I’ve wanted to come to Belfast and in particular go up to Giant’s Causeway since 1995. Only on that trip to the UK, we couldnt’. Myself, BigSal and BluddyMary had hired a car to drive around the UK for 6 weeks – extremely decadent, and only possible due to a corker of a British Airways deal that BigSal had found us; our BNE to LHR flights came with a free side trip to a number of European capitals and 7 days free car hire. Per person! Else, I’m not sure we could have afforded to hire a car for such a long period of time in our early 20s. There were, sadly, two restrictions on the whole travelling by rental car thing… 1) I was the only driver because the other two didn’t have their damn licenses! and, 2) we couldn’t take the rental car into Northern Ireland because of The Troubles. Having no desire to be blown up, bailed up or held up, and also being somewhat law abiding and risk adverse (we would not be insured if we did), we sensibly stayed away. Anyway, it’s been on my list ever since. Only 30 years in the waiting to get here… fucking puffins still on the list – but that is another story!
I found us a day trip from Dublin to see the Causeway and Belfast, (primarily to see the Titanic Museum), and while it promised to be a long day, I was hoping for a good guide so it would prove to be an informative and if we were lucky, entertaining. Happily, we had an amazing guide named, Quiggs. Quiggs was quick-witted, interesting, and stuffed full of interesting cultural and historical tidbits.
On the drive out of Dublin, we learned all about Irish oral story telling and musical traditions, and had a quick lesson in Irish language! Quiggs was raised speaking Irish and is one of only 2% of Irish people who are fluent in Irish… the Irish language is seeing a resurgence in recent years thanks to the promotion and sponsoring of Irish language programs in schools. It’s great to see them fostering their language before it is lost. Quiggs also spoke English (with a university level proficiency) and some French and German – which came in handy as we had people on our tour from France, Italy, Germany, Greece, Turkey, the US and all over. He set the tone early by laying down the law… he was not going to suffer lolllygaggers and threatened to make any late comers sing if they returned to the bus even one minute late and held up the entire group! I loved it! Great idea… more guides should rule their pax’s with the threat of public ridicule, I say.
Quiggs was particularly passionate about sharing his interest in Irish language, he told us all about how Irish speaking Catholics were subjugated and disenfranchised. Literally kids were beat at school for speaking Irish at school, those that were fortunate enough to attend school, that is. The children would be given a card to wear around their neck, and every time they were heard to be speaking in Irish, they would get a knot tied in their cord, which resulting in a numbered beating at the end of their school day.
At one point in the English attempts to quash Irishness, educating Catholics was made illegal entirely and Hedge Schools emerged – as the name suggests, primary aged children were taught informally in the hedgerows.
The plan of course was to destroy Irish identity – it was banned in business, banned in parliament, in legal circles and in courts of laws. To the point where the Irish speaking Catholics were literally unable to defend themselves if accused of a crime. They would be put on trial, in English, and unable to explain or defend their actions in English, it led to a many wrongful convictions and even wrongful deaths. In order to maintain this status quo, Catholics were disenfranchised by minimising their voting power. Good Catholic families would breed prolifically, so outnumbered their Protestant counterparts quite considerably, so in order to suppress their voting power, they legislated that voting was connected to property ownership – one property, one vote. Thus ten adult Catholics living in one home only got one vote. One wealthy Protestant who owned multiple properties managed to get as many votes as properties he owned!
As we neared the border to Northern Ireland, Quiggs told us stories of The Troubles… personal accounts of incidents that happened to his grandfather, his mother and his father – they all had stories of tense face offs with border guards. His mother nearly got herself shot to pieces going across over the border in the wee hours of the night, when she fell asleep behind the wheel due to extreme fatigue and nearly drove into the guard house. She apparently woke herself at the last moment and slammed on the bakes; the guards were all standing, pointing at her with their firearms and yelling at her to get out of the car. It sounds like his poor Mam went into shock, and when the soldiers realised what had happened they took her inside, gave her coffee to wake her up and let her stop shaking before sending her on her way. His father’s run in-was somewhat more of a ‘fuck you’ student protest type interaction, where he was refusing to provide identification when trying to cross the border. All up, it sounded scary, tense and totally understandable that Hertz wouldn’t let us take our car into Northern Ireland in 1995!
We learned how political prisoners were treated by the English, and how they protested from their positions of incarceration – work strikes, ‘dirty strikes (refusal to use the toilets because they frequently got beaten for leaving their cells alone – so they took to pissing on the floors of their cells and smearing their shit all over the place), to hunger strikes. All of which didn’t move the English govt at all. Eventually the IRA decided to start trying to take over by electing members of their people to parliament and even elected people who were imprisoned, who naturally couldn’t take up their roles.
I’m going to have to do some more reading into how the current peace was reached, but in many ways, Quiggs was painting a situation that conveyed that even though the hard border is gone and most people want to co-exist in peace, there is still a lot of tension between the Irish Catholic part of the country and the Protestant northerners. The police stations and court houses still have 12’ tall, 3’ wide thick concrete wall around them, and the memory of frequent bombings at the Europa Hotel (The most bombed hotel in the world apparently… the IRA had a habit of setting off bombs in the hotel, as it’s location made it a prime spot for the world’s journalists to stay when they were covering the tensions, so when they wanted a bit of attention, a small bomb at the hotel would wake them up. Literally.) are still very recent. Quiggs says it wouldn’t take much to set the violence off all over again.
Belfast looks much like Dublin… though slightly fewer visible pubs perhaps? The name Belfast comes from the Irish words for ‘fast river’… which is neither here nor there at this point in this post. But there you have it.
We passed through Belfast and picked up some pax on our way north to the Giant’s Causeway. On the way we stopped at Dunluce Caste – or rather, what remains of it. Dunluce Castle is a ruin of a medieval castle in Northern Ireland and was/is (?) the seat of the Clan MacDonnel. It hangs out on the edge of a basalt outcrop in County Antrim and is only accessible by a bridge that connects it to the mainland. It is surrounded by incredibly steep slopes on either side and this was probably what made it so defensible for the early Christians when the Vikings were coming to invade. It’s been there for a solid 500 years, and was most recently made famous by being used as a film set in Game of Thrones to represent the Pyke Islands or something, which is where Castle Greyjoy is fantastically located.
Quiggs, himself.
So on the way out to the Causeway, Quiggs gave us a very Google-able explanation for the rock formations at Giant’s Causeway, but continued on to say that “That is all bollocks.”. Because, the real formation, as legend has it, was due to Northern Irelandw once being home to a giant named Finn McCool (also called Fionn Mac Cumhaill). At that time, there was another giant – Benandonner, across the Irish Sea in Scotland who was threatening Ireland, such that Finn retaliated by tearing up great chunks of the Antrim coastline and hurling them into the sea. The newly-created pathway – the Giant’s Causeway – paved an accessible route over the sea for Finn to reach Benandonner.
However, this turned out to be a bad idea as Benandonner is a massive giant, much bigger than Finn was! So, upon realising this, in order to save himself, Finn retreated to Ireland and disguised himself as a baby, thanks to an idea from his quick-thinking wife. When Benandonner arrives, he sees Finn disguised as a baby and realises that if a mere baby is that big, the father must be far larger than Benandonner himself!
Following this realisation, Benandonner rushes back to Scotland, tearing away as much of the Causeway as he can in his haste to put as much distance between Ireland and himself as possible. And thus, the myth of the Giant’s Causeway was born.
It was great fun rock-hopping around on the basalt at Giant’s Causeway – can’t say my new knee was super appreciative of it though… that or the cold is getting to it, which would be a bitch if it hangs around long term!
Ms Stephola doing her best interpretation of a siren…
Face in the rock face.
The Giant’s Gateway
Giant’s Causeway is a gorgeous area to explore. It was however, rather cold and while thankfully not raining, very windy and cold. They run a neat little electric bus shuttle up and down to the rocks (quiet and unobtrusive, good job) for the grand cost of £1 per person each way. So we availed ourselves of that service to get back to the quaint little pub near our pick up spot – called, would you believe it, “The Nook”..!
On a cold day like today – all I ever want is a cup of port. Sadly, had to settle for a polite glass of port instead.
One of the pax from our bus did the right thing – ordered himself a whiskey with an ‘e’, and a Guinness chaser.
Next stop on our little tour was to a look out point to see the suspension bridge that links this strange wee island to the mainland. And off in the other direction is a headland that was also used in Game of Thrones as ‘Dragonstone’… nope, I have no recollection of Dragonstone at all.
More brief Game of Thrones stops – this time the “Dark Hedges” which Arya is chased by someone through a foreboding looking forest. This was a disappointing stop – not because there has been a huge reduction in the amount of trees lining this avenue, because there has been; but because of the sheer amount of rubbish people have left laying around this area. Gotta say, if it’s a damn tourist spot you want and we are literally stopping by to admire the Nature (TM), you might want to provide more bins or invest in some people to clean up.
This is a Robin Redbreast – obviously – first one I have ever seen. He was super tame and let me take a handful of close photos of him before I accidentally startled him.
After that it was back to Belfast to drop some people to the city centre, while the rest of us went to the Titanic Museum… and what a cool building that turned out to be! The architect here really understood the brief. It’s as though the famously egotistical Bruce Ismay was in charge of the design of the Musuem “I wanted to convey sheer size, and size means stability, luxury, and above all, strength.”. The building is enormous, and starkly sits out beside the dockyards conveying exactly that – size, scale, general hugeness!
The displays inside were a bit too Disney-fied for my liking… by that I mean, I am getting sick and tired of museums that want to create an ‘experience’ to spoon feed the history to the unwilling. I saw it at Ghent Cathedral with their godawful virtual reality tour of the crypts; same with the over stimulating and confusing audio narrative at the museum for the Battle of the Bulge at Bourgogne which was so over the top, it prohibited visitors from reading ANY of the information plaques, and we see it again here with the over videos and 3D experiences and interactive exhibits. I get it! The internet age has seen people’s attention span shrink to that of a hyperactive goldfish – but there has to be some spaces left in-Hollywood’ed where solemn information can be absorbed in a mature and academic manner… doesn’t there?
Perfect example – this exhibit was about the designs and plans for the ship. But we can’t just have some images of extant plans and an explanation of the design principles in use and their various failings – no, we need to have 40’ projected scrolling floor of plans that distract you from absorbing any actual information about the actual plans. It looks cool – but did I learn anything? Nope.
The Arrol Gantry was specially built to construct the Titanic – as Belfast was a very famous ship building yard – but even here, they didn’t have anything large enough to support a build of this scale.
And then we got funneled onto the Titanic Experience Ride… It took about 8 minutes and I’m not sure what we were supposed to learn from this other than ‘shit be huge, bitches!’. There was no point to this. It talked about people working long hours, in sometimes dark and dangerous conditions in the bowels of the emerging ship. I can only imagine this it to stop iGen kids from getting bored…
They put us in a little car that was hung from these extending arms that lifted and dropped to show you different static projected images. It was soooo Disney, I cann’t describe it any other way.
Once we got past The Ride – there were more informative boards and images that showed how the ship was built, but I noticed, a LOT of people weren’t reading much, they were skipping on past looking for the next fast dopamine hit instead. You train people that they are there – and their attention for steady reading is gone!
Man this thing was huge! But it didn’t have anything on a modern cruise ship – so I am not sure why it still feels so enormous in the imagination.
So – the one thing I did learn was that the ship was actually launched officially nearly a full year before it sunk. I was unaware of this, and initially couldn’t figure out what it had been doing from May 1911 to April 1912 when it sank, until we got a bit further around and discovered that most of that time was the ship being outfitted. They built it on land, then launch it onto the water, and it was only then that the internal fittings – carpentry, furniture, staterooms, recreational facilities etc are all installed.
Literally launched here:
Back on the design of the actual museum – it is a very impressive building! And totally conveys the sense of scale / size / enormity that people associate with the Titanic.
After the section on the build of the ship, there was a few galleries dedicated to the fit out. The White Star Line and their custom crockery remind me of Third Reich crockery – though I don’t know why? Hubris, perhaps?
I have long been amused by cruise ship carpets – they are usually crazy bright bespoke creations that presumably are designed to cover a thousand spilled cocktails… seems this is not a new trend! The carpets on the Titanic were also bespoke designed bright coloured monstrosities.
Wood was used for many parts of Titanic’s internal fitout. Huge quantities of wooden furniture and fittings were made for her public rooms and cabins. Years ago in 2014, Mr K and I stayed at the Waldorf Astoria in New York for a week or so and we were told that the timber work and panelling in the lifts and lobby of that hotel were created by the same carpenters and cabinet makers who created all the timber work for the Titanic. It is literally the same wood and was made by the same highly skilled craftsmen.
Very cool – and you can definitely see the similar artistic influence being carried through from that location to that on the ship.
An extant copy of the luncheon menu from the day the Titanic sunk!
This is where the building, creating and fitting out info for the ship finished and we turned to the disaster of the Titanic sinking in the museum experience. You can feel the turn from explaining the scale and grandeur of the ship to the impending peril on this verandah that you traverse – it is designed to look like a promenade deck, complete with shuffle board, and a HUGE three story projection of roiling seas… suddenly things don’t feel so ‘marvel at our engineering’ anymore.
