The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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L. p. . .

Master Armorer of the Renaissance

S T E P H E N V. G R A N C S A Y Curator
Emeritus
of ArmsandArmor

B Y COMPARI

architects
S O N with the immense

of the Renaissance,
fameenjoyedby the painters, sculptors,
relativelylittleis knownof theircontemporaries
and Contents
in the
appliedanddecorative arts.Duringthefifteenthandsixteenthcenturies, theenormousIRONWORK
production of picturesandstatuesandbuildings wasparalleled by a similarburstof LucioPiccinino, Masfer
creativeenergyin thefashioning of textiles,ceramics, glass,andallkindsof metalwork;Armorerof theRenaissance
but theartisans whoworkedwithsuchskillandtalentin thesefieldsall too oftengo
STEPHEN V. GRANCSAY 257
unsung-theirhandiwork unsigned, theirnamesunrecorded.
Asa result,the references to suchcraftsmen thatdo appearin contemporary docu- PreciousObiecEs in Iron
mentsareall the morevaluablein establishing theiridentityandin recognizing their CLARE VINCENT 272
work.Thechiefsourceof information, forexample, aboutoneof thegreatarmorers of
thesixteenthcentury,whosedistinctive creations graceseveralmuseums in theworld,
is a fewsentences in anobscurebookpublished in I 595, La Nobzltadi Mzlano,collected
biographies of thelocallyillustrious by onePaoloMorigia.In it he describes a family
of armorers namedPiccinino: the father,Antonio,andoneson,Federigo, wereblade-
F R ON T I S P I E CE :
smiths;a youngerson,Lucio,wasanarmorer who,saidMorigia, "inhisornamentation
Detail of the breastplate
of ironin reliefwith figures,animals,andgrotesquemasks,etc., andlikewisein his shownin FiguresZ
and4
damascene work,produced masterpieces thatarethemostchoiceandprecious." Lucio
Piccinino wouldnonetheless belittlemorethana tantalizing name,wereit not forthe ON THE COVER:
further,fortuitous remarkby Morigiathatamongthenotablepiecesexecutedby him Sconce,one of a pair. French,
was"armorof greatvalueforHis GraceAlessandro Farnese,dukeof Parma."With .frst half of the XVIII century.
thisclueandMorigia's fleetingdescription of Piccinino's styleit hasbeenpossibleto Widths7 inches.Dict Fund,
identifywithcertaintythissuit (Figure2), whichoncebelongedto oneof the most 57.I37.4s
notablesoldiers of thetime.It isnowin theWaffensammlung inVienna; richlyembassed Blactsmithsassembling afoliated
anddamascened, andso elaborately decorated thatthedukecouldhavehadno other ornamental crest.Detail of
likeit, thisharness canonlybe theonehepresented in I579 to Archduke Ferdinand of PlateXII, datedz 7s7,from the
theTyrol,whoplacedit in hiscollection of thearmorof famouspersonages in Castle ARrt du Serrurier (Paris,z 767).
Engraring.Dimensionsof whole
Ambras. Themostimportant of thesepieces,includingtheFarnese armor,weretrans- z oS x z 6 inches.TheLibrary
ferredto Viennain I806, andtheretheystillremain. of theMetropolitan Museum
257

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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s. Half-armorof FernandoSlvarezde Toledo,dute of Allba,by LucioPiccinino(about 1535-
afters595), Italian(Milan). Xbout 1570. Gift of WilliamH. Riggs,14.25.7l4

THE METROPOLITAN MUS EUM OF ART Bulletin

VOLUME XXII, NUMBER 8 APRIL I 964

PublishedmonthlyfromOctoberto JuneandquarterlyfromJulyto September. Copyright(D)1964

by TheMetropolitan Museumof Art,FifthAvenue and82nd Street,New York, N.Y. 10028.Second
classpostagepaidat NewYork,N.Y. Subscriptions$5.00a year.Singlecopiesfiftycents.Sentfreeto
MuseumMembers. Fourweeks'noticerequiredforchangeof address.Backissuesavailable on micro-
313N. FirstStreet,AnnArbor,Michigan.
filmfromUniversityMicrofilms, Editor:GrayWilliams, Jr.;
Editors:
Assistant Anne and
Preuss KatharineH. B.Stoddert; Suzanne
Assistant: R. Boorsch;Designer:
PeterOldenburg.

