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HISPANO-MORESQUE ALBARELLO

Spain (Paterna or Manises) 1435–1460

Tin-glazed and lustred earthenware Height: 29 cm

Provenance: Gift of George Blumenthal to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1941 (41.190.112); Exchanged in June 2007 for a marble tabernacle (France, 14th century) from the Doll collection; Collection of Paul W. Doll jr., New York, until 2020.

Related Literature: Monreal, Louis. Schätze des Aga Khan Museums, Meisterwerke islamischer Kunst, Berlin 2010.

Dectot, Xavier. Reflets d’or, d’orient en occident. La céramique lustrée IX–XV siècle, Paris 2008.

Dectot, Xavier. Céramiques hispaniques (XII–XVIII siècle), Paris 2007.

Vendrell-Saz, M. et al. Islamic and Hispano-Moresque Pottery in Spain: A Technical Approach, Zaragoza 2006.

Hudson, Christopher. The Arts of Fire. Islamic Influences on Glass and Ceramics of the Italian Renaissance, Los Angeles 1994.

Caiger-Smith, Alan. Lustre Pottery, Technique, Tradition and Innovation in Islam and the Western World, London 1991.

Sievernich, Gereon and Budde, Hendrik. Europa und der Orient: 800–1900, Berlin 1989. This three-coloured albarello, a vessel used to store valuable spices, was probably made in a pottery workshop in Manises or Paterna in the second half of the 15th century. Standing on a distinctly modelled pedestal, the tall, slender cylindrical body has slightly concave walls; the shoulder is short and the neck section long. The white-glazed body is divided into four registers coloured in a bold cobalt blue and manganese brown. The two principle sections, divided by a manganese brown ring outlined in blue, are decorated with vegetal shapes (with alternating leaf and floral patterns), an ataurique decorative motif typical of Arab earthenware. Fine arabesques embellish the shoulder; the long, straight neck has a linear decoration in cobalt blue and manganese brown.

The first lustreware pieces were fashioned in the early 9th century under the Abbasids in present-day Iraq although, originally, it is probable that glassmakers already developed the lustreware technique in the 8th century. The recipe for exquisite earthenware was a well-kept secret. Through the migration of potters and their families the secret technique spread across Egypt, then Syria and Persia. From the 12th century onwards lustreware was produced in Muslim regions on the Iberian Peninsula. The workshops in Manises and Paterna near Valencia are famous. For the potters, the long, stable political climate and wealthy clients in ‘al-Andalus’ were conducive to their success. The region also boasted rich deposits of metals and clay that were needed in the production of lustreware.

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The manufacturing instructions from the 14th century were passed down by Abu’l-Qasim who came from a dynasty of potters in Kashan, Iran, the Persian centre of lustreware. According to Abu’l-Qasim, earthenware has to be fired twice. Before the first firing, the clay is coated with a tin glaze; for the second firing, the object is painted with a paste comprising silver and copper compounds dissolved in grape juice or vinegar. The second and decisive firing must be made in a special kiln. By reducing the supply of oxygen the metallic pigment bonds are modified, producing a shimmering film on the surface of the ceramic piece. After firing, the item is polished with damp earth after cooling. Firing is considered a success when the object is a ‘reddish gold and shines like the sun’1 .

In the Middle Ages, Spanish-Islamic lustreware from Andalusia that shimmered like gold was highly prized in Europe. Items made in Muslim pottery workshops were exported over land and across the Mediterranean to Christian countries in the Western World, to Sicily and northern Germany. Lustreware was considered a status symbol – not only by the great houses of Spain. The Duke of Burgundy and the Medicis of Florence were also among those who commissioned and collected works which often bore religious or heraldic decorative motifs.

Evidence in the visual arts of the importance that southern Spanish lustreware attained in the 14th century can be found in the central panel with the Adoration of the Shepherds in Hugo van der Goes‘ Portinari Triptych (figs 1+2). A lustreware albarello is being used as a vase; it is shown both in its new function as an everyday object and, at the same time, as a representative, prestigious item.

1 Hudson, op. cit., p. 39

Fig. 1. The Portinari Triptych by Hugo van der Goes (Gent 1435/40–1482 Brussels), central panel, oil on wood, Bruges, 1477–78, The Uffizi Galleries, Florence This albarello entered the holdings of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1941 as part of the extensive bequest of the banker George Blumenthal (1858–1941). In 2007, together with the wing of a medieval tabernacle, the vessel was exchanged for a marble tabernacle from the 14th century in the collection of Paul W. Doll jr., of New York. The Met presumably decided to part with Blumenthal’s gift as two albarelli with very similar decorative elements were included in the bequest, as seen in the image (fig. 3).