There were multiple story boards in a number of rooms that lead you through the disaster itself – many of which detailed the comms from the Titanic after it hit the iceberg all taken verbatim from the ship’s logs. Then the displays of the human toll: the survivors, and the not so fortunate.
A two story wall listing the names of all the people on the Titanic – very clearly showing how few were saved.
An extant life jacket – exactly like the ones in the film. It was recovered from an unknown Titanic victim. No records exist of who wore this jacket, it was recovered by the crew of the ‘Mackay-Bennet’ one of the ships that responded to give Titanic aid. Only twelve of the ship’s life jackets are known to remain out of a total of 3,500 that were onboard the ship. This makes it an extremely rare artifact. They were manufactured out of linen and cork of all things.
Downstairs is long gallery listing the changes to maritime safety that were introduced after the Titanic sunk. The new laws enforcing that all ships needed to have at least as many lifeboat spaces as the number of people that could board, as well as laws that required safety drills that included passengers, and laws regulating binoculars for lookouts and maximum speeds in ice fields in the North Atlantic… apparently these things were more ‘guidelines’ prior to the Titanic disaster.
It’s hard to fathom the depths of the ocean – I can’t envisage it. I also can’t imagine why some dedicated their lives to hunting for this ship.
An original deck chair from Titanic – recovered from the surface by the same ship, the ‘Mackay-Bennet’. It has a star on the headrest indicating the White Star Line and a brass name tag on the rear – it is one of only six known to have survived.
This is a ‘loving cup’ made of sterling silver presented to Sir Arthur Henry Royston, the captain of the Carpatia – the first ship to respond to Titanic’s calls for aids. It was given to him by Margaret “Molly” Brown. She also gave his entire crew medals made of gold, silver and bronze depending on their rank and chair a fund-raising committee for survivors.
The Unsinkalbe Molly Borwn and Captain Rostron of the Carpathia.
This must be one of the most famous violins in the world. It belonged to one of Titanic’s heroic musicians, Wallace Hartley. It was apparently a gift from his fiancée, Maria Robinson. It was made in Germany, c.1880 and was engraved : “For Wallace on the occasion of our engagement from Maria”. The violin has become an ubiqutious symbol of courage of spirit of those very famous musicians who chose to play until the very end of the Titanic disaster. They are the reason we say, “And the band played on…” to describe bravery in the face of adversity.
The next gallery was full of Titanic paraphernalia in popular culture – bit like the ‘References’ section at the bottom of a Wikipedia page! Most of it was a bit naff.
I’m not sure about this – I know the Jack and Rose thing on the movie made the whole picture on the bow thing famous – but this tableau for tourist to have their photo taken in, felt a little tasteless right at the end of the section of the museum that delved most into the disaster and its impacts. Naturally after this, you exit through the gift shop – and while it was filled with what seemed like really nice quality gifts and souvenirs, it somehow felt a bit unseemly to be buy t-shirts or coffee mugs with Titanic written all over them.
I do love the grand scale of the building.
After the museum, we went back to the city centre and collected some of our group before the long drive back to Dublin. It was a very long day – we were out for about 12 hours, but it was very informative and Quiggs was fantastic throughout.
I first came to Vienna and visited the Kunsthistoriches in 1995, and my most enduring memory of that visit was a truly flamboyant Austrian fellow in a brown suede jacket, showing us through the museum. He had a truly FABULOUS accent and was frequently referring to zee Emperah FRanzz JOseff and his wife, the Emprezs Merria TerrEEsia! I can still hear his voice nearly 30 years later. What I can say about that guide is that he set me on a path of analysing the visual. On that one visit, I went from admiring a picture because I thought it was pretty or appealing to looking for more meaning and symbolism – especially in medieval, religious and renaissance art. I wish I knew his name, he was a cool guy who brought he galleries to life.
I was quite keen to be here with 1) more time and 2) degrees in visual art and art history under my belt to see whether the same sorts of things resonated, or how differently I would perceive them seeing I have experienced so much more of the world since then.
I forgot how utterly stunning the building itself is. I remember it feeling like a rabbit warren, but had forgotten about the gorgeous vaulted spaces an magnificent staircases – I say, ‘staircases’, for there are several.
Built c. 1870-1890, it is one of the world’s most recognisable art museums – behind the Louvre and the MET perhaps. I think you could wander around and photograph just the building for half a day if you so choose. The dome is 200’ high and all the interiors are lavish with marble, stucco, gold leaf and murals.
We don’t build things like this anymore… I think it’s a shame.
Initial stop was a quick fly by through the cartoon galleries. These cartoons are not some of the most visited objects in the musuem, and as such seemed to be quite lacking in information. The
Hunters in the Snow – Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1565, Antwerp and Brussels. The group of hunters returns to the low-lying village, accompanied by an exhausted pack of dogs. Only a single fox hangs on one of the spears slung over the men’s shoulders. To the left preparations are afoot to singe a pig over an open fire. Delightful details such as skaters on frozen ponds have added to the picture’s enormous popularity. Yet it is not the sum total of details that make the picture important, rather its overall effect. In a manner both virtuosic and consistent, Bruegel evokes the impression of permanent cold in this first and most prominent winter landscape of European painting.
The Tower of Babel – Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1563, Antwerp and Brussels. Bruegel’s monumental composition became the most famous, most often copied and varied classic depiction of the tower. Perspective is provided by the seemingly Flemish port which seems tiny in comparison with the tower. Painstakingly, and in encyclopedic detail, Bruegel depicts countless technical and craftsmanship processes. He blends elements from antique and Romanesque architecture in the stone structure around the building’s exterior.
Massacre of the Innocents – Pieter Bruegel the Younger, c.1575, Antwerp and Brussels. The biblical subject of the infanticide ordered by Herod is relocated by Bruegel to a snowy Flemish village. The event is brought up to date to resemble a contemporary penal expedition due to the clothing, as the troops on horseback with their red tunics were a kind of police unit.
Peasant Wedding – Pieter Bruegel the Elder, c.1568, Brussels and Antwerp. The apparent “snapshot” of this picture is in fact carefully composed. Dispensing with allegorical meaning the painting is a realistic record of a Flemish peasants’ wedding. The bride sits in front of a green tapestry, a paper crown hangs over her. The bridegroom was not present at the wedding feast in accordance with Flemish custom. A lawyer with a mortar-board, a Franciscan monk and the lord of the manor with his dog (to the far right) are all visible; the porridge dishes carried in on an unhinged door are utterly simple, and the posture and gait of the carriers are similarly striking.
Peasant Dance, 1568 The opening dance of the country fair is depicted: a traditional leaping dance which was carried out by two pairs only and preceded the general dance. The pair in the foreground rushes to do this, but is distracted by the scene to the far left: a beggar (or is it a pilgrim?) approaches a table begging for alms. Bruegel’s view of peasants is neither condescending nor humorous – rather realism bordering on idealism dominates.
Children’s Games – Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1560, Brussels and Antwerp. From a bird’s eye perspective – this was the only way Bruegel could render visible the impressive crowd of figures – we look on to a cast square. Over 230 children are occupied with playing 83 different games. For those wishing to decipher all the games, the minuteness of the scenes necessitates slow and selective study – a pleasurable pastime indeed. Bruegel’s composition is without precedent or parallel in the fine arts and can be seen as a painted “encyclopaedia” – albeit without any moralising undertones.
The Fight Between Carnival and Lent – Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1559, Brussels and Antwerp. In the foreground of this encyclopaedia of Netherlands customs related to Carnival and Lent, Bruegel presents an allegorical jousting tournament as they actually occurred in the 15th and 16th centuries: on the left “Carnival” rides on a barrel, holding a roast on a spit as his weapon; on the right he is opposed by the skinny “Lent” extending a baker’s shovel with two fishes. The other details in this scene are also in keeping with the reality of the time as recorded in folklore. The depiction of everything happening in the same place at the same time, however, is Bruegel’s invention.
Jane Seymour, c.1536/37 – Hans Holbein, London.
Judith with the Head of Holofernes and a Servant, Lucas Cranach, c.1537, Vienna. The book of Judith in the Bible tells the story of how the young widow saved her hometown of Bethulia from being conquered by the Assyrians: Having won the affections of the enemy general Holofernes, Judith cut off his head with his sword as he slept drunk. Among the numerous depictions of this theme by Cranach, this painting is exceptional as it even shows the heroine’s servant.
Judith with the head of Holofernes – Lucas Cranach, c.1530, Vienna. With cunning and courage, the Old Testament heroine succeeded in entering the camp of Holofernes outside the city of Bethulia. There she put an end to the threat his troops posed by decapitating the enemy general. Cranach’s large workshop created all of the known half-length versions of Judith around the year 1530. Judith became the symbolic figure of Protestant resistance to the armies of Charles V.
Stag Hunt of Elector John Frederick – Lucas Cranach, 1544, Wittenberg. This depiction of a stag hunt is of the same type of courtly hunting picture created by Lucas Cranach the Elder. In the distance is the city of Torgau on the Elbe with Hartenfels Castle, which was finished in 1544. Prominent hunting guests can be seen in the foreground. In reality, however, they were never in or near Torgau: on the extreme left is Emperor Charles V, next to Elector Palatine Frederick, with Elector John Frederick of Saxony further to the front, under the tree in the middle of the paining is Duke Philip I of Brunswick.
Adam and Eve – Lucas Cranach the Elder, c.1510/20, Vienna, Wittenberg and Weimar. The first human couple is depicted monumentally on two separate panels, set against a black background. The spatial context is defined by the ‘Tree of Knowledge’. The serpent writhes around the branch on the right: we can see it has already performed its act of seduction, for Eve has bitten from the apple in her hand. Mary and jesus are depicted on the rear sides of the panels, meaning that they probably made up the wings of an altarpiece. Despite this religious context, Cranach exploits the biblical theme to display the full subtlety of his art of nude painting.
Emperor Maximilian I – Albrecht Dürer, c.1519, Nuremberg. The emperor is depicted here as an elegant private gentleman. The desired effect of dignity and power is achieved by the manner in which the emperor fills the frame and the brilliant execution of the fur collar. Several different interpretation have been suggested for the pomegranate in the emperor’s hand: as a private proxy for the imperial orb; as a reference to the myth of Persephone and thus a reference to death; and as an allusion to the conquest of Granada by the Christian armies in 1492.
Seeing this particular painting here back in 1995 spurred on my interest in art and art history… not long after that trip, I went back home and enrolled in a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Qld College of Art.
The Art of Painting – Johannes Vermeer, c.1666/68, Delft. With his depiction of the painter in his studio, Vermeer turns this genre painting into an allegory of the art of painting. His model is posing as Clio, the Muse of history, who inspires the painter and proclaims the glory of painting in the old Nether-lands, which she has immortalised in the book of history. The unity of the arts is reflected in the sculpture model, sketchbook and the work in progress on the easel. The map with the 17 provinces of the Netherlands before they were divided into north and south is a reference to a land that had always owed its fame to the art of painting.
The Cuckold Bridegroom – Jan Steen, c.1670 Jan Steen has opulently painted a genre scene with a morally instructive message. A somewhat older bridegroom is leading his reluctant and clearly heavily pregnant bride away from a party to their wedding night. The guests – including the artist, who has painted himself in the middle wearing a blue cape and playing a friction drum – are aware of the bride’s condition: on the right a young man is making the sign of the cuckold, holding up his hand with two spread fingers.
Angelica and the Hermit – Peter Paul Rubens, c.1625/28, Antwerp. One episode in Ariosto’s epic poem “Orlando furioso” (1516) describes how the heroine Angelica is pursued by a hermit who has fallen in love with her. Using his knowledge of magic, he casts a spell on her horse and takes her over the ocean to a remote island. Because she still rejects him, he makes her drink a sleeping potion so that he can kneel before her and admire her beauty.
The Feast of Venus – Peter Paul Rubens, c.1636/37, Antwerp/ A celebration of the omnipotence of love. It is based in part on a description in antiquity of a Greek painting in which a cult image of Aphrodite is decorated by nymphs, with winged cupids dancing around it. Rubens’s great role model, Titian, had been inspired by it in 1518 to create a painting that was later copied by Rubens. The open brushwork and differentiation in the coloration are a profession of admiration for Titian’s late works; the ecstatic intensity in this revival of antiquity is, however, Rubens’s highly personal.
Thank goodness the Kunsthistoriches has so many seating areas – it’s an enormous gallery.
The Holy Family Beneath an Apple Tree – Peter Paul Rubens, c.1630/32, Antwerp.
Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia – Peter Paul Rubens, c.1620, Antwerp.
Self Portrait – Rembrandt, c.1638/40, Antwerp.
The Head of Medusa – Peter Paul Rubens, c.1617/18, Antwerp. This paining is quite a departure for Rubens usual style and is understood to be a political allegory symbolising the victory of Stoic reason over the enemies of virtue… deep!
Winter Landscape – Lucas von Valckenborch, c.1586, Antwerp, Linz and Frankfurt.
The snow is rendered in an impressionistic style that Bruegel apparently used first… photographing falling snow is difficult, so I imagine painting it is equally difficult.
Bow-Carving Amor – Josef Heintz, c.1603, Augsburg and Prague. I think this painting is fascinating – the named subject is almost the background or the architecture of the image, and the eye is immediately drawn to the impish or evil little ‘angel’ who is taking a cruel delight in restraining his companion and digging his nails into them. The actual Bow Carver looks serene and oblivious and is almost superfluous to the composition.