258
 Fromsuchstrongthoughslenderevidence
hangsa considerable sequenceof furtherat-
tribution;Piccinino'scraftsmanship was so
superlative and his use of decorativemotifs
so individualthat a numberof otherworks
havebeenassigned to himby theirstrongre-
semblance to theFarnese armor.Amongthese
area half-suitoncebelongingto AlfonsoII,
dukeof Ferrara, andnowin theWallace Col- 2. Afrmor
of Aflessandro
Farnese,dukeof Parma,by LucioPiccinino.AfboutI570.
lectioninLondon; another, thatoncebelonged Wafensammlung, Vienna
to PrincePhilip(laterPhilipIII)of Spain,in
the RoyalArmoryof Madrid;a breastplate
fora youth,in the VictoriaandAlbertMu-
seum;anda cuirassin the Louvre.At least
twoworksby Piccinino, amplyillustrating his
diversetalents,arein theMetropolitan: a pair
of gauntlets(FiguresI3 and I9) fromPrince
Philip'ssuit,anda half-suit(FigureI) that
belongedto FernandoAlvarezde Toledo,
dukeof Alba.
Piccinino's masterpiecesarerepresentative
of the last greatdevelopment in the art of
makingbodyarmor:the highlyornamented
"dress"or "parade" harnesses that were a
specialproductof the Renaissance. About
the turnof the sixteenthcenturyan impor-
tant changeoccurredin the armorer's craft.
Throughmostof the fifteenthcenturythe
principal emphasis hadbeenuponstructural
strengthandsimplicity of contour,withform
dependent upondefensive functionevenwhen
thepiecewasdesignedessentially fordisplay.
SuchGothicarmorwasoftenextensively dec-
orated,but withpaintor with embroidered
clothor leathercoverings thatdidnot affect
theformof themetal.Therevivalof classical
artandthought,however,broughtwithit an
interestin everyaspectof antiqueculture,
includingarmor- particularlythe splendid
decorative armor,described in ancientlitera-
tllreandshownin ancientsculpture, wornby
victoriousgeneralsin triumphal processions.
Thisinterestdid not manifestitselfimmedi-
atelyin actualarmor;it wasfirstexpressed in
the vigorousthoughoften fancifuladapta-
tions that appearedin paintings,sculpture,
andprints(Figure3). Not until the end of
the fifteenthcenturydid the armorers begin
to followwheretheseartistshadled,andto

3. St. George,by CarloCrivelli
(activeby I457 - afterI495),
Italian(Venice). Temperaon
wood, gold ground.38 x s3H
inches.RogersFund,05.4I.2
OP P O S I T E :
4. Breastplate
of the Aflba armor.
HeightI 6 iZlC^es
createa style in whichthe surfaceof the metal the job, such as the MantuanGiorgioGhisi,
itselfprovidedthe mediumfor complexorna- who was a painter, draughtsman,engraver,
mentation. armorer,embosser,and damascener all in one.
This new style requireda new kind of A paradeshieldin the BritishMuseumbears
craftsmanship, in which the talentsof several hissignature,andhisprintsareknownto have
artisanswere required,among them the ar- inspiredother worksin armor.Even in the
morer, to fashionthe contoursof the piece, case of Piccinino,who, it seems certain,de-
the ornamentdesigner,to plan the patternof pendeduponother artistsfor designsand the
decoration,and the goldsmith,to executethe executionof details,the workis so consistent
design.Renaissancegoldsmithswere not sim- andindividualin style that hispersonalsuper-
ply craftsmenin preciousmetal; their trade visionat every stagecannotbe doubted.
was considaredthe epitomeof all the arts of The Piccinino pieces in the Museum all
metalwork,for it necessitateda knowledgeof comefromcollectionsin Spain,and it is more
painting,sculpture,and every kind of design. than coincidencethat so much of the fine
The goldsmith was expected to fulfill any ornamentalarmorof the sixteenth century
commissionin fine metalwork;he modeled was in Spanishhands. The Spanishroyalty
and cast medals,carved sword mounts, and and nobility were about the best customers
embossedarmor- just as he would fashiona the armorersof this period had; their taste
necklaceor chalice-and workedin gold, sil- for the pompand pageantryof formalproces-
ver, copper,or iron with equal facility. Fur- sionswaswell-nighinsatiable,and they squan-
thermore,Renaissance goldsmithswereclosely dered much of their Mexicanand Peruvian
allied with artists in other fields, and their gold on ceremonialdress-of which fancy ar-
shops were often the training grounds for mor was the most elaborateand costly form.
painters,sculptors,and printmakers,among In reality,inflationand the drainof disastrous
themGhiberti,Donatello,Pollaiuolo,Verroc- warfarekept Spainconstantlyimpoverished,
chio, and Botticelli. These pupils frequently and the extravaganceof ceremonywasa lux-
continued to produce metalworkor metal- ury the country could ill afford.This, how-
work designsafter completingtheir appren- ever, did not preventkings,nobles,and cities
ticeship.Pollaiuolo,for instance,in addition alike from vying with each other in making
to painting, ran a thriving establishmentin pageantsand state entries as magnificentas
Florencethat producedprintsand metalwork possible,orfrompresentingdistinguished lead-
of variouskinds (one of his commissionswas ers with speciallycommissionedhelmetsand
for a silver helmet presentedby the city to shieldson importantoccasions.The Spaniards
the Duke of Urbino in I472). To show his were particularlyfond of the richly sculp-
masteryof both crafts, FrancescoRaibolini, tured, classicallyinspiredarmorproducedin
generallyknown as Francia,signed some of the Lombardprovincesof northernItaly, of
hispaintings"FranciaAurifex,"andhismetal- which Bresciaand Milanwere the chief cen-
work"FranciaPictor." ters. Milanwasin fact a politicaldependency
It was thereforenaturalthat as the art of of Spain for much of the sixteenthcentury,
armordevelopedfrom the shapingof contour and exerteda good dealof influenceon Span-
to the embellishmentof surface,the functions ish culture throughtrade,gifts, and the ex-
of armorerand goldsmithshould blend. In changeof artisans.At any rate, the periodof
many casesthis wasa matterof collaboration, greatestbrilliancein northItalianarmorcoin-
for the different crafts involved were com- cidedalmostexactlywith the periodof Spain's
plex, difficult,and time-consuming.It could greatestpower,and declinedwith the waning
well take a year to make a completesuit of of Spain'shegemonytowardthe end of the
decoratedarmor,even when severalmasters sixteenthcentury.
were cooperating.Sometimesone man would The armorof the Duke of Alba (Figure I)
have the ability to carryout every aspectof representsthe ornate Milanesestyle at its
260
-XwS
- -
la l l lll I ' - t A

