W10 The Freer Canteen PDF

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W10 The Freer Canteen

Multiple competitive and complementary religious traditions, fueled by an almost universal preoccupation with most creative periods in its history. This landmark exhibition demonstrates the key role that the Holy City played in shaping the art of the period fro centuries, Jerusalem was home to more cultures, religions, and languages than ever before. Through times of remained a constant source of inspiration that resulted in art of great beauty and fascinating complexity.

Bottle with Christian Scenes mid-13th century Syrian Using lively lines and colour, the artist of this spectacular bottle brings a local Christian community to life. Impo with crosses, alternate with charming details of agricultural activities, from harvesting dates and picking grapes

The Christian subject matter, and themes were used to display claims of the success of the Crusader Mission. building with crosses on it was used to show the Christian claim over the monuments. Similarly to the narrative the buildings might reference the churches being restored by the Crusaders. The Christian subjects on these link for the Christians to the Holy land, long after the Muslim takeover, the end of the Crusader rule

Power Point 1. CONTEXT   

Inclusion of Christian scenes in 13C metal work Freer Canteen - scenes of life of Christ Metal work in similar techniques,

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The majority of metal work of this kind was produced for a market rather than a specific individual, neve widely in size and complexity, bronze in well from Syria or Iraq - fine craftsmanship small objects that w desk. Created in the 13th C - roundles have hunting figures in, a generic subject matter and it has no i

On the right a candle holder - from mid 13th C from south eastern Turkey this is a much larger work wit of the strokes are shown as human heads, content - inscriptions are generic - good wishes - who could official or man.

 More elaborate items for rulers would include longer items, which express not just good wishes, but also a list authority   

On the Barberini vase form Syria, from the 13th C for a ruler - there is a porsaic inscription on the base cellar of sultan Al Malik - Nasir. Inscription around the middle characterises the sultan as wise, judged and triumphant, holy warrior, the pillar of Islam. The imagery of the piece centers on hunting which as we have seen is perceived as a princely pursuit

Another High status piece whose inscription refers to a specific ruler is the Freer basin which was made in 13 Sultan al- Malik al Salib Najmuddin Ayyub  The two inscriptions one on the interior and one on the exterior praise the ruler on very similar terms to wise, victorious and a defender of Islam  His title beloved of the commander of the believers, may relate to his investiture as caliph of 1247  However in this case the iconography contains some elements that are perhaps unexpected given the

 The central frieze of the exterior of the basin, shows polo - other princely activity, the medallions around the top from the life of Christ, scenes such as the annunciation - Gabriel and Mary

spinning.  Other scenes include, the raising of Lazarus, the entry into Jerusalem and the Virgin enthrone and poss  Jesus was honoured as a prophet in Islam, and scenes do therefore not show his death or resurrection  The interior of the Freer basin is painted with a row of saints  Biblical and Christian images on the work - it seems to have been intended for the sultan; it is not nece therefore the patron could have been a Christian.  If it was commissioned by the sultan himself then it is possible that it fitted a wider iconography about r contain heavenly as well as earthly images  The images of Jesus may have flattered the ruler as a just king. As along with the figures in the interior status as someone who ruled over Chritian communities.  More specifically the scenes from the life of Christ stipulate Iubid control over the holy places

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The Freer basin suggest these images didn’t have a clear meaning and depended on context and

viewership

Inscriptions used to project identities to different groups - though different languages for the two inscriptions.  The presence of inscriptions in two languages each giving a slightly different slant of the ruler’s status a alb of william the second of Sicily Princely cycle of objects generally tend to have things such as seated figures drinking and playing musical inst of good wishes to the noble and virtuous - familiar components seen on objects created for a range of objects Palatina ceiling Imagery familiar integrated into their iconography of rule If the Christian images on the freer Basin are likely to have different meanings for different viewers, the scenes place; confessionally. There was a western admiration for metal work that is produced in the Islamic world Venice imitated items additions made, or imitation was made Powerpoint 2: 

The Freer Canteen and Christian themes in Islamic Art - the Issue of Making

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Freer Canteen (bottom), Syria or N. Iraq, c. 1250. Brass inlaid with