The Miracles of St Francis Xavier – Peter Paul Rubens, c.1617/18, Antwerp.
The Fish Market – Frans Snyders, c.1620/30, Antwerp. This image looks like two different styles, the sill life elements are rendered with exquisite detail, but the figures seem rough and undetailed in comparison – turns out Snyders did the still life fish market parts, but a colleague, Cornelis de Vos. Link to a large much image, the details are awesome: https://www.khm.at/en/objectdb/detail/1797/
The Hieronymus Altar – Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen, c.1511, Amsterdam. The centre picture shows St. Hieronymus as a cardinal with his attribute, the lion, from the paw of which he had pulled a thorn; in the fore-ground we see the kneeling benefactors of the altar; in the background scenes from legends about the saint. Saints are depicted on the wings, while on the outer side is shown High Mass as celebrated by Pope Gregory, to whom Christ appears.
Triptych: The Crucifixion – Roger van der Weyden, c.1440.
St. Johan Miniature Altar – Hans Memling, c.1486/90, Brugge.
Altarpiece of the Archangel Michael – Gerard David, c.1510, Antwerp. Michael triumphs over the powers of evil who appear here in the sinister realism of devilishly strange hybrid creatures. Seven in number, they remind us of the seven cardinal sins. In a small side-scene in the background the angels can be seen, led by Michael, struggling against the fallen angels of Satan, now turned into demons. On the inner wings are St. Hieronymus and St. Antony of Padua, on the outer wings St Sebastian and a female Saint with a boy.
Christ Carrying the Cross – Hieronymus Bosch, c.1450. Wood panel, painted on both sides. Bosch sets the scene in his present so as to make clear to the viewer the immorality of the world. The expression of evil is concentrated in the henchmen’s grimaces, which heralds a new psychological moment in the history of painting, The child with its toddler’s chair and pinwheel on the reverse of the panel has been variously interpreted, by some as the Infant Jesus, by others as an allegory of folly; particularly striking In any case is the contrast established between the child’s innocence and the wickedness in the Passion scene,
Lot and his Daughters – Lucas Cranach the Elder, c.1528, Vienna, Wittenberg and Weimar.
Infanta Margarita in a White Dress – Diego Velázquez, 1656, Seville and Madrid.
Allegory of Vanitas – Antonio de Pereda, c.1634, Madrid. A winged genius embodies “Vanitas”, the reminder of the transience of all things mortal. Objects are arrayed before him in Baroque profusion as if in a still life, which allude to time rapidly draining away, the futility of power and the fleeting nature of life’s joys. The table surface bears the inscription “nil omne” (all is trivial). It may be assumed from such references to the House of Habsburg as the small portrait of Charles V in the genius left hand that the picture was commissioned by the court.
Elisabeth of Valois, Queen of Spain – Alonso Sanchez Coello, c.1560, Madrid.
LEFT: Summer – Guiseppe Arcimboldo, 1563, Vienna Prague and Mailand. RIGHT: Fire – Guiseppe Arcimboldo, 1566, Vienna Prague and Mailand.
LEFT: Winter – Giuseppe Arcimboldo, 1563, Vienna Prague and Mailand. RIGHT: Water – Guiseppe Arcimboldo, 1566, Vienna Prague and Mailand.
Danae – Titian, c.1554, Venice. King Acrisius of Argos locked his daughter Danaë in a tower after an oracle told him she would bear a son who would someday kill him. But Jupiter fell in love with Danaë and came down in the form of golden rain to impregnate her. Their son, Perseus, would later kill his grandfather accidentally with a discus.
St Sebastian – Andrea Mantegna, c.1457/59, Pauda, Verona and Mantua. Chief bodyguard to Diocletian, Sebastian was sentenced to death for his Christian belief. Sebastian received wide-spread veneration, especially as a source of succour in times of plague. The plague that ravaged Padua in 1456/57 may in fact explain the tableau.
Madonna with Child and the Saints Catherine and Jacob the Elder – Lorenzo Lotto, c.1527/33, Venice.
The Madonna of the Meadow – Raphael, c.1505 or 1506, Florence and Rome.
Mary with the Child and the Saints Francis, Catherine and John – Raphael, c.1504, Bologna.
Saint Margret – Raphael, c.1518, Rome. Depicted here with sand worms from Dune!
Bathing Nymphs – Palma Vecchio, c.1525/28, Rome.
Snake, Upper Italian, c.1500-1550. Bronze.
Nautilus Cup, Augsburg, c.1624-1626. Nautilus shell, silver and partially gilded.
Cameos from the 11th to the 14th Centuries.
Aquamanile in the Form of a Griffon, Helmarshausen, c.1120-1130. Gilded bronze, demascened silver, niello and garnet.
Pope Gregory with Scribe, Lorraine, late 10thC, Ivory.
Incense boat, Venice, 15thC, amethyst, gilded silver, traces of enamel.
Klappaltärchen – Small Folding Altarpiece, Northern French, c.1375-1400, gilded silver and enamel.
The Klappaltächen is approximately 6cm x 12cm.
Crosier with the Coronation of the Virign, Venice, late 14thC. Gilded and painted bone.
Two Lidded Beakers, Burgundian-Netherlandish, c.1420/30. Partially gilded silver, enamel, metal foils.
Lidded Cup of imperor Frederick II Burgundian-Netherlandish, C.1473
Partially gilded silver, rock crystal, enamel, metal foils
The arms and inscriptions on this lidded beaker refer to Emperor Frederick III.
Angels present his so called motto, with the metal foils that have them offering one of its many suggest interpretations:
“aquila eíus fuste omnia vincet” – “His eagle will rightly triumph over everything*.
The emperor is said to have received the beaker in 1473 as a gift from Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy.
Medallion with the Nativity and the Epiphany, Lombard, c.1470/80, Silver and enamel.
Virgin and Child, Southern Germany, c.1500 Partially gilded silver.
Chalice, Lower Saxony, c.1475, gilded silver.
Chalice featuring the Arms of the Counts of Hoya, Lower Saxony, 1498, gilded silver.
Rosary Pendant with the Passion of Christ, a so-called Prayer nut, Netherlandish, early 16thC, Boxwood.
Bowl, Venice, late 15thC/early 16thC, copper and enamel.
Bowl with Biblical and Mythological Scenes, Venice, c.1450-1500. Glass with enamel painting.
Billy Goat called Riccio, Padua, c. 1575-1625s. Bronze.
Drinking Satyr – Andrea Briosco, c.1515/20, Padua, bronze.
Sandshaker in the form of a Toad, Padua, c.1500-1525, bronze.
Seated Pan – Pier Jocopo Alari de Bonacoisi, Mantua, c.1519, Bronze.
Boy Strangling Goose – Andrea Briosco, called Riccio (1470 – 1532), Padua, c.1515/20, Bronze Although the Greek original of the “Boy Strangling a Goose” is now lost, a number of Roman marble copies and Pliny’s description of it have survived. Briosco was interested in the genre-like motif of this famous sculpture, its lifelikeness and the several views it offers to the onlooker. His virtuoso miniature version is a deliberate attempt to rival the classical masters. This bronze piece is about 35cm high and has incredible movement in it.
Backgammon Board and Gaming Pieces, c.1537. Oak, nut wood, rosewood, palisade r, mahogany and bronze.
The Portrait of the Ruler as a Propaganda Medium During their lifetime various types of portraits in different media depicting the imperial brothers Charles V and Ferdinand / were disseminated throughout Europe. A portrait popularised the sovereign’s features, served as a reminder of him and even represented him when he was absent. The emphasis on family connections with predecessors and/or descendants signalled the continuity of the dynasty’s power.
Medallion with a Portrait of Emperor Charles V, Netherlandish, Mechelen, c1520, gold and enamel.
Portrait of Kaiser Karl V, Southern Germany, after 1520, Limestone.
Winged Altarpiece – workshop of Heinrich Fûllmaurer. German, c.1540. Oil on spruce. This altarpieces has more pictures in it that’s any other contemporary German artwork – it was commissioned for the Protestant church at Montbeliard before the Reformation categorically banned all images from churches.
Cupids Playing – Daniel Mauch (1477-1540), Ulm, c.1520/30, Partially painted pear wood. Playing cupids were a popular motif in early Italian Renaissance sculpture; here, the artist repeats it but adds a special interpretation. The fragmentary inscription on the base tells us that this – only ostensibly harmless – game of three winged children should be read as a reflection of the erotic passions of adults.
Tapestry with the Arms of Emperor Charles V – William de Pannmaker (c.1535-1581). Brussels, c.1540. Wool, silk, gold and silver thread.
Scenes from the Book of Tobias : Tobias introducing his traveling companion to his father. Brussels, c.1540. Wool and silk.
Cabinet – Giovanni Batista Panzeri (c1520-1591), Milan, c.1567-76. Wood gilded iron, damascene gold and silver, bronze.
Cittern Player Automaton, Spanish, c.1500-1600. Painted wood, iron, linen and silk brocade. A mechanism inside this figure of a girl makes her playt he cittern, turnher head and trip along the table. In the 16thC, such androids were prized for their ability to imitate Nature. Such works were a speciality of Juanelo Torriano, celebrated clockmaker to Emperor Charles V.
The Triumph of Death over Chastity, French, early 16thC. Wool and silk. One of a six part series depicting the poem of Triumphs of Petrarch (1304-1374).
Adoration of the Virgin and the Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine – Master of Helligerkreuz. French, c.1410/20, tempera on wood, partially gilded.
Game Board for Chess and Backgammon with Twenty Playing Pieces, Venice, c.1300-1350 (some later alterations). Wood with certosina inlay, Japan, bone, agate, chalcedony, painted clay reliefs and miniatures under rock crystal. In the Middle Ages the game of ches was considered one of the knightly arts. This boards’s numbers figures are based on motifs of the knightly/courtly world and refer to hunting, music, courtly love and the fight against monsters. Very few game boards from the medieval period have been preserved. This one was first documenting the Ambara collection of Archduke Ferdinand II in 1596.
Hexagonal Casket, Embriachi Workshop, Venice, c.1375-1425. Wood with certosina inlay, bone, traces of paint and gilding.
Christ as Judge of the World, Netherlandish or Maaslandish, early 15thC, painted wood.
Ornamental Onyx Ewer – Richard Tourain the Younger (master 1558-1519), Paris 1570. Sardonyx, agate, gold, enamel, rubies, diamonds, emerald, pearl.
Limousine Painted Enamel. In the 16th Century, the French city of Limoges was a European centre for the production of painted enamel tableware. These plates depict the months of the year, modelled on engraves by Etienne Delaunay, they are decorated in grisaille that was in fashion at the French court. The plaster and bowls were never actually used but served purposes of princely ostentation.
Lidded cup with Diana and her companions – Pierre Raymond, Limoges, c.1554. Copper and enamel.
The Cellini Salt Cellar! Working in Rome in 1540, Benvenute Cellini made a wax model for a salt container, a ‘Saliera’, for his patron Ippolito d’Este. He designed a goldsmith’s work so extraordinarily complex that the cardinal decided that only the King of France could commission such a work*. Soon after, Cellini entered the service of the French King, Francis I (1494-1547), who actually commissioned him to carry it out. (*that’s one way to say ‘Dude.. that’s beyond my budget!’)
While working in France, Cellini met other Italian artist who the King had appointed to work on the redesign of his palace in Fontainebleau near Paris – painters such as Rosso Florentino and Francesco Primaticcio Brough formal idea of the Italian Renaissance to France. The style of the “School of Fontainebleau” developed there is considered a French variant on the Mannerism art movement.
The French Kings promoted art and science, partly in competition with the House of Habsburg who were their fiercest opponent in the fight for supremacy in Europe. Francis I collected works by the most famous painters such as Raphael, Titian, Leonardo da Vinci. They also commissioned and purchased tapestries, vessels, cameos goldsmiths’ works and other precious objects. Their artistic quality, refinement and elegance were characteristic of the high culture at the court of the French Kings.
Shell shaped bowl, French, c.1560. Lapis lazuli, gold and enamel.
Pendant with Miniature Portraits of King Charles IX and his mother, Catherine de Medici. François DuJardin (goldsmith, 1543-1587) and François Clouet (painter, 1510-1572). Gold, enamels and miniature painting.
Bowl in the Form of a Ship, Paris, c.1630. Lapis lazuli, gold, enamel, pearl.
Sewing Box – Elia Lencker (master 1562-1597), Nuremberg, c.1577/89. Gilded and painted silver, wood, gemstones and velvet. The top of the little box is covered with a cushion that served as a support for lacemaking. The relives on the outside depicts female figures from teh Old Testament: the Queen of Sheba, Rebecca and Abigail – their virtues clearly designed to serve as an inspiration for the box’s nobles owner. Inside features a number of drawers and compartments.
Lidded Cup, Spanish or Antwerp (?), c.1560. Rhinoceros horn, gold and enamel.
Stationary Horizontal Sundial – Christoph I Schißler, Southern German, c.1564. Gilded copper alloy
Horizontal Sundial in the Shape of a Lute, Southern Germany, c.1550-1600. Copper alloy, gold plated, ivory, glass and silver.
Ever with Handle in the Form of a Serpent, Freiburg im Bresigau or Munich, late 16thC. Rock crystal, gold enamel, emeralds, rubies, pearls.
