armour and Weapons in Europe (Oxford and London, 1855, i86o) by John Hewitt
(Figure ii); others are to be seen in relief
sculptures(FiguresI2, I3) and in miniatures (Figures I4-I7).
It should be pointed out,
however,that our ivory knight seems to be uniqueas a representationof man and horse in full armorsculpturedin the round from the fourteenthcentury. Most of the armoredhorsesshownin contemporaneousdocumentsdo not wear full trappingsof mail but only chanfrons,though theseare sometimeshalf-hiddenunderfabric caparisons.These chanfronsare of a nearly
9. Plastercast of the chessmanin Figure 4. Gift of Sir Thomas Brock, II.88
i i. Armoredhorse, detail of a mural in the Painted Chamber,Westminster. English, late XIII century. From Ancient Armour by John Hewitt
io. The Museum's ivory chessmanof about 1370
12, I3. Scenesfrom the Legend of the True Cross.Probablynorth French,about I350. Stone reliefs, heights192 inches, 24Y2 inches. The CloistersCollection, 25.120.529,
14.
528
Miniature of a battle scene. English, third quarterof the xiv century.British Museum, Add. MSS I5477. From A Recordof EuropeanArmour and Arms 3 (London, I920) by Sir Guy Francis Laking
15. Miniature of a camp scene, in IIystoire de Roys de FranceapresPhilippeIII. French,about i4Io. BritishMuseum, Royal MS 20, C, vii,fol. i36. From A Recordof EuropeanArmour by Laking I6. Miniature of St. Victor. French,before I4I5. BibliothequeMunicipale, Chdteauroux,MS 2,fol. 237. From
FrenchPaintingin the Time of Jean de Berry: The Boucicaut Master (London and New York,,i968) by Millard Meiss
18. Chanfron.English, secondhalf of the xivI century.Collectionof the Earl of Warwick,WarwickCastle.Photograph:John Wright
17. Miniature of the battle of Crecy.French, about 14I5. British Museum, MS
CottonNero E., II, II, fol. I52v. From FrenchPaintingby Meiss
19. Silveredand engravedarmor of Henry VIII. Armor by Nicolaus
da Silva (?), engraveddecorationby Paul van Vreeland,horse bard Burgundo-Flemish.About 1520. The Armouries of H. M. Tower of London, II-5. Photograph:British Crown Copyright
uniform type, differing only in the protection for the horses' eyes. Most of them - our chessman, too -have half cups overshadowing the eyeholes; others have perforated bulges similar to those protecting the nostrils. We know the first variety only from documents, but we are fortunate enough to have an original specimen of the second surviving in the famous chanfron in Warwick Castle (Figure i8). It was first published in 1786 as "an iron chanfron of uncommon construction said to have belonged to Guy, Earl of Warwick." It is said to have been found in the moat of the castle; this would explain the damage it has suffered, such as loss of the ear covers and neck lames, and the corrosion of the weaker perforated parts. Except for the pierced eye protections it is in all details identical to the one on our figurine. As might be expected from such a fragile material as carved ivory, our knight has suffered considerable damage too. Originally his weapons were a sword hanging from his left side, and a lance upright in his right hand. The lance is now broken off, leaving only a short stump. The carver apparently hoped to give firm support to the lance by attaching its shaft to the upper dexter corner of the shield and the visor's edge; when it broke off in spite of that, it took away small fragments from both these places. Later someone tried to replace the lance; this replacement is also lost, but the hole drilled to hold it is still visible in the knight's fist. Lost too are the feet of the horse and the base. The stumps left on the underside show that originally the horse was prancing (Figure 5); older reconstructions showed it walking (Figure 8). This damage, however, does not distract much from the appreciation of the carver's skill, particularly the charming way he made use of the natural curvature of his raw material, a section of an elephant's tusk, in order to give the horse's head and neck a lifelike tilt. Our chessman was first published in I846, when it was in the collection of the Rev. John Eagles. Even then it was recognized as a significant example of the armament of the fourteenth century, and copper engravings
20.
Chessman(knight). English, aboutI520. Ivory,height~i
inches.GustavusA. Pfeiffer Fund,67. 83
of it (Figure 8) were repeatedly illustrated in handbooks. At some time during the nineteenth century-perhaps when it was in the famous collection of Victor Gay - plaster casts were made of it. Of these two are known: one is in the Tower of London, and the other in the Metropolitan Museum (Figure 9). Since this knight was regarded primarily as a historical document and only secondarily as a work of art, scholarswere content to use these easily available casts for illustration instead of the original, which continued to stay in private hands. Around 1900 the original dropped out of sight, and it was an almost incredible stroke of good luck when it reappeared in the distinguished collection of John Hunt in Dublin, and we were able to acquire it for the Museum last year. The third of our chessmen (Figure 20) comes from the same collection and, its somewhat battered condition notwithstanding, it is an important document for its period. Strangely enough, it has not been published before. The knight wears armor that can be dated around I520; its peculiar mixture of Italian and German stylistic features is characteristic of the fashion at the English court in the time of Henry VIII. Indeed, it looks remarkably like the silvered armor of Henry VIII in the Tower of London (Figure I9). This famous suit was made by an Italian armorer, but it is fitted with a tonlet, a pleated skirt (the Faltenrockpopular in Ger-
21. Reconstruction
of Figure 20
many) copied after an armor made in Emperor Maximilian's court workshop at Innsbruck and presented to Henry by Maximilian in I514. The silvered armor is enriched with
engraved decoration, done by a Flemish artist, representing scenes from the legend of St. George, and the knightly saint is twice shown wearing armor and skirt of this type, though the skirts are meant to be of fabric. For tournaments and pageants these decorative skirts were often tied on like aprons over armor (this seems to be the case with our chess knight too); the metal version was an extravagance that only very few of the great-
NOTES
AND
est lords sported (incidentally, two of the seven known examples are in the Metropolitan Museum). As a Tudor, Henry VIII claimed King Arthur himself among his ancestors, and therefore it is not surprising that he was an enthusiastic lover of tournaments and pageants. Our chess knight is equipped for a joust; he probably belonged to a set representing one of the pageants that surrounded tournaments, such as the "Round Tables" in which the participants assumed the names of King Arthur's knights. Who knows? He might have been Sir Gawayne.