- i i

i
S - i

I I !E I w

,11 i

w
 -m--

best.Theoriginalownerwasoneof themost in a trunk,wrappedin clothsthatabsorbed

famoussoldiersof his day-one of the two moistureandallowedthe slowerbut no less
reallyablegeneralswhofoughtfor Spainin destructiveoxidationof rustto eat into its
its lamentablewars againstthe rebellious surface. Mr.Riggsnevertheless recognized the
Netherlands (theother,incidentally, wasthe qualityof theworkevenfromthesedismem-
Duke of Parma).The suit remainedin the beredanddisintegrating fragments, andknow-
familyfor almostthreehundredyears,and ingof hishost'sinterestin Spanish cup-hilted
thenwasrescuedfromneglectby the famous rapiers, hesuggested a trade:attractive rapiers
AmericancollectorWilliamH. Riggs,who fromhis own collectionin exchangefor the
providedan oral accountof its acquisition damaged armor.
when he gave it to the Museumin I9I3. Thesedetailsarerecorded ina letterof I925
Sometime betweenI 855andI 865hehadbeen fromtheMuseum's curatorBashford Deanto
shownpiecesof it, in a sadstateof disrepair, the descendant of the dukewho madethe
duringoneof hisvisitsto the Albapalaceof trade.The continuation of the accountde-
Liriain Madrid.Therewasa familytradition servesquotationin full: "In time the valet
thatit hadbeendamaged in a fire,although [ofMr.Riggs]appeared witha seriesof cham-
it ismorelikelythatit wassimplystoredaway pagnebaskets packedwithrapiers. Thesewere

262
OP POSITE :

5. Back
of the leftpauldron(shoulderdefense)
of theAMlba
armor.Widthas shownI2
inches

6. Designforthefrontof theleftpauldronof the

Farnesearmor.KunsthistorischesMuseum,
Vienna

7. Satyrmast on theleftpauldronof the Alba

armor.Height5 inches

unpacked in thehallat Liria,andat thesame

timeMr.Riggs,whowithhisgreatcollecting
instincthadlearnedthat yourforebearhad
takengreatinterestin a certainprizesaddle
horsethenonsalein Madrid,causedthehorse
to be marchedinto the courtyard. The fine
horseandthebunchof cup-hilted rapierspro-
ducedsucha favorable constellation,thatthe
exchange wasmadethenandthere,Mr.Riggs
usingthe samechampagne basketsin which
to carrytheembossed armoroutof thepalace.
I haveno doubtthatmanyof the cup-hilted
rapiers
whicharenowin yourgreathallthere,
andwhichI remember sopleasantlyseeingon
my earlyvisitwithyou,aredoubtless partof
thisplunder."
Cleaningand repairhave helpedrestore
263
 8. Lionmastontheleftelbowof the
Alba armor.Height2 inches