Pendant Capsule with a Portrait of Duchess Anna of Bavaria – Munich Court Workshop, c.1579/1590. Gold, deep cut enamel, miniature painting.
Pendant with Whistle, Ear Spoon and Toothpick in base – Allegory of Bravery, Augsburg, c.1570/80. Gold, enamel, pearls, rubies, diamonds.
Casket, Nuremberg, c.1560-70. Wood, gilded copper, mother of pearl reverse-side glass painting. The rich decoration of the casket is dominated by reverse side glass painting in lacquer paints with gold foil and depicts the months of the year, the Muses and the Virtues after engravings by the Nuremberg draughtsmen and engraver, Virgil Solis.
Double Cup – Part of a ten piece set, Fredrich Hildebrand, Nuremberg c.1593-1600 Silver, gold-plated, mother of pearl, emeralds, rubies. In 1600, Duke Wilhelm V of Bavaria gave this ensemble to his daughter Maria Anna for her wedding to her cousin, the future Emperor Ferdinand II. It testifies to the close family ties between the houses of Wittelsbach and Habsburg, as well as the great importance of gifts for the holdings of princely art chambers. The mother-of-pearl decoration cites Indian models.
Automaton in the Form of a Ship – Hans Schlottheim (c.1544-1625), Augsburg, c. 1585. Gilded and partially painted silver, copper alloy, iron. Centrepieces in the shape of a ship have a long tradition; the decorative figures and coats of arms glorify the ruler and his empire. A complex mechanism propels the ship across the table while the crew moves to music from inside the ship. As a nightly the cannon also fire a salvo.
Mechanical Celestial Globe Georg Roll (1546-1592) Augsburg, c. 1584.
Gilded and partially pained copper alloy, silver, enamel, wood and iron.
Cruciform Pendant Watch – Konrad Kreisler, Augsburg, c.1600. Gold, enamel, rock crystal, gilded copper alloy and iron.
Lidded Prase Vessel on a High Foot- Octavio Miseroni (1567-1624), Prague, c.1600. Prase, heliotrope, gold, enamel, garnets, citrine, amethyst, hyacinth.
Book cover – Jan Vermeyen (1559-1608), Prague, c.1600-1605. Heliotrope, gold enamel and garnets.
Stacking Box, Munich, 1586. Lathe work: Giovanni Ambrogio Maggiore (c1550-1617). Painting: Georg Hoefnagel (1542-1600). Ivory, body colours.
‘I Trionfi’ Ornamental Basin and Ewer set – Christoph Lamnitzer (1563-1618), Nuremberg, 1601/02. Gilded silver and enamel.
The conventional ewer and basin set that was used at the courtly table for the washing of hands, transformed into a showpiece glorifying the emperor. The rich and complex decoration is inspired by the allegorical poem ‘I Trionfi’ (Triumphs) by Petrarch. Eternity, which crowns the ewer, triumphs over Love, Chastity, Death, Fame and Time.
Mercury – Johann Gregor van der Schardt (1530-1581), Nuremberg, c.1570/1578. Bronze.
Double-headed Eagle with the Coat of Arms of Bohemia – Giovanni Castrucci, Prague c. 1610. Image made of gold and cut garnet, lapis lazuli, cornelian, agate, chalcedony, jasper.
The Annunciation and the Adoration of the Shepherds – Paolo Piazza (1557-1621), Prague, 1602. Painted Alabaster. In the 16thC, Italian painters in particular experimented with various types of stone for cabinet and devotional pictures. Inspired by the stones’ natural colouration and pattern, they incorporated them into their designs. This type of painting flourished at the court of Emperor Rudolph II.
Shell shaped Cup – Hans Kobenhaupt (d.1623), Agate, gilded silver and enamel.
Cup with handles, Southern Germany, c.1675-1700. Amethyst, gold, enamel and garnets.
Lidded Tankard – Andreas Osenbruck of the Miseroni Workshop, Prague, c.1612-19. Jasper, gold, enamel, garnets.
Lidded cup Nikolaus Pfaff (c.1556-1612) Prague, 1611.
Rhinoceros Horn, warthog tusks, gilded, and partially painted silver.
This ornate cup from the Kunstkammer of Emperor Rudolph II has a lid that encases a warthog’s jaw, the tusks of which for the horns of a monstrous face. Together with the small animals, this will have stood for the demonic side of nature, which the healing powers of the rhinoceros horns vessel, seemingly beset with branded coral, were believed to banish.
Drinking Horn in the form of a Dragon Cornelius Gross (1534-1575). Augsburg, c. 1560.
Tortoise shell, gilded silver, enamel and remains of paint.
A tortoise shell Horne, asn an exotic rarity was adapted into a bizarre drinking vessel by an Augsburg goldsmith. The winged dragon stands atop a tortoise and turns its neck aggressively towards the viewer. A small satyr on its back bears the arms of an Earl of Montfort-Tettnang, from whose estate the objected entered the collection of Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol.
The Mercury Beaker, Antwerp, c. 1560. Gold, enamel, emeralds, rubies.
Bear as Hunter – Gregor Bair (master 1573-1604), Augsburg and Munich, c.1580/81. The Bear Hunter is amongst the most popular motifs of the ‘world turned upside-down’ where the quarry becomes the hunter. A drinking cup is unexpectedly hidden in the removable heard, a miniature game board is found in the base and due to a coating, the object smells of ambergris. Hunt, game and drink illustrates forms of courtly amusement. Silver, gold, brass, enamel, irone, ambergris, jewels.
Game Board and Pieces for Draughts and Backgammon – Hans Repfl (c.1550-1600), Innsbruck, c.1575. This game board and its pieces, richly decorated with wooden intarsia and zinc inlay represent Archduke Ferdinand II as sovereign of tyro and Further Austria as a member of the house of Habsburg. The dynastic-genealogical and political program is linked with cosmological aspects represented by reliefs of gods.
Automaton Clock with a Parrot, Southern German, c.1580/90. Bronze, gilded copper, silver enamel, iron and brass.
Clock with Wooden Case – Hans Kiening (c.1505-1586), Füssen im Aligäu, c.1577/78. Wood, painted paper, gilded brass, tin, iron.
Trumpeter Automaton – Hans Schlottheim (1544-1625), Augsburg, 1582. Ebony, palisades, gilded silver, enamel, gilded brass, iron. An ingenious clockwork for the musical mechanism and the movements of the drummers and trumpeters is concealed in the tower.
Coin Cabinet of Archduke Ferdinand II, Augsburg, c. 1580.
Ebony, Ivory, gilded bronze, rock crystal, pearls, glass.
Horoscope Amulet of Wallenstein.
Southern German, c.1600-1610. Rock crystal, gold, gilded silver.
Smelling Salts Bottle in the Form of a Fish, Spanish, 17thC. Gold, enamel and diamonds.
Ornate jug with Cameo Decorations, Flemish Antwerp, c. 1620. Cameos from 14thC to 17thC. Onyx, chalcedony, carnelian, coral; Commesso; Setting: silver, gold-plated, gold, enamel, rubies, diamonds, emeralds, turquoise.
Several cabinets in the imperial treasury of the 17th century were filled with vessels made of precious materials. The position and importance of the House of Habsburg were particularly clearly demonstrated by these showpieces – some of which were commissioned, some of which were gifts. The multi-part setting with cameos, pearls and precious stones as well as the newly established enamel painting determine the rich appearance of many of these works.
Lidded Tankard, Prague, c. 1620/30. Jasper, gold, enamel, rubies.
Phoenix – Master of Furies, c.1600-1625, Salzburg, Ivory. The figure of a bird interpreted as a phoenix demonstrates the play between nature and art typical of princely art and treasuries.The master transformed the smooth elephant tusk into tousled plumage, contrasting the conventional emphasis on the silken, lustrous surface of ivory with the virtuosic differentiation of textures throughout… this thing is FUCKING COOL! I love it.
Table Clock, So-called Mirror Clock. Monogrammist IH, Augsburg or Frankfurt, c. 1670.
Partially gilded silver, gemstones, rubies an enamel.
Precious Natural Matieral in Early Baroque Art – Amber Vessel, c. 1620-1660.
Automaton in the Form of a Galley, Stuttgart, c.1626. Ivory, brass, line, silk, iron. Design: Georg Burrer (d.1627). Carving: Georg Ernst (d.1634), Mechanism: Christoph Schorkfel (1626).
The belly of this warship contains a movement that makes the galley roll over the table and the chained prisoners row. The ship and its crew, carefully executed down to the finest details, was made in Stuttgart by two ivory turners and a clockmaker, whose names are conveyed by a contemporary slip of parchment inside the galley.
Description was missing… we have noticed in some of the side galleries there are so many objects crammed into display cabinets and there are no descriptions on them at all! This collection is so enormous – any single one of these items would get a room to itself and a full wall of explanation if it were in a museum in the southern hemisphere!
Ulrich Baumgartner Cabinet.
Ebony, agate, turquoise, jasper, copper, enamel, bronze, ivory, mother of pearl, coral and shells.
Cabinet: Augsburg, c. 1631-34.
Stand later addition : Georg Haupt (1741-1784), Stockholm, 1776.
Collection of 16thC earrings, with no further descriptions:
Again, no description – but thes were such a beautiful objects. Flowers carved from solid stone, in vases made from solid stone with silver filigree handles set with garnets. Gorgeous.
Calculator – Anton Braun (1686- 1728), Vienna, 1727. Gided and partially tinned brass. The clockmaker, optician and mechanic to the Viennese court, Anton Braun, created this pinwheel machine for the mechanised computation of various basic arithmetical operations and dedicated it to Emperor Charles VI. The device was primarily conceived for land surveying calculations.
Late Roman Rings, 3rd-4th C, from Cibolae (Vincovel, Croatia). Gold.
Jupiter Dolichenus, Bronze, solid cast, bull partly hollow, pedestal made of bronze sheet. The god stands on the back of a bull, dressed in a Phrygian cap, long sleeved undergarment, muscle armour, cloak and half boots. In his right hand he holds the double axe (only the handle remains). In his left a lightning bolt. The inaction names the veteran Marius Ursinus as the donor… all that and no date?
Gold treasure of Nagyszentmiklos, Early Middle Ages, 7th-9th Centuries AD. Found in 1799, Nagyszentmiklos (now Sannicolau Mare, Romania).
Maximianus I, Herculeus. 293/294 AD. Gold, inlays of garnet.
Gold bracteate pendant. Gold inlaid with garnet.
Jewellery form the Early Migration Period. 400-450C AD. Gold, partly with garnet inlays Neck ring, bent into a horse bridle. From Kronstadt (Brasov, Romania)
Finger rings, Byzantine of Byzantine styles. 6-7thC AD. Gold.
Golden Brooches. Two roll brooch. Three button brooch. Gold brooch.
Gold Basket Earrings. From Ceneda Italy, c.6-7thC.
Gold Jewellery: Gold with garnet inlays. Pair of Earrings. Necklace with pendants. Necklace. Pair of bracelets with animal heads. Finger rings. Plates with gold glass inlay.
Brooch with Inscription: “VTERE FELIX” – “USE IT WITH LUCK” Roman, end of 3rdC AD. Gold, openwork technique, filigree and granulation decoration
Treasure found by Stiagysomiyo, East Germanic, deposited c.550AD. Found in 1797 in Sailegysmolyo (today Simlue Silvaniei, Romania) Body Chain with 52 Pendants. Gold, smokey quartz.
Onyx Fibula. Roman, 3rdC AD. From the grave find at Osziropataka (today Ostrovany, Eastern Slovakia). Gold, open work technique, onyx.
Century Brooch, Roman late antiquity. C.460AD. Found in Rebreny (near Nagymihaly, today Michalow). Gold, onyx, garnet, amethyst, glass paste.
Belt Buckle with Cell Inlay, c. 500-550AD. Bronze, inlays: glass and pearl.
NECKLACE WITH PENDANTS – Silver Treasure from Zalesie, Byzantine-provincial. Late 6th – 7th century AD. Found in 1838 in Zalesie (Ukraine). Silver, decorated with filigree and granulation, partially gold-plated. Inlays: glass.
Grave Find from Assmeritz, Germanic, c.400AD. Found in 1818 near Assmeritz (today Nasoburky, Czech Replubic.
Grave find from Alt-Ofen (Budapest, Hungary), c.460AD. Pair of polyhedron earrings. Gold earrings with garnet inlays.
Temple Jewellery Eagle Heads, Small Bells. Based on a Byzantine model, 100-750AD. From Rackeve (Hungary). Gold, blue glass inlay.
BELT COMPONENTS: Bronze; partly white metal coating. Decorative disc, from Worms (Germany) Belt buckle, from Dunapentele (Hungary) Belt buckles, counter plate, From Reims (France)
Gemma Augustea, Roman, 9 – 12 AD Two-layered sardonyx, setting: gold ring, back in ornamented openwork
In the upper strip of the picture, Augustus is enthroned in the costume and pose of Jupiter, holding a scepter and augur’s staff. To his right sits Roma, the patroness of the city. Between the heads of the two figures is Capricorn, the star of Augustus’s birth, and at his feet is the eagle. On the right side is a group of allegorical figures: Oikumene, the inhabited earth (she holds a wreath of oak leaves over the emperor’s head), Okeanos: the personification of the sea, and Italia with a cornucopia and two boys. Next to Roma stands Augustus’ great-nephew, Germanicus, in officer’s uniform. On the left, Tiberius, the emperor’s stepson and designated successor, climbs down from a chariot of two horses driven by Victoria; he is crowned with laurel and holds a long sceptre.