Washington

silver, 45.2 x 36.7 cm. Free

The back has an inner frieze showing armed figures on horseback circulating clockwise and an outer frieze fea arches. The sides have another inscription of generic good wishes, a band of human figures and animals together with

The front has attracted most scholarly attention for the unusual prominence given to scenes showing Christ. S correspondences in Ayyubid metalwork, there has been interest in finding what parallels do exist and drawing manuscript illumination

At the centre the Virgin and Child are shown on a high-backed throne, held aloft by four angels, and flanked by

The throne can be compared to that in a depiction of the Virgin and Child in a Syrian Orthodox lectionary which scenes on the Canteen.

However, the scene is closer to the Virgin and Child in a liturgical fan with a Syriac inscription made for a mona Flabellum (liturgical fan), 1202-3. Syriac inscription: made for ‘the Monastery of the House of the Mother of Go Scetis’ (Deir al-Surian, Egypt). Musée Royal de Mariemont, Morlanwelz. The throne is flanked by a pair of angels. Closer in technique ((the silver inlay has been lost) is this pyxis with a Virgin and Child. This provides a paralle figure.

This work has in turn been compared to depictions of seated male figures in Islamic illumination, on account of pose.

Further parallels for the pose can be found in the depictions of Solomon we looked at in the context of courtly g artist of the pyxis was more familiar with showing rulers than with depicting the Virgin and Child.

King Solomon on the Throne of Lions holding the symbol of his seal, Mesopotamia, 13 century. Istanbul, Topka th

The first of the scenes from the life of Christ is the Nativity. The composition is particularly full, but you should b elements of Mary with Jesus in the manger, the three kings on the left, and the shepherds on the right.

Close parallels can be found in local manuscript illumination. Elements perhaps less familiar to us, such as the the presence of the women bathing Christ, and Joseph seated off to one side are more common in eastern Ch some compositional similarities with the Freer Canteen as well.

At the same time, there appear to be some details on the Freer Canteen that indicate that the artist was follow internalized its conventions or knowing the story behind it. There are three animals behind the manger rather t it is no longer clear what the two figures on the right are pointing to as there is no star in the sky. The scene of Christ being washed appears alongside images that have been identified as the Presentation in t and the Marriage at Cana on this candlestick possibly by the same artist as the Barberini Vase. It was unusual scene in isolation, without a wider depiction of the nativity The second scene chronologically is the Presentation in the Temple. Mary and Joseph take Jesus to the Temp Simeon (who had been told he would not die until he had seen Christ). The fourth figure is the Prophetess Ann Again we can find some similarities of approach in the Syrian Orthodox lectionary, for instance the tripartite arc in which the panels on the altar are rendered. However, in this manuscript, the scene is shown on two levels, M secondary characters, Joseph and Anna, below.

Presentation in the Temple, Syrian Orthodox lectionary, monastery of Mar Mattei near Mosul, c. 1220-22. Biblio Vat. Sir. 559, fol. 48v.

In terms of composition, the parallels are closer with another Syrian Orthodox Lectionary, where all the figures architectural backdrop is divided more clearly into three separate components.

Presentation in the Temple, Syrian Orthodox lectionary, near Mardin, 1216-20. British Library, Add. MS 7170.

We can see how these examples form part of a wider iconographic tradition by comparing them to the depictio another Syriac Lectionary

Melisende Psalter, Jerusalem, 1130-40s. British Library

Compared to this tradition, the scene on the Freer Canteen has some idiosyncrasies that again suggest an art without knowing the conventions or details of the story. Joseph and Mary are on different sides of the scene; Jo pair of birds he should be offering; Anna seems to hold a cloth rather than the scroll indicating her prophetic ide on the altar

It has been pointed out that the tripartite structure of the Temple in the scene on the Freer Canteen also bears in painting from the Islamic world. The basic arrangement is found in this scene from the Cappella Palatina cei

the ceiling has been attributed to artists from a variety of backgrounds

‘Palace ceiling of the Cappella Palatina’

Tripartite domed architectural frames also appear in Islamic manuscript illumination

