Crosses from Mount Athos in the Gambier-Parry Collection

Author(s): John Beckwith

Source: The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 109, No. 768, The Gambier-Parry Bequest to The
University of London (Mar., 1967), pp. 173-174
Published by: The Burlington Magazine Publications, Ltd.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/875192
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 ::

92. Crosscarrredin cypresswood with scenesfromthe Life of Christand mountedin 93. Crosscarvedin cypresswood with scen
silver-giltwith semi-preciousstc)nesand pastes. Greek (Mount Athos) and Slav New Testament mounted in silver-g
(Sombor)bearlyeighteenthcentury.Includingmountn44 4 by 22 9 cm. (Gambier- Greek (Mount Athos), eighteenthcent
ParryBequestnCourtauldInstituteGalleries.) century, possiblyVenetian. Including
Gambler-ParryEstate.)
 ORIENTAL METALWORK IN THE
'work of the Master Mahmud'). The engraved arabesque scroll-
work is of the finest, and the basic outlines of the design are
effectively picked out in silver.
Nos.I99, 200 and 205. Threebowl-shapedBoxes and Coversof en-
graved brass with silver inlay.
About 1500. H. 23, 21, 34 in.; Dia. 53, 5, 6g in. respec-
tively.
These examples are unsigned and of the same type, though not
so fine, as the work of Mahmud al-Kurdi, except that the bowl of
No.2oo is more hemispherical in form, and bears a heraldic shield
(left blank) in a circular medallion.
No.2I I. Bowl of engraved brass with silver inlay.
Early sixteenth century. Dia. 5- in.
The work on this bowl is noticeably coarser than on the pre-
ceding Nos. I99, 200, and 205. Small recurring panels among the
arabesques bear the repeated Arabic word al-'ali ('the exalted').
No.203. Box andCoverof shallow cylindrical form; engraved brass
with silver inlay.
About 1500. H. I in. Dia. 4t in.
The designs and technique are here still completely Persian; as
usual the main design is picked out in silver against a background
of closely interwoven engraved arabesque scrolls.
No.I98. Bucket of engraved brass with silver inlay, the swing-
handle cast as two confronted fish-like monsters (Fig.9o).
About 1500. H. 54 in. Dia. 9 in.
This beautiful vessel resembles one in the Victoria and Albert
Museum signed by Zayn al-Din (No. 1826-1888). The Italian style
the boldly designed handle contrasts strongly with the delicately
engraved surface-texture of the vessel itself. The handle of Zayn
al-Din's bucket is of the same form, but covered with engraving
like the rest of the piece.
No. 21o. Bowl or Coverof brass, pierced and inlaid with silver.
Late fifteenth century. Dia. 52 in.
At first sight this would appear to be half of a spherical pendant
incense-burner of the type represented by No.207, but the small
circular holes with which it is drilled appear to have been made
at a later date. Had they been original they would more probably
have been of different shapes, following the lines of the design.
This consists of a wide band of interlaced Kufic flanked by two
narrower bands of floral scrolls, surrounding a circle of inter-
lacing arabesques. The technique is not that of Mahmud al-
Kurdi and his school (No.204 etc.), but the traditional near-
eastern one of strips and pieces of silver foil secured along their
edges by hammering into grooves - the method used in all the
medieval Islamic objects in the present collection, and in the
Venetian-Saracenic candlesticks, No.2I5A.
No.2 I5A. Pair of Candlesticksof engraved bronze with remains of
silver inlay.
Late fifteenth century. H. io in. Dia. of base, 5 in.
The surface designs of these candlesticks are in the broader
style of Mamluk metalwork, which was apparently practised in
Venice alongside the more intricate Persian technique associated
with Mahmud al-Kurdi. They are beginning to show signs of
Italianization. The bases, each of which bears a heraldic escut-
cheon (left blank), are of the normal oriental form, but sur-
mounted by an overlapping drip-pan, such as is sometimes found
in fifteenth-century Mamluk candlesticks, from which rises a long
baluster neck (compare the candlestick 307-i897 in the Victoria
and Albert Museum). The same form, though much simplified, is
found in European candlesticks well into the seventeenth century.
GAMBIER-PARRY COLLECTION
No.2I 5C. Pair of Candlesticksof engraved brass.
Early sixteenth century.
These candlesticks are of the normal squat Venetian form, and
the engraved designs are still almost entirely Persian in character.
There is a very similar pair in the Victoria and Albert Museum
(M.69, 69a-i934) bearing the arms of Giustiniani and Donado.