In the lower strip of the picture, gods (3) erect a tropaion (victory monument) and lead captured barbarians towards them. The depiction may refer to the suppression of the Dalmatian uprising: on January 16, 10 AD, the commander-in-chief of the Roman troops, Tiberius, entered Rome; here he appears before the emperor as the victor.
Negau Helmet with Harigastin Inscription, Italian-Slovenian type, c.450-500BC. From the Zenjak-Negau (Slovenia) Hoard, cast and re-embossed bronze.
The bronze helmet, decorated with rows of punched ornaments, is one of the oldest Negau helmets from the Zenjak-Negau hoard. It owes its fame to the inscription that was carved into the brim in a North Italian, probably Venetian or Rhaetian, alphabet.
The owner’s inscription “harigastiteiva” written from right to left mentions the presumably Gaermanic name, Harigast and is therefore one of the oldest known Germanic language monuments. “Teiva” is probably to be interpreted as his second name. The end of the text is marked by three slashes followed by two filler characters. The character sequences “IIXIIX” are engraved in two other places on the brim, though their meaning is unclear – they could be numerals of ownership or manufacturers marks.
Stamnos With Underworld Scene, Faliscan red-figure, c.325-300BC, Clay. The deceased is depicted in the centre, she sits on her cloak and plays the layer. In front of her a female demon of death raise one of its snake-entwined arms threatening, while Charun rushes towards her from behind a dragon-like snake. The Etruscan demon of the underworld whose name comes from the Unified Man of the Dead, Charon. The twisted handles end in a sea monster on each side.
Achilles and Penthesileia Volute Krater Apulian red-figure, 2nd quarter of the 4th century BC, Clay. Reading vases is a particular skill – one which I have never acquired, so I was thankful for the placards: This krater was created in one of the leading Apulian workshops in Taranto in the second quarter of the 4th century BC and is attributed to the Ilioupersis Painter. Scene belongs is the battle for Troy: the death of Queen Penthesileia in the arms of Achilles. After the death of Hector, the Amazons came to the aid of the Trojans. Penthesileia is fatally wounded by Achilles, but they fall in love. The Amazon queen has fallen from her horse, Achilles is holding the collapsing queen. On the left is a mounted Amazon with the queen’s horse rearing up. Above is the goddess Nike and the love god Eros, with wreaths in their hands. On the back, the god Dionysus sits in a circle of two maenads and a satyr.
Amphora with Volute Handles, Malacena Genus, 3rdC BC.
Clay Urns from Chiusi, painted on white ground, 2nd C BC – Hero with Ploughshare Lid, Lying Woman. The Etruscan inscription pained on the farm reads: Baninei : spectunic” and names the deceased: Larthia from the family Thansina Spetu.
LEFT: Warrior Eye Cup, c.525 BC CENTRE: Duel Fight Belly Amphora With Lid, c.550 BC RIGHT: Dionyious Satry and Manaden Amphora, c.525 BC
LEFT: Athena Pseudo-Danathen Amphora, c.525 BC CENTRE: Kyathos Teamwork, c.500 BC RIGHT: Xenocles Pottery Inscription Rim Bowl, c.500BC
LEFT: Left food with Sandal-Figuratory Vessel, c.500 BC CENTRE-LEFT: Oinochoe in the Form of a Female Head, c.470 BC CENTRE: Oidipus and the Sphinx White Based Lekythos, c.500 BC CENTRE-RIGHT: Lion and partner White-ground lekythos, c.490 BC RIGHT: Riding Amazon and Warrior White-ground Oinochoe, c.480 BC
Mythological Due Fligths and Soul Weighing Lebes (Mixing Vessel), Aryan black-figure, 540 – 530 BC. From Caere (Cervetert, Italy).
Lion Hunting Sarcophagus, Roman, c.270-290 AD. The owner of the tomb is depicted hunting wild animals on horseback with his companions and servants. To his left stands Virtus with a helmet on his head; embodying the bravery and virtue of the deceased. As lion hunting was a privilege of princes and kings this subject infers high social rank of the deceased. Lions also symbolise victory and stood as a grave guard to ward off evil and a symbol. Sarcophagi like this one were made in advance with the main figures facial features to be added for the tomb’s eventual owner.
Bottle from Pinguente, Gallo-Roman, 2ndC AD. From Pinguente (Bizet, Croatia).
Gold Necklace, 2nd C AD. The fashion of using coins as jewellery became widespread in the later Roman Imperial period from the end of the 2nd C AD, gold coins set in wide settings were worn as pendants on necklaces. This became a particularly popular art form in Egypt. Necklace consists of four braided chains – adjustable length using two ball sleeves. Four gold coins with Faustian the Elder (died 141 AD), her husband Emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161), as well as the Emperors Marcus Aurelius (161-180) and Gordian III (238-244).
Relief Crater, Roman, c. 100 BC.
Grimani Relief Liwin with Young, Roman, 50-100 AD.
Grave Relief of Dionysius and Melitine, Eastern Greek, 200-150 BC.
Theseus and Ariadne Mosaic, Roman 2ndC BC. Left: Ariadne hands Theseus the ball of wool. Middle: Theseus defeats the Minotaur. Above: Theseus and Ariadne board the ship. Right: The abandoned Ariadne on Naxos. The surrounding pattern represents the Labyrinth.
Four-headed Sphinx, Roman, 250-300 AD.
Barricade from a New Year’s Pavilion. Late Period 26th Dynasty, reigns of Psammetichus I and II, 664-589 BC.
Sarcophagus of the priest Pa-nehem-isis, Ptolemaic Period, 2nd C BC from Samaria Greywacke. There is hardly any undecorated surface on this sarcophagus – the tests and representations (gods of the hereafter worship of the sun, the mummy on a bier etc). Most of the texts deal with the sun’s nocturnal journey through the underworld.
Statue group of the god Horus and King, Haremha, New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, reign of Haremhab, C.1343 – 1315 BC, Limestone. The king wears the nemes-headcloth with uraeus-serpent and the Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. Horus is depicted with a man’s body but the head of a falcon. As early as the Early Dynastic Period, Horus was worshipped as a sun god and god of the heavens; like the king, he wears a pleated kilt and the Double Crown.
Upper part from a statue of Thutmose III, New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, Reign of Thutmost III, 1504-1452 BC. Despite the absence of an inscription naming the king depicte in this smiling idealised likeness, he can be identified by its similarly to other securely dates sculptures of him. Here he wears the names, the traditional royal striped head cloth, with a rearing serpent at his brown and king’s wavy false beard.
Stele of Nes-imen, Late Period, 1st half of the 26th Dynasty, c.600-650 BC, Perhaps from Abydos Painted limestone. An offering scene is depicted below the gable of this stele. Nes-omen, an ointment cone on his head, presents offering pile high on a table to the golds Isis and Osiris. In addition to the standard request for offerings for himself, Nes-imens 6 line text includes his genealogy going back three generations.
Decorative Collar – Old Kingdom, end of the 5th to the beginning of the 6th Dynasty, ca. 2450-2350 BC. From Giza, western cemetery. Decorative collar: Faience, gold foil.
Statuette of a hippopotamus, Middle Kingdom, 11th- 12th Dynasty, ca. 2000 BC. Presumably from Thebes. Faience, greenish-blue glaze, painted. Statuettes depicting hippopotami, symbolic of a beloved Grabbeigabe, regeneration in the hereafter, were popular grave goods that were placed close to mummies.
LEFT: Coffin of Hor, Ptolemaic period, around 3rd century BC, Wood; stucco, painted, gilded. RIGHT: Coffin of Ptah-irdis, Ptolemaic period, around 3rd century BC, Probably made of el-Hiba wood; stucco, painted.
Left: chest with bird figure Ptolemaic period, around 3rd-2nd century BC Wood; stucco, painted Acquired before 1824
Ptah-Sokar-Osiris- Statuette Ptolemaic period, around 3rd-2nd century BC Wood; Stucco, painted Old inventory
Ptah-Sokar-Osiris statuette Ptolemaic to Roman period, c. 2nd – 1stC BC Wood; stucco, painted
Lid of the sarcophagus of Chedeb-neith-iret-binet. Late Period, 25h Dynasty, ca. 600 BC
Coffins from the 2nd cachette in Deir el-Bahari In 1891 the Egyptian antiquities administration undertook excavations at the Temple of Hathepsut in Deir el-Bahari. On the edge of the temple precinct, a shaft was discovered which turned out to contain a great many burials (known as cachette – complete with coffins, mummies, and funerary equipment), which had been hidden from tomb robbers in antiquity. A few years earlier a cachette of royal burials had also come to light at Thebes. The 2nd cachette included 153 burials of priests. Because the finds were so numerous, the Egyptian government made gifts of them to museums worldwide. Along with some other items, the coffin ensembles of Nes-pauti-taui and Ta-baket-nit-chensu each comprising inner and outer coffins with mummy boards – came to the Kunsthistorisches in Vienna.
Interesting… so I’d been walking through the Egyptian galleries thinking ‘they gotta give this shit back’ and Egypt has (had?) so much of it they were deliberately sending it away?!
Western Thebes, Deir el-Bahari, 2nd cachette. Wood; cartonage, painted; varnish 1893, gift of the Egyptian government.
The inner coffin of the priestess Ta-baktet-nit-chensu is of the set that also included an outer coffin (1). The Goddess of the West is depicted inside, on the floor of the basin.
The yellowish-orange colour of the background for the figures is characteristic of coffins during this period. Also typical is the varnish that dims the colours.
The Kaiserliche Schatzkammer or the Imperial Treasury of Vienna! Where we are hoping to see all the things that we have seen copies of so far! lol For people into medieval embroidery or early medieval gold work, this place really is a treasure trove. I was super excited to be here, before we even entered the building.
Tabard of the Herald of the Princely County of Tyrol -Johann Fritz (embroider) Vienna, 1838, Silver lamé, velvet, gold, silver and silk embroidery, silver fringing braid.
From the Left: 1) Staff of the Grand Controllers – Southern German, 1600-1610. 2) Staff of the Grand Steward of the County of Gorlzia – Southern German, c.1660. 3) Staff of the Hungarian Grand Equerry – Vienna, 1700-1725. 4) Staff of the Grand Comptroller – Vienna, 1835. 5) Cane of the Grand Equerry – Vienna, 1790-1800. 6) Staff of a Master of Ceremonies – Vienna, 1800-1850. 7) Staff of a Junior Master of the Table – Vienna, 1800-1810. Staff of the Grand Master of the Table – Vienna, 1835. 8) Staff of a Master of Ceremonies – Vienna, 1800-1835. 9) Staff of a Grand Master of Ceremonies – Vienna, 1850-1900…. Wood or cane, bronze, gilded, and silver mounts.
The Hereditary Banner of Austria. Austria, c.1705. Silk, damask, embroidered with metal and silk threads.
Keys of the Imperial Chamberlain, from 1711 to 1918. As a sign of their privileged status chamberlains at the Habsburg court wore a key that symbolized their access to the ruler’s chambers. The office of chamberlain was reserved to members of the high nobility. The holders of this office belonged to the “first society” and were part of the emperor’s retinue at official ceremonies. The falconer’s gear as well as the tabards and staffs on view here are similarly the insignia of various officials or families in the hereditary lands and indicate their rank and status.
Dog Collar, Insignia of the Grand Master of the Hunt, Vienna, 1838. Velvet, leather gold embroidery. Mounts silver mounted.
Austrian Archducal Coronet of Joseph II, c.1764. Silver glided, diamonds, semi-precious stones removed. As early as the reign of Duke Rudolf IV (1339-65) the Habsburgs pursued the goal of being raised to the dignity of archduke. Their claim was finally recognized in 1453, and the archducal coronet, an insignia resembling a crown became the official symbol of Habsburg rule in the hereditary lands. Such an insignia was created for Archduke Joseph in 1764 based on medieval models. The coronet’s gold foil frame, or “carcass”, is exhibited in this room. The jewels were soon removed from the coronet to be used for other purposes.
Insignia for the Hereditary Grand Master Falconer, Vienna, 1835. Leather, velvet, gold braid, gold embroidery and feathers. Falconers pouch and two falcon’s hoods.
Tabard for the Herald of the Roman King, Vienna, 1600-1650; gold lamé, satin, gold embroidery, finger border, glass beading.
Tabard for the Herald of the Roman Emperor, Vienna, 1613 and 1719. Gold lamé, silk and glass.
Tabard for the Herald of Emperor Francis I Stephen, Vienna, 1775-1750. Velvet, satin, gold and silver lamé, gold silver and silk embroidery, gold and fringe border.
Tabard for the Herald of the King of Bohemia, Vienna, 1600-1700. Velvet, gold and silver embroidery, fringing braid, glass beading.
Tabard for the Herald of the King of Hungary, Vienna, 1600-1700. Silver lamé, gold, silver and silk embroidery, fringing braid.