The final of the three narrative scenes is the Entry into Jerusalem. It shows elements we would expect from the biblical account, such as the people spreading clothes in front of from the pictorial tradition, such as the people who have climbed up into the trees to see better. Compared to the Syrian Orthodox Lectionary from the Mosul area, the composition of the scene on the Cantee with a simpler structure representing Jerusalem, and fewer bystanders and apostles Again, looking at other manuscripts helps show how the Entry into Jerusalem fits within a wider pictorial traditi Melisende Psalter and another Syriac Lectionary are closer to the model for the Freer Canteen, with fewer par movement. The Entry into Jerusalem was also shown on an inlaid pyxis together with figures of saints / clerics. Rather as Christ on the candle holder, it was unusual to depict this episode independently of a wider narrative cycle of im

drawn with the selection of scenes on contemporary enameled

glassware.

Pyxis with standing saints / ecclesiastics and Entry into Jerusalem, Syria, mid to late 13 century. Brass inlaid w Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. th

The other side of the Canteen also depicts Christian elements in the outer frieze. There are detials of saints an Freer Canteen

Most of the figures in the arcade are individual saints, who can be compared to the standing saints in the Syria Mosul area, as well as the frieze on the interior of the Freer Basin.

Standing saints, Syrian Orthodox lectionary, monastery of Mar Mattei near Mosul, c. 1220-22. Biblioteca Apost fol. 45v

Scenes of confronted horsemen, bottom of a pen box, signed by Mahmud ibn Sunqur, inlaid brass, western Ira

The final figural element on the Freer Canteen belongs very much to the traditions of Islamic art. One of the fri includes a combination of human and animal figures and animated letters We already saw the phenomenon of characters being given human heads on the candlestick from south-easte powerpoint. Here is another example on a twelfth-century ewer from Iran. The frieze on the Freer Canteen is m not seem to form an inscription Comparisons with local Christian manuscript illumination suggest that the artist of the Freer Canteen was follo tradition but was not familiar with some aspects of the story or with all of the pictorial or compositional convent Christian themselves. Comparisons with other metalwork with Christian scenes reveal an interest in similar a similar willingness to show in isolation elements usually placed within a wider scene or scenes usually place

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The Dome of the Rock, as we have already discussed, was both converted in a church under the Crus

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biblical temple being known as the ‘Templum Domini’. The Canteen does not include scenes of the Crucifixion or resurrection, which were not accepted in Isla Even so, an intended Christian audience seemed likely. The size and complexity of the work suggests a commission, but the generic inscription may indicate a

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market. The scenes of Christ and the saints on the Canteen, and the holy places they represented, will have be Christian communities as they were to Frankish residents and pilgrims to the Holy Land. There are examples of contemporary metalwork commissioned by indigenous Christian institutions for Flabellum (liturgical fan), 1202-3. Syriac inscription: made for ‘the Monastery of the House of the Mothe desert of Scetis’ (Deir al-Surian, Egypt). Musée Royal de Mariemont,

Examples of incense burners with Christian iconography ( saints/ clerics) also survive. They are the more typic

places. The arrangement of the figures on the BM example is similar to the rows of saints on the freer Canteen and the Incense burner with figures of saints / clerics, Syria (Damascus?), 1250-1300. Brass with silver and gold inlay,

. Ampulla / flask of St Menas, Abu Menas, near Alexandria, 500s-700s. Terracotta, 8.9 x 6.4 cm. Metropolitan M Ampullae from local sancta could show events in the life of Christ and their locations. These examples both de Sepulchre, combining the tomb aedicule and the Anastasis Rotunda. In the 6thC example we also see the biblical event of the women talking to the angel. The example drawn on the right indicates that this tradition continued into the Crusader era and could have inf this does not itself include an image of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Pilgrim ampulla with Adoration of the Magi, Palestine, c. 600. Monza Cathedral Treasury.

Viewed in this context, the Freer Canteen could be seen as a pilgrim flask, with the capacity to reference mul may have posed the function of a souvenir of the pilgrimage to the holy Land while fulfilling the practical funct other liquids, but it is not out of the question that it could have held water from the River Jordan.