Fig. 2. The Portinari Triptych by Hugo van der Goes, detail with Spanish lustreware Fig. 3. Albarello, formerly in the Blumenthal Collection, now in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

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‘Schöne Madonna’

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‘SCHÖNE MADONNA’ (Beautiful Madonna)

Salzburg or Tyrol Circa 1420

Lindenwood with original polychromy Height: 50.5 cm

Provenance: Kunsthandlung Madl, Vienna, 1920s, from where acquired by Leopoldine Katharina Kutter, Vienna; In Kutter’s possession until 1964; Sold through the mediation of Dr. Kurt Rossacher in 1965 to Prof. Anton Dermota, hon. ‘Kammersänger’, Vienna, in whose family it remained until 2020.

Exhibition: Schöne Madonnen 1350–1450, exh. cat., Salzburger Domkapitel, Domoratorien, Salzburg, 7 June–15 September 1965, p. 91, cat. no. 40, fig. 27, listed as Innviertel region around Ried, ecclesiastical province of Salzburg, diocese of Passau.

Related Literature: Karl IV. Kaiser von Gottes Gnaden. Kunst und Repräsentation des Hauses Luxemburg 1310–1437, exh. cat., Prague 2006, Munich/Berlin 2006.

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The Virgin Mary is gently holding the naked Christ Child, supporting her arm on her jutting left hip. To counterbalance the hip she leans her body far to the left and her head to the right. The overall posture describes the typical curve rather like the letter ‘S’. The white robe with a blue lining falls in a cascade of deep bowlshaped folds. The body is barely recognisable; only the tip of the right foot of the free leg peeks out at the bottom of the robe. The Virgin appears lost in thought, her gaze passing beyond the viewer. The Christ Child establishes no direct eye contact either. With his right hand he is holding his mother’s veil, pulling it playfully towards him.

The figure carved in the round stands on an octagonal plinth, the straight, long front forming the principal aspect. Nevertheless, the sculpture is not intended to be viewed from just one angle, offering as it does new and delightful perspectives from all sides. From the last third of the 14th century onwards a new type of Madonna became widespread in several areas in Europe. The Virgin, clothed in a voluminous mantle, is shown holding the Christ Child lying or sitting on her arm. The soft, flowing cascade of folds in the garment and the pronounced jutting hip are typical. Together with the upper body leaning to counterbalance this, the figures gain their ‘S’ shape. The graceful formal language, the curved body and the beautiful linear clarity of the generous folds led to this type of sculpture to being referred to as ‘Beautiful Madonnas’.

This new style originated in Bohemia and in the circle of the Imperial Court of Charles IV (Prague 1316–1378). It reflects the imperial desire for representation. Charles IV, King of Bohemia and Italy and Holy Roman Emperor, was a descendant of the House of Luxembourg. From 1323, from the age of seven, he enjoyed a comprehensive education at the French Court where the later Pope Clement VI was among his teachers. The refined artistic style at the French Court influenced his taste in art. On returning to Prague Charles IV championed the fine arts. On the occasion of the city being made into an archbishopric by Pope Clement in 1344, the foundation stone for Saint Vitus Cathedral was laid. Charles IV summoned Matthias of Arras and, following the latter’s death, Peter Parler to the cathedral workshop at Saint Vitus.

Fig. 1. The Beautiful Madonna of Perchau, circa 1420, wood, height 75 cm, polychromy of a later date (Baroque), Diözesanmuseum, Graz, inv. no. 6830.0122

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The first ‘Beautiful Madonna’ was reputedly made by a member of the Parler family, although there is no documentary evidence to support this. After their success in Prague ‘Beautiful Madonnas’ became widespread in Silesia, Austria and Bavaria. The oldest known examples are made of fine limestone, the so-called opaka or pläner rock that was quarried near Prague. Later cast stone and wood were used. The various artistic disciplines at the court in Prague, including architecture, sculpture, painting and manuscript painting reveal stylistic similarities that can be coined as the imperial Charles IV style. The best-known Madonnas are the ‘Beautiful Madonna of Toruń’ and the ‘Krumlov Madonna’, both dating from around 1390–1400. They define a style adopted in numerous later sculptures.

Our Madonna can be easily compared to the ‘Judenburg Madonna’ (Stadtpfarrkirche Sankt Nikolaus in Judenburg)1 created slightly later, around 1420/30, probably in Salzburg. The Christ Child is also pulling at his mother’s veil here. The posture and curved body of this much larger limestone Madonna (145 cm) are similar. The garment, also white with gold edging and a blue lining, has generous folds of material that fall in cascades from the arms to the left and right. At the bottom, the folds are draped on the ground on both sides.

Another Madonna – the so-called Perchauer Maria (fig. 1), now in the Diözesanmuseum in Graz – is very similar in form to our Madonna. Here, the Christ Child also reaches for the veil and the momentum in the folds and the execution of the faces is comparable. Stylistically, this type of Madonna has its roots in the artistic circle centred on Salzburg, without it being possible to attribute the work to any one particular artist by name.

Compared to other Madonnas our figure, with a height of 50.5 cm, is relatively small. It was certainly intended for private devotional prayer.

1 Schöne Madonnen, exh. cat., Salzburg, op. cit., cat. no. 26, ill. 22

A Pair of Candlesticks with Lion Feet