Crown of Emperor Rudolf II, later crown of the Austrian Empire Jan Vermeyen goldsmith, Prague, 1602. Gold, enamel, diamonds, rubies, spinels, sapphires, pearls, velvet
Imperial orb for the crown Rudolf II. Andreas Osenbruck goldsmith, Prague, 1612-1615. Gold, enamel, diamonds, rubies, sapphire, pearls.
Sceptre for Emperor Matthias for the crown of Rudolf II. Andreas Osenbruck Goldsmith, Prague, 1615. Ainkhürn (narwhal tooth), gold, enamel, diamonds, rubies, sapphire, pearls.
Ceremonial robes of a Knight of the Hungarian Order of St Stephen, Vienna, c.1764. Velvet, fake ermine, gold and silver embroidery, gimped embroidery in gold.
Robes of a Knight of the Austrian Order of Leopold, Joseph Fisher (1769-1822), Vienna, c.1808. Gros de tours, fake ermine, gold embroidery, metal foil, ostrich feather, silk
Mantle of the Austrian Emperor, designed by Philipp von Stubenraüch (1784-1848), Vienna, c.1830. Velvet, gimped embroidery in gold, Paulette’s, gold braid, ermine and silk.
Robes of a Knight of the Austrian Order of the Cross, designer Philipp von Stubenraüch (1784-1948), Vienna 1815/16. Velvet, silver embroidery, leather silver embroidery.
Conronation vestments of the Kingdom of Lombardy and Venetia, Designer Philipp von Stubenraüch (1784-1848), Vienna, 1838. Velvet, gimped embroidery, gold, ermine, moiré, gold and silver embroidery.
The Robes worn by King of Bohemia as Elector, Vienna or Prague, c. 1625-1650… Mantle, gloves and matching ermine hat.
Jewellery Box of Empress Marie Louise, Paris, 1870, silver gilded velvet. Martin Guillaume Biennais (1764-1843) and Augustin Dupré (1748-1833).
Marie Louse, Empress of the French (1791-1847). Francois Pascal Simon Gerard, Paris, 1812, oil on canvas.
Cradle of the King of Rome, Paris, 1811. Silver gilded, gold, mother of pearl, velvet, silk, tuile, gold and silk embroidery. Designers and craftsmen: Pierre-Paul Prud’hon (1758-1823), Henri-Victor Roget (1758-1830), Jean-Baprise-Claude Odiot (1733-1850), Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751-1843).
Ewer and Basin used for Imperial Baptisms, Spanish Master, 1571, gold and partly enamelled.
Egg Cup form the estate of King Louis XVI of France (1754-1793), Paris, c.1774/80. Silver gilded.
Family Tree showing Kings and Emperors from the House of Habsburg. Gold and chalcedonies. Tree: Vienna, 1725-30. Intaglios: Christoph Dorsch (1675-1732), Nuremberg, 1725/30/
Cameo showing the Portrait fo Emperor Franz I – Giovanni Beltrami (1777-1854). Made before 1840. Onyx, and enamelled gold.
Set of Jewels from the estate of Archduchess Sophie (1805-1872), Paris, 1809/19. Gold, silver, diamonds, emeralds, topazes.
Emerald Unguentarium, Dionysius Miseroni, Prague, c.1641. Emerald 2860 carat, enamelled gold. ‘As early as the 17th century the 2,680-carat emerald vessel was regarded as one of the most famous objects in the Imperial Treasury. The tremendous value of this unique showpiece, whose lid was cut out of the jewel’s interior, is illustrated by the story that Genoese jewellers declined to value it as security for a loan which Emperor Ferdinand III (1608-57) sought, avowing that they were not accustomed to dealing with such large pieces.’ Sadly the light in here is so bad, that I had to pluck an image off the internet.
Crown of Stefan Bocskay, Turkish, c.1605. Gold, precious stones, pearls and silk.
Case for the Crown of Stefan Bocskay, Turkish, c.1605. Fabric: Persian, c.1600, wood and silk.
The “Two Considerable Treasures” – Emperor Ferdinand I (1503-64) bequeathed to his successor, Emperor Maximilian II, two treasures of special importance: an enormous agate bowl (about 50cm across), and the “Ainkhürn” or unicorn horn. It was laid down that these two pieces would forever remain in the possession of the eldest male member of the family in perpetuity as ‘inalienable heirlooms’ and could not be sold or given as gifts.
Agate Bowl, Constantinople, 300-400AD. Carved from a single piece of agate.
“Ainkhürn”or Unicorn Horn. Ferdinand I received the “Ainkhürn” as a gift from King Sigismund II of Poland in 1540. During this age the mythical unicorn was thought to be an actual animal, which might only be captured in a virgin’s lap. The unicorn was thus regarded as an allegory of Christ, and its horn a symbol of divine power, from which secular dominion was derived. The horn, which was also thought to be an antidote to poison, was traded in Europe at tremendous prices. Only in the 17th century was it recognized that what had been believed to be unicorn’s horn was in fact the twisting tusk of the narwhal (Monodon monoceros).
Christophorus Relief, Upper Rhine, c.1475-1500, cast copper, gold-plated, glass stones.
Chalice from the Propety of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico. Circle of the Rondino Di Guerrino, Sienna, c.1375. Silver, gold plated copper, pit enamelled.
Late Gothic Chalice, Hungary, c.1500. Gold plated silver, gemstones.
Chalice with the Motto of Emperor Friedrich II, Southern Germany likely Nuremberg, 1438. Gold plated silver.
Blue Tunicella (Dalmatia), Palermo, Royal Court Workshop, 1125-1150. Silk, gold embroidery, small gold tubes, gold with cloisonné enamel, pearls, tablet weave.
The semi-circular Coronation Mantle of red silk was produced in Palermo in the 12th and early 13th centuries; with its depiction of a lion subduing a camel, the long, richly embroidered outer garments-blue tunicella and white alba-as well as shoes, stockings and gloves together with the belt reflect, (in part based on their inscriptions in part on other evidence), a connection with the Norman kings of Sicily. The overall design and elements of the decoration are derived from the court attire of Byzantine emperors. The older textiles probably came to the Empire through the Hohenstaufen emperor Henry VI. He married the Norman princess Constance in 1186 and became king of Sicily in 1194. In the empire they were apparently thought to be priestly vestments, used for coronations and complemented by additional textiles.
Coronation Mantle, Palermo, Royal Court Workshop, 1133/34. Samite silk, gold and silk embroidery, pearls, enamel, filigree, precious stones, tablet weave.
OMG… finally a chance to see this! I’ve been looking at pictures of these objects in books for nearly three decades. I can’t believe I get to see them in person.
The Eagle Dalmatic, South German, c.1330/40. Red silk twill damask, embroidery in silk, gold, small axinites.
The Stola (below) imitates a ‘loros’ an older type of textile of Byzantine or Norman origin. The six metre-long sash of yellow silk was decorated with black imperial eagles in medallions, only one of which has been preserved. Differently than the original manner of wearing the “loros”, in the medieval Holy Roman Empire the long sash was worn as a priest’s stola, that is forming a cross across the breast. This can be seen in Albrecht Dürer’s famous portrayal of Charlemagne (Room 11). The purple Dalmatic is embroidered with eagles and crowned heads. In this way the wearer of the garment is associated both with the heraldic beast of the Holy Roman Empire and his predecessors as king.
Alba, Palermo, Royal Court Workshop, c.1181 with later additions. Taffeta silk, Samite silk, fold wire embroidery, pearls, precious stones and tablet weave.
Stole, Italy, before 1328. Louise silk, gold threads, pearls, silver gilded appliqués with graduation, champlevé enamel and glass stones.
Imperial Cross, Western German, c.1030. Body: oak, precious stones, pearls, niello. Base: Prague, later additions c.1352, silver gilded enamel.
The Burse of St. Stephen, Carolingian, 800-833. Wooden body, gold, precious, stones, pearls.
Room full of extant herald’s tabards! Mostly 1700s, but just gorgeous.
Herald for the King-At-Arms and Herald of the Archduchy of Brabant, Brussels, c.1717. Embroiderer: Louis Almé. Velvet, gold lamé, appliqué, gold embroidery and fringing braid.
Herald’s Tabard for the King-At-Arms and Herald of the Duchy of Burgundy, Brussels, c.1600-1700. Velvet, silver lamê, fringing braid.
Tabard for a Herald of Maria Theresia (First King at Arms), Brussels, c.1742. Embroiderer: Eldens. Velvet, gold and silver lamé, appliqué, gold, silver and silk embroidery, gold braid.
Tabard for the First King-At-Arms of Archduke Albrecht, Sovereign of the Netherlands. Brussels, c.1599-1621. Velvet, gold and silver lamé, appliqué, gold silver and silk embroidery, fringing braid.
Emperor Maximilian I (1459-1519) – Bernhard Strigel (1460-1519), German, c.1500. Oil on Limewood.
Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy hoped to succeed Emperor Frederick Ill on the throne of the Holy Roman Empire. To achieve his aim, he assented to the marriage of his only daughter Mary to Archduke Maximilian, the emperor’s son and heir. The wedding, however, only took place after the duke’s death in 1477. Mary and Maximilian’s son Philip was born on 19 April 1478, ensuring the “Burgundian heritage” would ultimately remain with the House of Habsburg.
Mary, Duchess of Burgundy (1457-1482) – Francesco Terzio, Southern Germany, c. 1600 terracotta.
Tapestry Showing the arms of Emperor Charles V – weaver: Willem de Pannemaker, Brussels, c.1540. Wool, silk, gold and silver thread.
Tabard for the Stattholder First King-at-Arms, called Towson d’Or (Golden Fleece), Brussels c.1580. Velvet, gold and silver lamé, gold, silver and silk embroidery.
Order of the Golden Fleece Knight’s Chain, Burgundian-Netherlands, c.1435-1465. Gold and enamel.
Potence Chain of Arms of the Herald of the Order of the Golden Fleece, Netherlandish, c.1517. Gold and enamel.
This is one of the most beautiful heraldic objects I’ve never seen. I’ve admired it for years… never thought I’d be able o see it.
I am completely unapologetic for the amount photographs that I took and have added here!
Just when you think the Schatzkammer has delivered up all it’s treasures – the next room contains only some of *the* most famous embroidered objects ever created. I like did a double take when walking in… it was like the first time I saw the Cluny Tapestries all over again. They are so amazing and so beautifully preserved! Just fucking spectacular!
Liturgical Vestments of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Cope of the Virgin, Burgundian, c.1425-1440. Embroidery on linen, metal and silk threads, pearls, pastes (glass), velvet. Hood depicting the virgin.
Liturgical Vestments of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Dalmatic, Burgundian, c.1425-1440. Embroidery on linen, metal and silk threads, pearls and velvet.
Liturgical Vestments of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Cope of Christ (Pluvial), Burgundian, c.1425-1440. Embroidery on linen, metal and silk threads, pearls, pastes (glass), velvet. Hood depicting the Almighty.
Liturgical Vestments of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Casula, Burgundian, c.1425-1440. Embroidery on linen, metal and silk threads, pearls, pastes (glass), velvet.
Liturgical Vestments of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Cope of John the Baptist, Burgundian, c.1425-1440. Embroidery on linen, metal and silk threads, pearls, pastes (glass), velvet. Hood depicting John the Baptist.
Liturgical Vestments of the Order of the Golden Fleece. ABOVE: Antependium (rear panel), Burgundian, c.1425-1440; the Trinity, prophets and apostles. BELOW: Antependium (front panel), Burgundian, c.1425-1440; Mythical marriage of St Catherine Embroidery on linen, metal and silk threads, pearls, pastes (glass).
Phew! Man, I haven’t been a smoker since May 17th 1997… but damn, after that I need a cigarette and a good lie down. Back out in the Real World, I had to make do with some bratwurst and a Coke Zero! What an amazing visit! I think this has now officially out paced the Museé de Moyen Age as my favourite museum.
München! Oktoberfest, beer, pretzels, and mad kings!
We started off in the Marienplatz just in time to see the massive crowds turning up to watch/listen to the glockenspiel… and it was hot! Even though I know the cafes in the square have sandy lube prices so you can get into some shade to wait for the Thing, I felt today it would be worth it to escape the heat a bit.
Neues Rathaus.
The Nues Rathaus on Marienplatz is where the München mayor, city council and city administration are all headquartered. It was built in several phases starting in 1867 in a neo-Gothic style.
The Rathaus-Glockenspiel is a large mechanical clock located in the Marienplatz Square. It’s known for its life-sized characters which re-enact scenes from Munich’s history twice a day (three times in summer, 11am, 12pm and 5pm). It show little stories of the Marriage of Duke Wilhelm V to Renata of Lorraine in 1568 and the cooper’s dance, aka the Schäfflerstanz which is about the plague of 1517… cheerful, huh? The story goes that the coopers were said to have gone out and danced through the streets encouraging people to leave their homes after being frightened by the plague – sounds familiar… the pandemic is over, come back to the CBD people! The coopers were loyal to the duke and their dancing symbolises loyalty and perseverance. Traditionally the dance is done in Munich every seven years, and was last performed during the Fasching in 2019.
The Glockenspiel has 43 bells, and 32 life-sized figures, and was added tot he Neues Rathaus in 1908, so it’s not as old as it looks. I took a video, but will have to upload it later of find someone else’s video.
We had about 15 minutes to wait for the glock-glock-glock to go off, so sat down for some over priced Coke Zeros and shared some currywurst.