REFERENCES
I wish to expressmy thanks to the Right Hon. Charles ffoulkes and Hon. Sir John Fortescue, "MedievalArmsand Warfare"in Harmsworth's the Lord Brooke, WarwickCastle, for his kind UniversalHistory of the World, Part 27, p. 2931. permissionto publish the Warwickchanfronin a photographfor the first time, and to my col- Bashford Dean, Handbook of Arms and Armor leagues Claude Blair, Deputy Keeper of Metal(New York, MetropolitanMuseum, 1915), pl. work,Victoriaand Albert Museum,London,and XIII. WilliamReid, AssistantKeeper, The Armouries, Claude Blair, "The Emperor Maximilian'sGift H. M. Tower of London, for informationand of Armour to King HenryVIII and the Silvered photographs. andEngravedArmourat the Towerof London" in Archaeologia 99 (I965), pp. i-56. AlbertWay, "AncientChess-menwith Some Remarkson Their Value as Illustrationsof Medi- CharlesK. Wilkinsonand JessieMcNab Dennis, eval Costume" in Archaeological Journal 3 (I846), pp. 239-245, 6 figs.
John Hewitt, Ancient Armour and Weapons in Europe (Oxford and London, i855, i86o), i, p. 342;
II, p. 314.
Charles ffoulkes, The Armourer and His Craft
(London, I912),
I82
p. XVII.
Chess: East and West, Past and Present (New
York, MetropolitanMuseum, I968), fig. 7. Millard Meiss, French Painting in the Time of Jean de Berry: The Boucicaut Master, National Gal-
lery of Art: Kress Foundation,Studies in the History of European Art (London and New York, I968), figs. 103 and 427, pp. 8i-85, 92-95.
The
Armorers' Shop
Captionsby H EL M U T NICKEL Photographsby H E L E N BUTTFIELD
One of the moreromanticfeatures of the MetropolitanMuseum is that it housesa real armorers'shop. Although its domicileis not in soot-blackened,high-vaultedGothic chambersbut in soberroomslike laboratories,many of the tools and techniquesused are centuriesold, and the smith is stillfaithful to fire, the elementof Vulcan.
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Armorers'workrequirespatience,knowledgeof manifoldtechniquesand materials,and a specialtouch, be it the measuredstrokein polishing that gives a helmetor breastplateits prized lusteror the untiring accuracyneededin caringfor the 200,000 ringsof a mail shirt. At the rightthe Armoreris rerivetingthe leatherstraps on a sixteenth-century boy's armor(both hammer and anvil stakeare originaltools, contemporaneous with the armorthey help to repair),and at the left is illustratedthe art of embossing,the most attractive techniqueused to decorateparade armor. The metal restson a block of pitch, the yielding surfacepermittingthe raisingof prominentdetailswith a punch. The actual embossingis done from the wrongside of the piece, butfine accentsare chiseledin on thefront.
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Most of a modernarmorer'swork is considerablyless glamorousthan that of his colleaguesin the days of Lancasterand York.Now, above all, it is cleaning, keepingthe polishedsurfacesand intricatehingesrustfree. The humidityand pollution of New York'sair poses quite a problemto the caretakersof the largest armorcollectionin the WesternHemisphere.Thismeans constantchecking,even of objectssafely in cases, but specialattentionmust begivento armorexhibitedopenly in thegalleries.Thoughan armorplate was designedto withstanda swordstrokeor the impactof a crossbow bolt, it is extremelyvulnerableto carelesshandling. If only the curious visitorknew how easily his fingerprintsbecomepermanentlyetchedinto the steel, zf not discoveredand removedwithin hours!
Above: the leatherboundwooden grip of a sixteenthcenturyrapieris beingmeticulouslywrappedwith cabled silverwire. Right: a hauberkis about to be cleanedin the medievalway- by tumblingit in a barrelwith a few shovelfulsof sawdustsprinkled with oil.
One of our restorersis a trainedgunsmith,the othera skilledsilversmith.The Armorer himself, with the Museumfor fortyyears, learnedhis craftfrom masterswho werelinksin a chain of traditionthat can befollowed backto the Middle Ages practicallystep by step.
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