The Pilgrimage dimension is valid for Christians of different denominations. For pilgrims unable to read Arabic, the inscriptions would have served to further authenticate the origins Those who could read them might have associated their wishes for health, peace, victory and good fortu from pilgrimage, proximity to the holy places and relics of them.

The presence of the mounted figures on the Canteen might have had particular significance to Latin Christians

We do find depictions of military saints combined with the holy places in the Crusader - era map of Jerusalem Map of Jerusalem, St Bertin?, c. 1190-1200. The Hague, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, MS 76 F5, fol. 1r. Yet the mounted figures are not unambiguously engaged in combat, and in religious art created in a Crusader was possible to find the same juxtaposition of religious narratives and secular subject matter even drawn from

Powerpoint 4. - Ayyubid Glass Beakers with Christian scenes.

It is possible to draw some parallels between Ayyubid metalwork and glassware with Christian scenes, particu walters Art Museum.

The larger of the two comes shows the holy sites: the Dome of the rock on the temple Mount and the Church o  The first would have been of interest to Muslims and Christians (who thought of it as the Temple of the Christians.  In this respect, the cup goes beyond the scenes on the Freer Canteen. Inscription reads ‘ Glory to our master, the sultan, the royal, the learned.’  

The dome of the rock is easy to identify on account of the prominent dome and octagonal base. We can see that the strucutre depicted in a similar way, marked as the temple domini, on the Crusader Northern France

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We also find the temple as Christ knew it shown in this way in Chrstian art from the region, such as this coptic Christ expels the traders from the Temple, Coptic Bible, Damietta, 12 century. BnF, MS Copte 13, fol. 59r. th

Although the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is also domed, the glass seemed to show the tomb aedicle inside t The aedicule in the church today is the result of a 19thC wider base which is quite close to the depiction on the

Meanwhile we can find a parallel for the three hanging lamps in the depiction of the aedicule in a 13thC manus

Peter the Hermit at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, William of Tyre’s History of Deeds done beyond the Sea century. BnF, Francais 9084, fol. 1.

The smaller of the two cups features the Entry into Jerusalem with Christ flanked by less distinctive domed bu represent a disciple saint or cleric. Inscription reads Glory to our Master.. The just… Cup with entry into Jerusalem The depiction of the entury into Jerusalem without others scenes from Christ’s life is not common but cotempo a parallel for this and for the combination of this scene with figures of saints /ecclesiastes. Pyxis with standing saints / ecclesiastics and Entry into Jerusalem, Syria, mid to late 13 century. Brass inla th

Coups of this kind could have been owned by Chrstians of many denominations among them pilgrims to Jerus whom they served as souvenirs. Their technique which was not practised in the west at the time time, andthe Arabic text would have added to Holy Land. It is not clear how the glasses would have been used - in an ecclesiastical setting or a lay one. Cup with Entry into Jerusalem?, Syria, c. 1260. Glass with enamel and gilding, 17 x 11.1 cm. Walters Art Muse

Most examples that include figures show scnes of coutrly pursuits. Glass cup with polo player, Syria, mid 13 century. Enamelled and gilded glass, 15.5 x 10. th

In terms of the broader subject matter too, therefore, the glassware is in step with the metalwork.

Just as the Ayyubid metalwork with secular scenes was valued by Latin Christians in the Mediterranean and b admired outside its region of production. This is reflected in the precious metal base added to a glass showing a ruler and attendants.

The Palmer Cup, enamelled glass, Syria, c. 1200-1220; silver gilt mount, France, 1250-60, BM.

This is also the case with an earlier aniconic glass, which - similarly to the Baptistere de St Louis - has become French ruler.

Just as we saw Venice emulate Ayyubid and Mamluk inlaid metalwork and create damascened plates and ves developing enameled glassware. The Aldrevandin Beaker has a similar form to glasses from Syria, while the heraldry reflects those elements w customise metalwork from the region. Aldrevandin Beaker / Aldrevandini Glass, Venice, c. 1330.

Glass beaker, enamelled with three shie

It is possible that glassware without Chrstian scenes could be used in a Christian religious context, valued bec the Holy Land, or simply because of its material preciousness and rarity. This glass beaker was provided witha monogram on Christ’s name on the lid in the northern Europe....