Munich’s Old Town Hall, which now houses a Spielzeug Museum… Toy Museum!
Wiesn-hertz cookies! They’re an Oktoberfest favourite – gingerbread cookies covered in bright coloured icing that often say things like ‘Ich Liebe Dich’.
Did a bit of shopping – might not have been my smartest move to decide to go shopping for a windproof, waterproof snowy weather type jacket while I’m here, but Europe does do it’s cold weather gear so well and I have bought good outer layers in Germany before. I forgot that shopping centre ‘air-conditioning’ here is more of a theory than a practice. :/ It was so hot in the worm! But I did find a good jacket for my next cold weather adventure and because it’s mid-summer, steep discounts, so score!
Right downstairs was a Lego store – with a unique München flavour. Lego pretzels, barmaids, and junge in leiderhosen.
More weisenhertz cookies.
The München Frauenkirche (Cathedral of Our Lady) is late period Gothic church in München’s Altstadt. It is one of the main landmark of Munich and Bavaria. Construction started on the Frauenkirche in the 1460s and it was consecrated in 1494. It is one of the two largest hall churches in the world and one of the largest brick churches north of the Alps. It’s huge – but you know, we’ve just been to Cologne, so we’ve seen bigger.
The Devil’s Footprint.
Legend has it that the Devil wanted to destroy this church. He was sickened to see another church being built in Munchen, and so he decided to destroy it, so he sneaked into the entrance hall (apparently only able to do so because the church wasn’t consecrated yet), and he looked around, laughed out loud and stamped the ground hard. He is said to have left this footprint in the pavement and he left the church. The church was finished and consecrated anyway, and when the devil saw people coming to the new church he went into a rage and tried to bring the building down with a violent storm. But it didn’t work, and they say the Devil and his demons still ‘storm’ around the church today. Occam’s Razor would suggest that some lazy person stepped on this tile before it was properly finished and for whatever reason, they decided to use it rather than discard it… but you know, the devil’s footprint story is far more likely.
From the entrance of the church, the pillars hide the windows of the church hall, you can’t seem them at all until you enter further into the church.
Tomb for Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian, who died in 1347. Designed by Hans Krumpper in 1662. It’s actually a cenotaph or false grave… Old Lugwig’s bones are not in this tomb, they’re in the crypt under the cathedral.
The light in here was really bad and I couldn’t get a good pic – but had to try and record it. This is a medieval altarpiece that has obviously lost its side panel art… and it’s been replaced with (shock, horror!) modern art. Yikes!
The Munich Madonna of Mercy is modelled after the Altötting Madonna and was donated to the Cathedral by the citizens of Munich in 1659. Carved wood and ivory, garments were embroidered in the 18thC.
Couldn’t find any information on this amazing donor painting – will have to have a hunt for details later. But what an amazingly pious, and very large, family the donor had!
Middle section of the Memmingen, c.1860.
In mid 1995, four very weary Slappers arrived in München after a hectic six weeks or so on the road already… we had every intention of doing the Cathedrals and the Museums and seeing all the things! However when confronted with another hot day walking around another city, we instead made it to the Marienplatz, saw the Glockglockglock, and decided to get out of the heat and away from the people and (of all things) we decided to go hide in a dark, quiet air-conditioned space and went to a fucking cinema to see a movie and maybe see the Pinakothek after! Yes… extended travel will do that do you. Eventually you pike; though now we call it, ‘having a Sea Day’. The movie we chose? Forrest Gump.
We bought our tickets, confirmed like, three times, that it was in English and not dubbed. Picked up some popcorn and some drinks and head into the cool dark cinema. We watched the 20 mins of ads (all in German) and looked forward to a couple of hours of cool, dark, escapism. Now, I don’t know if anyone remembers the introduction to Forrest Gump, but it has a long panning scene following a floating feather that falls at Forrest’s feet…
And when Forrest leaned down and picked up that feather, and in something that was definitely NOT Tom Hanks’ voice, he said:
”Hallo. Mein Name ist Forrest. Forrest Gump. Willst du eine Praline? Davon könnte ich ungefähr Millionen essen. Meine Mama hat immer gesagt, das Leben sei wie eine Schachtel Pralinen.”
Well… FUCK. We burst out laughing and went out to see if we could get our money back, being just povo-backpackers in those days. I’ve never forgotten it – we tried! We never made it to the Altes Pinakothek in München that day. Until today, nearly 30 years later… thought I’d go find out whether we missed much
Muchner Biergarten – Max Liebermann, 1884.
The Cathedral – Odilon Redan, 1914.
Margaret Stanborough-Wittgenstein, Gustav Klimt, 1905.
Four Breton Women – Paul Gauguin, 1886.
Water Lilies – Claude Monet, c1915.
Nativity – Te tamari no atua – Paul Gauguin, 1896.
View of Arles – Vincent van Gogh, 1889.
Sunflowers – Vincent Van Gogh, c.1888.
First room… strong start from the Pinakothek!
Large Fish Market – Jan Brueghel, c.1603.
Mary with Child and St Margaret and Dorothea – Bartholomäus Bruny the Elder, c.1515-20.
The Annunciation – Fra Carnevale, c.1445.
LEFT: St Nicholas with a Benefactor – Agnolotti Gaddi, c.1393/96 RIGHT: St Julian – Agnolotti Gaddi, c.1393/96.
Paumgartner Altarpiece – Albrecht Dürer, c.1498/1504… another original as copied at the AD musuem.
Madonna of the Carnation – Leonardo da Vinci, c.1475.
The Lamentation – Sandro Botticelli, c.1490/95.
St Sebastian’s Altarpiece – Hans Holbein, 1516.
Altarpiece of the Church Fathers: St Jerome, St Gregory, St Augustine, St Ambrose. Michael Pacher, 1480.
Diptych: Madonna and the Rose Bower and St Georgie with Donor – Hans Memling, c.1490.
The Annunciation of Mary – Unknown artist, c.1380,
Enthroned Mary with child, the auxiliary virgins, Catherine, Agnes, Apollonia, Barbara and Angels playing music that look like swallows or even bats at at distance. Unknown artist, Cologne, c.1440.
St Luke Drawing the Virgin Mary – Roger van der Weyden, c.1484.
Adoration of the Kings, also known as the St Columba Altarpiece – Roger van der Weyden, 1455. FUCKING STUNNING! These pics do not do it any justice whatsoever once they have been shrunk for the inter-webs.
LEFT: Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria – Hans Wertinger, 1526. RIGHT: Duchess Maria Jacobea of Baden – Hans Wertinger, 1526. Marraige alliance portraits, with details of her frock because it’s fabulous! Beadwork lettering across her bodice reads: ‘A BON FINE’ (to a good end!).
Portrait of Oswolkt Krel – Albrecht Dürer, 1499… yes! The real Oswolkt, not the copy at the AD Musuem.
Self-Portrait with Fur Trimmed Robe – Albrecht Dürer, c.1500.
The Battle of Alexander at Issus – Albrecht Aldorfer, c.1529.
This is a gorgeous art gallery stuffed full of so many important and beautiful paintings!
The Crowing of the Virtuous Hero – Peter Paul Rubens, c.1613/14,
The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus – Peter Paul Rubens, c.1618. “The abduction of the king’s daughters came to a deadly end when Castor und Pollux were killed during the pursuit. Although twins, they were the offspring of two different fathers. Castor was the son of Tyndareus, the King of Sparta, and therefore mortal; this was not the case with Pollux, the son of Jupiter. When Pollux asked not to be separated from his brother, both were transformed into celestial bodies. Through the complex composition that suggests a number of different views and the sensual rendering of textures Rubens demonstrates the superiority of painting over sculpture.”
This image feels a bit problematic to me… while those women look like they are being ‘ravished’ they don’t look like they’re fighting too hard, and the wee little cherub looking on innocently seems unconcerned and nonchalant. If it weren’t for the title and the blurb, you could mistake it for an unenthusiastic and ill-located orgy.
Madame de Pompadour – François Boucher, 1756 Official mistress of Louis XV of France, she is presented here in an elaborate tea dress surrounded by books and correspondence alluding to her political influence at court.
The Land of Cockaigne – Pieter Bruegel, 1567. Fabulous theme of the sins of idleness and gluttony/lethargy and surrendering to vice and how it pervades all social classes – the soldier, the peasant, and the learned man.
Twins of 33 Weeks – Aelbert Cuyp, c. 1625/49… is there something wrong with these kids?
Head of an Old Peasant Woman – Pieter Bruegel, c.1563.
Italia and Germnania – Friedrich Overbeck, c. 1828
I thought I would finish up on this image… because I can totally feel this woman! Vittoria Caldoni – Friedrich Overbeck, c. 1821.
Well, what an amazing museum! Chock full of gorgeous pieces and some truly iconic pieces of Northern Renaissance art. I have always regretted not seeing it years ago, but to be honest, I think I probably got much more out of it seeing it now with a couple of more decades of art history knowledge under my belt.
Short drive today to Nuremberg. Uneventful for the most part, though we were mightily amused by this road sign telling drivers to slow down to 120 kmph for roadworks… for serious, it was needed though. We were in a 130 zone on the autobahn and doing roughly the speed limit with people whizzing past us like we were standing still. I don’t know how there aren’t more accidents here… but I bet when they do connect it’s horrific.
Given Europe’s typical Mondayitis, there were quite a few places that were not open today, but thankfully the well famous Nuremberg Castle wasn’t closed. Also known as the Nürnberger Burg, the castle is actually a large complex of medieval fortified buildings built on a ridge that overlooks the historical Altstadt of Nuremberg. Well located in Bavaria, the castle and its formidable city walls are considered one of Europe’s most impregnable fortified castles. The whole place was designed to represent the power and influence on the Holy Roman Empire and the distinctive role the Imperial City of Nuremberg held.
The main entrance (above) isn’t that much to look at, but as soon as you make your way into the castle walls, the extent and size of the fortress becomes apparent.
The construction of the castle was originally started around 1000, and after that there were three main periods of expansion that can be seen. 1) the main castle built under the Salian kings and respective Holy Roman Emperors front he period of about 1027-1125, 2) a newer castle section that was built under the Hohenstaufen Emperors from 1138-1254 and the reconstructed areas of the castle that became more palace in the later medieval period.
In the Middle Ages, the city of Nuremberg was one of the larges and organised municipalities in all of Europe, and was at various periods the Imperial Capital.
I could not get over the sky today – the clouds just looked absolutely surreal, and the sky so blue, I thought we were in the tropics.
The stunning panorama from the ramparts of the castle looking over the medieval city of Nuremberg.
Inner courtyard of the main keep… the buildings are so beautiful and we were fortunately not swamped with people when we arrived that I went a little nuts with the photos…
The building on the left here has been converted into a super modern cafe, but thankfully on the outside, it is still in keeping with its medieval location.
Even the museum entrance/exit and gift shop are well hidden.
Views over the city through old glass windows.
Doorway from the palace hall to the private imperial chapel.
A strongbox… sadly without a description plaque.
The private imperial chapel – there is a large hole in the floor, and another hall below where commoners could come to hear services without interacting with the castle’s more elevated inhabitants! This double chapel saw daily masses since 1216. The Emperor’s, (top part of the) chapel was likely only used when the emperor/king was in residence and was only accessible through the upper hallways of the ruler’s chambers.
Stone relics ‘The Resurrection of Christ’ and ‘The Ascension of Mary’, Augsburg, c.1530.
The side altar of the Emperor Frederick III. Figures from the shrine are (left to right) Charlamagne, St Henry, St Kunigunde, St Helena of Nuremberg, c.1487/.
Figures below are wings from a larger, now lost, altarpiece, c.1401.
Mother of God, Nuremberg, c.1450-1460… this is one of a small collection of Nuremberg Madonna’s that are characterised by being life-sized and close to resembling natural people.
These frescos are believed to have been installed prior to a visit from Charles V, King of Spain who was crowned King in 1520 and referred to himself as the ‘Chosen Roman Emperor’. Frescoes attributed to Hans Weiditz, Augsburg, c.1519.
Looking down from the Emperor’s Chapel at the multi-layered chapel for the masses.
Relief of Emperor Ludwig IV the Bavarian, from the Nuremberg Town Hall, c.1340, cast after a model in Munich… sigh. Hate this shit : a lot of the info I’m saving is acquired by translating stuff after we leave a place. I’m looking at these things in situ and thinking, that doesn’t look right, get some time later and translate any info only to find out that we are looking at a late 18thC plaster replicas or something. :/
Same with this one… Monumental statue of Emperor Charles IV from the Old Town Bridge Tower of Prague’s Charles Bridge, Peter Parker, c.1370-1400. Original in sandstone, cast (below) in plaster.
Magnificne manuscript of the Golden Bull, Prague, 1400, leather, pen and parchment… reads the first half of the description. There’s a running them here; it’s a facsimile the original is in Vienna, in the Austrian National Library. The codex of constitution documents were commissioned by King Wenceslas c.1378-1400 and oh who gives a shit, this is a copy as well executed as some of my more proficient SCA calligrapher friends could make.
Humpback cup, Ellington & Co, Birmingham, c.1886. Copper brass, gilding… another fucking copy – is nothing in this museum original? The original 16thC cup is somewhere else and it doesn’t even tell us. The cup and other objects were part of the ceremonial table dictated for use in the Golden Bull.
