MEDIEVAL
EUROPE
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Personification of Ktisis (Foundation)
EarlyByzantine,Ist half of the 6th century
Mosaic,marble,and glass
684 x 588s in. (I73.4 x 149.3 cm)
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund and Fletcher
Fund, 1998
i998.69
Elaboratemosaics were used to decoratethe
floors of privatevillas, public halls, and
churchesthroughout the Byzantineempire
during the earlypart of the period. Their patterns, drawn from the Greco-Roman tradition of mosaic decoration, came to include
personificationsof abstractvirtues. In surviving mosaics where a female figure holds a
rod, as here, she is often identified by an
inscription as Ktisis, or Foundation. The rod,
the measurefor a Roman foot, representsthe
donation, or foundation, of a building, and
the figure'srichly bejeweleddress signifies the
wealth, or ability, to accomplish this task.
Here Ktisis wears an elaborate diadem,
large pearl earrings,a delicately wrought
jeweled necklace, and two brooches. The
neckline of her dress also has an elaborately
jeweled border.Among the figure'ssimulated
gems-and especiallycharacteristicof sixthcenturyByzantinetaste-are roundedblue glass
as
stonesrepresentingsapphires,or "hyacinths"
theywerecalled.The large,softly staringeyes
and elaboratehairstyleare typicalof depictions
of aristocraticwomen duringthe firsthalfof
the sixthcentury,from the female martyrsin
the mosaics at Sant'ApollinareNuovo in
Ravennato the Ladyof Rank,a marblebust in
the Museum'scollection (acc. no. 66.25).
Middle Danube. Among the many types,
fibulaelike this one aredistinguishedby the
winglikeextensions that flank the knob at the
bend of the bow. Here the knob is decorated
with a zigzag pattern, and the two wings (one
visible here at the top) are each adornedwith
two small knobs. As is typical of the few
other survivingexamplesof this quality, gold
foil sketchily decoratedwith twisted gold
wire covers the large trapezoidalcatch plate,
except where it is pierced with elaborate
openwork patterns.Rounded and rosetteshaped silverstuds also ornament the surface.
Five carneliansflank the two openwork
designs near the tip of the catch plate-one
of linked circles and one of linked hearts. On
the basis of burialand pictorial evidence,
such wing fibulaewere worn by women in
pairson the shoulder, where the intricately
pierced catch plates protrudingabove their
robes createda delicate patternedeffect.
HCE
Wing Fibula
Pannonian,2nd centuryA.D.
Silver,gold, and carnelians
L. 74
in. (9.6 cm)
Purchase, Alastair B. Martin, William
Kelly Simpson, Scher Chemicals Inc.,
Levy Hermanos Foundation Inc., Shelby
White, and Max Falk Gifts, in honor of
Katharine R. Brown, 1998
i998. 76
This richly decoratedornament wrought in
silver is an exceptional example of a relatively
raretype of brooch known as a wing fibula. It
is typical of the Roman borderregion called
Pannonia, which was establishedalong the
and translucentblue enamels. Ladderlike
strips of cloisons in translucentgreen enamel
separatethe decorativepatternson the sides
and hide the angles of the hexagonal form.
The top is a flat dome; the base is finished
with alternatinglobes and semicircles.The
enameled patternsare similar to designs
found in Byzantine manuscriptilluminations
of the period.
The refinementof the decorationand the
outstandingcraftsmanshipsuggest that this is
HCE
Tip of a Pointer
Middle Byzantine(Constantinople),
late IIth-ist half of the i2th century
Goldand cloisonneenamel
H. i in. (2.5 cm)
Purchase, Louis V. Bell Fund and Henry
G. Keasby Bequest, I997
1997.235
This delicatelywrought and finely detailed
tip of a pointer, or, less likely, a scepter, is
one of the outstanding examplesof cloisonne
enameling produced during the Middle
Byzantineera. Intimate in scale, it is entirely
covered in elaboratefoliate and geometric
designs predominatelyworked in white, red,
one of a small group of works associatedwith
the imperialcapital of Constantinople and
possibly made for the royal court. While in
the possessionof the famed collectorAdolphe
Stoclet, the object was describedas a scepter
tip. As suggestedby William D. Wixom in his
entry on the work for the Museum's exhibition catalogue The GloryofByzantium(I997),
this tiny masterpiecewas probablythe end
of a long pointer used to assistthe speaker
during the public readingof a manuscript.