III. INDIAN
The first two items that comprise this final group are excel-
lent examples of bidri ware. This Indian speciality consists of
an alloy of copper, lead, and tin, inlaid with silver, and
'pickled' to produce a rich black patina, while the silver is
brought to a high polish. The resulting contrast of colours is
striking and effective. The name is derived from Bidar, in
Hyderabad, where it was principally made, but a good deal
also came from Purniah in Bengal, where a slightly different
alloy was used (zinc replaced the lead and tin) and the
designs tended to be less naturalistic.
No.213. Bottleand Stand,probably Purniah work.
Eighteenth-nineteenth century.
The restrained decoration of the bottle contrasts with the lavish
silver inlay of the stand, which is in the form of a plain circular
plate.
No.214. Bowl andCover,probably Hyderabad work.
Eighteenth-nineteenth century. H. 4 in. Dia. 41 in.
Most of the surface is covered with a repeated design of a flower
resembling a peony, rendered more or less naturalistically.
No.2I 5. Handlefor a Fly-whiskof silver, parcel-gilt, chased and
pierced with floral scroll designs. Eighteenth century.
In the form of a tapering rod, terminating in a finial shaped as
a fir-cone, the other (wider) end fitted with a screw plug. This
magnificent piece was probably used at one of the courts of
Central India, such as Lucknow.
It will be clear from the foregoing list that this group of
metalwork objects is of high quality and considerable interest
and importance; such things can no longer be picked up on
a casual trip to Italy or the Levant, as one gathers that these
were. The most outstanding of them are undoubtedly the
Wallet (No.209) and the bowl with the bilingual signature of
Mahmud al-Kurdi (No.204), either of which might well
form the subject of a full-length study.
Shorter Notices
Crosses
fromMountAthosin the
Collection
Gambier-Parry
BY JOHN BECKWITH
THREEcrosses carved in cypress wood with scenes mostly from
the New Testament are typical of monastic craft on Mount
Athos in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. On the first
example the minutely carved scenes represent the Annunciation,
the Nativity, the Presentation, the Baptism of Christ, the Trans-
figuration and the Raising of Lazarus; on the other side, the
Entry into Jerusalem, the Crucifixion, the Harrowing of Hell,
I73
 SHORTER
the Ascension, Pentecost and the Dormition of the Virgin. Some
of the scenes, which do not follow a strict chronological order,
are identified by Greek inscriptions. The wood is framed by a
silver-gilt mount decorated with semi-precious stones or paste
(Fig.92). On the stem of the mount an Old Slavonic inscription
reads: 'This crucifix of the Church of the Presentation of the
Most Holy Mother of God in the Monastery of Gomionica was
commissioned by the hieromonk [i.e. priest and monk] Anthony
Vlot X3. P.M.H.(HZ.R.M.N.) - God bless him. It was paid for
by Avram, and by Gvozden, Ivro and Dabo Sankovic. Hand-
made by Stefan Ivankovic in Sombor.' The abbreviations appar-
ently do not give a date, but the early part of the eighteenth
century seems likely. Sombor is a small town near the modern
frontier between Hungary and Jugoslavia. It is clear from the
Greek inscriptions that the cross was carved on Mount Athos and
exported to Sombor for mounting.1
The wood of the second cross is partially gilt and mounted on
an indifferent western metal base presumably of nineteenth-
century date. The scenes represented are the same as on the first
cross but with additional subjects taken from the Old Testament
and pious legend. On one side, for example, the three angels who
visited Abraham at Mamre representing the Trinity, Jacob's
Ladder, David, Solomon, and other prophets are scattered about
the surface of the cross and mingled with the symbols of the
Evangelists, the Emperor Constantine, the Augusta Helena, and
an Apparition of the Virgin; on the other side, the three boys in
the fiery furnace, Daniel betweens lions, more prophets are
juxtaposed with an unidentified representation of two bearded
saints standing outside a Byzantine church. Many of the scenes
are identified by Greek inscriptions. The peripheral ornament
suggests a date about the middle of the eighteenth century.2
The third cross is mounted in an elegant silver-gilt frame
adorned with pearls and semi-precious stones (Fig.93). Scenes
from the life of the Virgin and the Baptism of Christ are minutely
carved on one side, and on the other the Presentation, the Man
sick of the palsy, the Raising of Lazarus, the Crucifixion, the
Lamentation over the Dead Christ, and Christ appearing to the
Apostles after the Resurrection. There are no inscriptions. The
metal frame has been variously dated to the late seventeenth and
to the eighteenth century and might conceivably have been made
in Venice. It is equally difficult to be precise about the date of
carving, since provincial works of this kind tend to congeal into
stereotype, but some time in the eighteenth century seems
probable.3
A great many of these crosses are known and are to be found in
most large museums. A number still remain on Mount Athos at
Iviron, Esphigmenou, Vatopedi, and Lavra. Not only crosseswere
carved; but triptychs, carved and pierced medallions, and devo-
tional plaques. They vary slightly in style and quality (which is
never very high) but the general characteristicsare the same. One
cross in the Victoria and Albert Museum is signed and dated:
Giorgios Lascaris, 1737. Another in the same Museum is mounted
in silver-gilt with enamelled filigree and set on a lump of stone
inscribed on one side 'Athos' and on the other with a quotation
from St Matthew, xix, 18 - 'Thou art Peter and upon this rock,
etc.' The inscriptions on the wooden crosses are not always
Greek. Sometimes in Latin, Slavonic, and Russian, they are a
reminder of the numerous communities at one time on the Holy
Mountain and the presence of pilgrims from many parts of the
1 General measurements including mount: H. I 7 in.; W. 9 in. I am grateful to
the Rev. Marian Grgic for reading the Slavonic inscription.