Holy Lance: Replica! Holy Hand Grenade: Replica! Holy Dagger thing: Replica! The original objects symbolised the military strength of the head of the empire of Otto I (936-973).
The room had these neat – but obviously modern – reliefs that depicted the famous and important houses of Nuremberg. For some reason these didn’t bother me so much, as they weren’t accompanied by an info plaque and obviously weren’t pretending to be medieval artefacts. *shrug*
Coronation of Ludwig IV the Bavarian, in Milan as King of Italy on May 31, 1327, work attributed to Agostino Di Giovanni (c. 1310-1370)… or at least the original marble one was. This is a plaster case made in Munich.
Oh thank fuck!!! I really enjoyed looking at this glass tankard, and was just now sitting here thinking, it was probably painted by some dude named Hans last week!
Imperial Eagle Tankard, 17thC glass, enamel painted, Nuremberg. The double headed eagle was often the motif of imperial allegories and represented the structure and significant of the empire. The quaternion eagle has the individual coats of arms on its wings of the various imperial estates.
So, for the sake of representation there were some large information plaques which detailed these very famous objects associated with the Crown Treasury of Nuremberg and the Holy Roman Empire. The crown, dalmatic, and under tunic in particular are objects I am hoping to see at the Kunsthistoriches… but they’ve obviously been included here for education’s sake – and I’m really beginning to think this is a very well laid out place for school kids to come learn Stuff (which shouldn’t detract from my enjoyment of the displays – but it fucking does!).
The following Palace rooms were the private chambers of the emperor/s in the upper floors of the castle; they’ve been set up post WWII to give an impression of homeliness with some furniture, portraits… Baroque Chest, Tyrols, c.17thC.
Wappendecke: Coat of arms cover, Fritz Haeberlein, Nuremberg, c.1947…?
Prunkofen: a magnificent Stove, Nuremberg, c.1675. Timber exterior and tiled interior.
Four keys from the lock of the Imperial Regalia, c.16th/17thC. In 1423, Emperor Sigmund entrusted the City of Nuremberg with the safekeeping of the Imperial Regalia. The relics were kept safely locked in a shrine, in the church of the Holy Spirit Hospital, which was under the city council jurisdiction. Access to the chapel vault was secured by multiple persons holding different keys.
The views out to the courtyard… while walking through these rooms today, I was wondering what it must have been like for the high born womenfolk who inhabited these walls. Now, I reckon these windows were probably installed after WWII and no medieval women looked out these windows.
Armbrut: Cross bow, Nurember, c.16thC,. Bow: steel. String: hemp. Column: wood, black horn and white etched horn inlay.
LEFT: Bolt case, some labeled with the name of the Nurember patrician family, “Volckamer”, c.1595. Wood, fittings of iron, partly tinned, handle of brass. RIGHT: German crossbow crankequin. Heavy craniquins like this one were indispensable for drawing the bow-string on a robust steeel bow.
Drinking vessel in the shape of a richly ornamented cannon. When the cover is opened, it becomes apparent it is for dining. Citizen’s Artillery of Nuremberg, c.15thC.
Maximilian style armour. “The suit of plate armor is a complex artistic and technological masterpiece. In development since around 1300, full body armor made up of many different parts had reached its highest level of complexity by 1500. In principle, the individual parts had to be adapted to the individual wearer if the armor was to be fully functional. Not everyone could afford such tailor-made armor, however. Many fighters put together their protective equipment from parts that were already available. In order to increase mobility, individual parts of the armor could be left out at any time. A suit of plate armor is a complex artistic and technological masterpiece. It was developed from ca. 1300 on and reached its highest complexity around 1500. Generally, each part had to be fitted to the individual wearer, if the armour was to function properly. However, not every fighting man could afford customised armour. Protection often had to be improvised and adapted from available parts. In order to increase mobility, parts would be left off.” Sounds familiar…
Two breastplates of late Gothic Armour; from the town hall in Spittal, Carinthia, Austria. C.1450-1500. Iron, forged, steeled, filed, and originally polished.
Late Gothic armoured gloves. Germany, iron, forged, steeled, ground, polished, leather later addition, c.1450.
Two backplates of Late Gothic armour from the town hall in Spittal, Carinthia, Austria. C.1450-1500. Iron – forged, steeled, filed and originally polished.
Helms: 1) Bascine, 14thC. 2) Bascinet, German, late 14thC. 3) Kettle hat or Chapel-de fer, Tirol c1400. 4) Jousing helm, Tyrol, late 15thC. 5) Sallet, Frankie, c.1450/60. 6) Italian bascinet, Northern Italian late 15thC.
Gothic suit of equestrian armour – almost complete condition which is extremely rare apparently. Nuremberg armoury, the fancy shoe tips made it unsuitable for combat. It could have Ben worn only be a rider. The help is not original to this suit.
Nuremberg, c.1470/80. Iron – steeled, ground and originally polished to a high sheen.
Iron-clad door with iron fittings. . Dates from the reign on fate Bohemian and German Kings Charles IV or his son Wenceslas. 2nd half 14thC.
There was a very small section that dealt with the history of Nuremberg after the period of theHoly Roman Empire and glossed over WWII fairly quickly.
Ok… the Castle was very cool and I really enjoyed seeing the buildings a the layout of the fortress complex… but fuck me, I was so dirty when I discovered how many of the artefacts were just bloody modern replicas. I know it shouldn’t detract from the enjoyment of seeing these things in this context, but it fucking does! I walked up (and back down – which is sometimes even more painful) four storeys of stairs with a severely torn meniscus to see stupid copies of things? My heart rate was up around 150bpm the whole time, and I was overheating due to the excessive pain from my knee joint (and an involuntary habit of holding my breath inappropriately while in pain) and for what? To see shit that I would have been better off looking up high res images of the originals, online? It was so deflating.
Encountered this amazing vending machine in a shopping centre car park of all places – full of cheese and charcuterie! And here’s me thinking Japan has the best vending machines.
After the castle, we made our way to Haupmarkt to see the famous Schöner Brunnen fountain, a 14thC Gothic fountain locate next to Nuremberg’s main markets and the town hall. It is 19m high and in the shape of a church spire. It was built by Heinrich Beheim in 1385.
The Frauenkirche is not far away and is the Roman Catholic parish church of Nuremberg. It was built at the commission of Emperor Charles VI from 1352-1362 as a hall church. It is full of sculptures, many of them have been preserved from around the time of construction, so they are c.1360 also. There wasn’t a lot of information available in the church, an it was smaller than I expected.
The facade of the Frauenkirche has as clock called the ‘Männleinlaufen’ (Little Men Running) which is activated at noon, and has seven little men – representing electors of Nuremberg – that move with chimes. It was built/ordered by Charles IV in 1356 to commemorate the Nuremberg code of Laws, the Golden Bull. The clock was removed during WWII and stored in a Nuremberg Art Bunker.
The inner vestibule was full of brightly painted relief art work – I imagine this is what a lot of the old cathedrals looked like but haven’t been restored over the centuries.
The Tucher Alter c.1440/50 came from a demolished Augustinian Church – the Frauenkirche was used as a Protestant church for several centuries and much of the art and sculpture came back into he church when it was redesignated? reconsecrated? by the Catholic Church.
There has been an organ in this church since 1492, however this one is from the 1950s.
I got nothing on this sculpture, other than that Baby Jee looks stoned.
Pergenstorfer Epitaph.
Stopped by a bookshop, having decided to acquire a couple of well known books to try to read in German. I figure this immersion stuff has to help at some point. It’s sure not helping here; every time I try to speak with people in German they can tell I’m not a native speaker immediately and they switch to English. How are you supposed to get any better if people won’t talk to you? :/
St Seibald’s Church apparently began with a grave in 1070, and not long afterwards reports of healing miracles occurring at his grave are documented.
The Chruch that is here today was built in the first half of the 13thC as a late Romanesque pillared basilica with a double choir. It was around this time that Nuremberg was becoming an important centre of commerce in Central Europe. In the early 1300s the side aisles were expanded, and the high Gothic choir loft was added between 1361 and 1379. Seibald became the patron saint of aspiring commercial ventures, even though he was apparently not canonised until 1425.
Master of the Tucher Altar, c.1440 and Elizabeth Starch Epitath, c.1450.
’Schüsslesfeider’, Saint Christoper, c.1442.
Most of the partially preserved stained glass in this church was donated by the families of City Council members of the Free Imperial City of Nuremberg, in the 14thC. Some was replaced c.1500, and the ‘newest’ glass in the cathedral was installed in 1601.
Madonna on the Crescent Moon, c.1437.
Glass: Behaim Window with the Annunciation and the Nativity, c.1330.
Altar of Saint Peter, c.1477.
Memborial for the Schroeder-Landaeur families, c.1490-92.
Peter Vischer and Sons tomb of St Seibald, c.1508-1519.
The organ was a late addition – we were just discussing how it wasn’t up in a specific organ loft like we had seen in many cathedrals, and actually looked to be a free-standing object. Then we discovered it was only added to the church in 1975.
St Catherine – originally on the Exterior of the Last Judgement Portal c.1310.
And of course the bit I’m always curious about – during WWII, between 1943 and 1945, the church was repeatedly hit by bombs and severely damaged (hence the partially preserved stained glass). As late as April 20, 1945, both towers were bombarded until fires broke out and melted the medieval bells. The first phase of reconstruction lasted 12 years and ended in 1957. There are still repair and removal of war damage happening today.
Anna Oelhafen Epitaph, c.1528.
Having a very sparse breakfast, and having skipped lunch, we gave up on our churching and went hunting for some dinner. Angus found this place which is a local Franconian ‘field to table’ restaurant – the beers, wine, water, juice tea are all sourced from Franconia; vegetables are all grown locally in Knoblauchsland, fishes are sauced from Heinl an Erlangen fishmonger, sausages come from the Nuremberg butcher, and game is delivered by someone named Waffler from his local hunting ground. It made me think of the 40 Happy Cows that Le Cinq have on a farm some 20kms out of Paris just to make butter for the restaurant!
Angus opted for the bratwurst platter which came with rye bread and the most sour of sauerkraut you’ve ever tried in your life, and I opted for a pork shoulder because it seems I have a habit of panic ordering when I’m not speaking English! It was a sizeable and somewhat fatty portion that came with potato dumplings (which Angus enjoyed), and red cabbage – not sour.
After we finished our meal, we stopped in a grocery store for some toothpaste (weirdly, we both thought the other would have a decent sized tube and neither of us did!) and I saw these – these lemon wafer biscuits are, without a doubt, one of my FAVOURITE European snacks that I can’t get back home… it took all my ‘keine zucker’ willpower to not buy them, especially as they were selling them in packs of 5 for like €2.39. Insta-regret kicked in as soon as we got back! LOLi
Our next stop in Nuremberg was to ferret out Albrect Drurers house – which you wouldn’t think would be that difficult to find, but it’s easy to get turned around in the windy little medieval streets.
This is a cool house, but not Drurer’s house.
Finally found it – Albrect Dürer (1471-1528), is Germany’s most famous painter lived in this house now turned musuem.
St Jerome in his Study, Albrect Durer, c.1521
Paumgartner Altar, c.1498.
Portrait of Oswolt Krel, c. 1499.
Adoration of the Magi, c.1517. The covered chalices and chains demonstrate Durer’s background as a goldsmith.
The Four Apostles, Guardians of Justice, c.1526. Guardians of Justice.
Maria with the Pear Slice, c.1512.
Self Portrait with Eryngium, c.1493
Self Portrait, c. 1498.
Dürer originally trained as a goldsmith and in 1487, ended his goldsmith’s apprenticeship with his father in order to start anew as an apprentice at the workshop of the famous painter Michael Wolgemut. Additionally, he specialised in a completely new profession: that of book illustrator and free graphic artist. Before too long his talents attracted rich and highly educated customers. In 1496, he met the man who would become his most important patron, Elector Frederick of Saxony.
Dürer’s House is a typical Nuremberg Fachwerkhaus, where he lived from 1509 to 1528. It is in Nuremberg’s Altstadt near the Kaiserburg section of the Nuremberg Castle and the Tiergätnertor. It is the only artist’s house turned museum of its kind… apparently?
Living rooms and study spaces are furnished with period furniture. Dürer’s family life was rather out of the ordinary: in 1494, he married Agnes Frey, at the behest of both his father and hers. While Dürer’s mother had been pregnant eighteen times, his own marriage remained childless.
I love these windows… why don’t we make windows like this anymore?
A small cupboard and a hand washing space.
Wall clock… no information on these. But plenty of small plaques asking visitors to not touch things!
The downstairs kitchen is designed in such a way as the heat rises to warm the upper floors.
The upper floors contain a recreation of the artists workshop spaces.
An engraving plate and a glass sphere that could be used as a magnifier.
Printing systems.
Was very cool hour or so checking out Dürer’s house… even knowing most of the art works are replicas didn’t detract from how cool it is to be walking through this living museum space with its smoky hallway and centuries old furniture. The rest of the day was spent working before we moved on!
There’s a running them here; it’s a facsimile the original is in Vienna, in the Austrian National Library. The codex of constitution documents were commissioned by King Wenceslas c.1378-1400 and oh who gives a shit, this is a copy as well executed as some of my more proficient SCA calligrapher friends could make. 