HCE
I5
Standing Virginand Child
French(ile-de-Franceor Champagne),
mid-I5thcentury
Limestonewithpolychromy
H. 584 in. (148 cm)
Gift of Max and Elinor Toberoff, 1997
I997.125
The cult of the Virgin in fifteenth-centuryFrance
inspired artiststo develop innovative variantson the
theme of the Virgin as the Queen of Heaven. Here the
playful Christ child graspsthe strapon his mother's
Head of a Youth
French(Provence,probably
fTom Saint-Gilles-du-Gard),
mid-I2thcentury
Limestone
H. 78 in. (I8 cm)
Bequest of Meyer Schapiro, I996
I997.i46
The pilgrimagechurch at Saint-Gilles-du-Gardmarks
the apogeeof antique influencein Romanesqueart, and
this head of a youth, which probablycomes from there,
is one of the finest expressionsof this tendency.The
articulationof the facewith slightlypouting lips, swelling
cheeks,and squarishjaw, the sphericaleyes that slope
down, and the wavy hair all point to the hand of a mater
carverwho understoodbut thoroughlytransformedthe
classicalstyle.The properleft side is partiallyfinished,
suggestingthe head belonged to a figureintended to be
seen primarilyin profile.The techniqueof delineating
the eyes by lightly drillingthe pupils and the gently
swellingsurfacesthat producethe sereneexpressionof
the face arestylistichallmarksof the Abbey church's
principalsculptor,who carvedthe greatSaint Michael
reliefon the facade.
This sculpturejoins another distinguished Romanesquehead of a youth in the Museum'scollection that
comes from Saint Sernin at Toulouse (acc. no. I976.60).
Togetherthe two heads revealthe inclinationin Romanesque sculptorsto abstractnaturalforms-here, by
interpretingantique models, or, as in the Saint Sernin
head, by simplifying and stylizing forms to produce a
more expressivequality.
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mantle.In one hand he holds a dove or
goldfinch, symbol of the soul and its resurrection. The energeticbird, caught in flight,
pecks at the hand of Christ, and, as a
Eucharisticreference,nourishesitself upon
his blood. The Virgin is dressedin a brocaded chemise under a voluminous manteau
with a texturedlining simulating fur. The
cloak is decoratedwith an elaborateborder,
the raisedinscription of which repeatsthe
words "AveMaria."The expansivepresentation allows the figure to move into the
viewer'sspace.
The large breakingfolds of draperyand
the high foreheadof the Virgin link this
sculptureto others from the Ile-de-France
and Champagne,especiallysculptureassociated with Troyes. However, the pervasive
influence of Burgundyand especiallythe
sculptureof Jean de la Huerta,who was active
in the mid-fifteenth century in the service
of Duke Philip the Good at Dijon, can be
detectedin the noble proportionsof the Virgin
and the plump child.
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Bible
French (Paris), ca. I250-75
Temperaand gold leaf onparchment;
18th-centuryleatherbinding
io x 6Y2 in. (25.3 X I6.5 cm)
Partial and Promised Gift of John L.
Feldman, in memory of his father,
Alvin Lindberg Feldman, 1997
1997.320
In the thirteenthcentury Parisbecame
Europe'spremier center for the production
of illuminated manuscripts.Here were created the so-called University Bibles, made for
a wide rangeof clients, including clerics,
laity, and students. These books are known
for painstakingscribalwork, tiny illustrations
characterizedby refineddrawingand remarkable detail, and a palette dominated by blue
and pinkish red. This example, createdfor
Dominican use and significantlylargerthan
most, is richly illustratedwith eighty-one historiatedinitials. The opening for the Book of
Genesis (illustratedhere) presentssuperimposed octofoils, representingGod's creation
of the universein seven days. At the bottom
of the first column of text-the end of a prologue by Saint Jerome-are images of the
crucifiedChrist flanked by the Virgin Mary
and Saint John, and, below, a kneeling
Dominican brotherat prayer.This solemn
scene is balancedby the appearanceof paired
dogs and rabbitsalong the upper margin.
Sometime after 1325this Bible entered a
Carthusianlibraryin the Diocese of Soissons.
Since the fifteenth century it has been treasured for its exceptional quality by celebrated
bibliophiles, including Jean Bude, notary and
secretaryto Louis XI. (Bude added his coat of
arms under the Crucifixion scene.)
BDB
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