2 General measurements excluding the metal base: H. 15 in.; W. Io in. There
are similar crosses, without the gilding, in the Victoria and Albert Museum,
Nos.192-1904 and 222-1866. The latter is less elaborate.
3 General measurements including the metal mount: H. 8 in.; W. 3] in. I am
grateful to the Department of Metalwork, Victoria and Albert Museum, for
their opinion on the date of the mount.
I74
NOTICES
Mediterranean world. Many of the metal mounts are Russian.
But it is evident through the presence of Athonite carvings in
Italian treasuries,Pienza, Feltre, and the Vatican to name only a
few, and by the Latin inscriptions that the export of these pious
bygones was not confined to Orthodox countries.4
4 V. and A. No.A.2-1932 and No.805-I891 . . . VOLBACH:Mittelalterliche
Bildwerkeaus Italien undByzanz, Bildwerkedes Kaiser FriedrichMuseums. Berlin
[1930], p. 09 ff.; idemin Bollettinod'Arte [1931], p. 190 f.
Pagesfroma Bookof Hoursilluminated
in the
of theBoucicaut
Parisianworkshop Master
BY KATHLEEN
MORAND
THE Gambier-Parry Collection includes nine miniatures, all
apparently deriving from the same Book of Hours, measuring
approximately i8o by I30 mm. Although the composition of a
Book of Hours, the most popular devotional book of the late
Middle Ages, was not controlled by the Church, and it could at
times become highly individual in its choice of contents, its
essential feature was the Hours of the Virgin (or Little Office of
the Blessed Virgin Mary). In illuminated manuscripts this was
frequently accompanied by a cycle of eight miniatures introduc-
ing the canonical hours of the liturgical day, the favourite subject
being the life of the Virgin. Six of the Gambier-Parryminiatures
belong to such a cycle: The Visitation(Lauds); The Nativity
(Prime); The Annunciation to the Shepherds(Tierce); The Epiphany
(Sext); The Flight into Egypt (Vespers); and The Coronationof the
Miniatures from this
Virgin(Compline). missing cycle probably
represented TheAnnunciation to the Virginand ThePurificationin the
Temple, which would normally be expected to introduce the
canonical hours of Matins and None. The remaining three
miniatures in the Gambier-Parry Collection illustrate or intro-
duce the Hours of the Cross (Crucifixion); the Penitential Psalms
(King David kneelingin prayer);and a prayer in French known as
the Seven Requests to Our Lord, which appears in conjunction
with a simplifiedform of LastJudgement.In the original state of the
manuscript there was probably a further miniature connected
with the Office of the Dead.
There is no clue to original ownership, but the miniatures all
derive from patterns current in the workshopof the Master of the
Hours of the Marechal de Boucicaut,1for whom an auvrehas been
compiled on the strength of stylistic resemblance to the Book of
Hours in the Musee Jacquemart-Andre, Paris, from which he
derives his name; his activity can be traced in Paris in the first
two decades of the fifteenth century. The workshopwas especially
prolific in the second decade of the century when these miniatures
must have been painted, and although compositions and figure
style are conservative, the lavish border decoration suggests a
date c.I 415-20. The miniaturist responsible for the paintings
follows faithfully the style of the master, and under-drawing -
where visible - is good, but he makes no attempt to emulate the
more original aspects of the Boucicaut Master's art. The treat-
ment of landscape, for instance, is rudimentary, and where some
knowledge of perspective is called for, as in the Nativity(Fig.95),
the assistant betrays his lack of understanding. The painting itself
is undistinguished,and the range of palette limited. On the whole,
in spite of its obvious decorative quality, the series of illustrations
provides an excellent example of the element of mass production
that was becoming necessary in the fifteenth century to cope with
an increasing demand for books - a demand that was eventually
1 Much of the pioneer work on this master was by Paul Durrieu. E. PANOFSKY:
EarlyNetherlandishPainting(pp.38I-2) summarizes the bibliographical situation
in 1953.