someof theoriginalmagnificence of thissuit, motifsbetraya fascination for the grotesque

andasidefroma few restorations the whole that is characteristic of the mannerist phase
ensembleis original.Thisis of no little sig- of the Renaissance. Theorganization of these
nificance,sinceso manysupposedsuitsare decorations is by no meanshaphazard; they
"composed" (to use the professionaleuphe- areforthemostpartarranged in symmetrical,
mism)frommiscellaneous elements.Further- verticalbands,joinedby festoonsof fruitor
more,thewholeharness wasoriginally so en- by strapwork fromwhichmasksandbunches
richedwith decorationthat what remains of fruitare suspended(Figure4). This sys-
givessubstantial evidenceof its maker'sskill tematicarrangement, itsformality givingclar-
andworkingmethods. ity and additionalemphasisto the fanciful
Everyelement-evenin areasthat would motifs,is so similarto that on the Farnese
ordinarilybe coveredup by the overlapping armorandotherworksattributed to Piccinino
of theplates- is decorated withluxuriant de- that thereis virtuallyno chanceof coinci-
signsinrelief,drawnfromtheclassical reperto- dence.Togetherwith the motifsthemselves,
ry(Frontispiece andFigures4, 5,7, 8, IO, and andthemannerof usingraisedbeadsof silver
I2). Thesefeature Medusas, satyrs,sphinxes, to accentuate theframing strapwork (Frontis-
putti,boundcaptives,anthropomorphic lion piece),it canalmostbe considered a signature
9. Designfor theleftarmdefenseof masks,andfiguresof MarsandVictory-all of Piccinino's work.
theFarnesearmor.Kunsthis- derived,or ratheradapted,fromantiqueart, Thisfamilyresemblance becomesparticu-
torisches
Museum,Vienna for both the choiceand executionof these larlyclearwhenonecompares anarmdefense
and pauldron(shoulderdefense)of the Alba
armor(Figures5, 7, 8, and IO) with drawings
for the same elementsof the Farnesearmor
(Figures6 and9), whichstillexistandarenow
in the KunsthistorischesMuseumin Vienna.
The Alba pieces are, as it were, variations
upon the theme of the Farnesedesigns,with
certain modificationsin the subjects used
but a remarkablehomogeneityin the overall
scheme.Thesedrawingswerean intermediate
stepin planningthe decoration.It is probable
that Piccininohimselfdid not conceive the
basicmotifs;like manyof the armorersof the
time he seemsto have obtainedthem chiefly
from prints- especially the ubiquitous en-
gravingsof MarcantonioRaimondiand his so. Leftarmdefenseof theAflbaar-
numerousfollowers(FigureI I), whoprovided mor.Lengthas shown20 inches
all Europewith the decorativevocabularyof
the Renaissance.But the choice,combination,
and placementof these motifswereprobably
carriedout by Piccinino or a draughtsman
under his supervision,and mapped out on
drawingsfromwhichtheactualworkwasdone.
Once the elementswere shaped,and the
decorativeschemedecided,the embossingof
the relief was begun. The art of embossing
-raising ornamentsupon a metal plate by
hammeringfrom beneath-was known from
antiquity,but wasraisedto new standardsby
Renaissancemetalworkers.In this technique,
265
OPPOSITE: the metal is treatedas a plasticsubstanceto
ss. Ornament print,afterAgostinoVeneziano(about s4go-about I540), be shapedto the desiredform;iron and even
Italian(Venice).Engraving.9h x 7?4inches.Dict f;und,24.IO.I5 steel are far from being the rigid, unyielding
materialsthey seem,for given suicient pres-
sure or tension they may be stretched or
moldedalmostindefinitely.To embossarmor,
the designwas firstdrawnon the face of the
element,and the essentialoutlineswereham-
mered lightly with a blunt punch so they
would show on the back.The plate was em-
beddedface down in a yieldingmediumsuch
as asphalt,and the relief hammeredinto it.
The platewasthen reversedand re-embedded
face up, and the backgroundwas hammered
down, the two stepsbeing repeateduntil the
desired height of relief was achieved. Fine
detailswere then renderedby chasing- that
is, chiseling- whichgives the impressionthat
I2. Detail of thechindefenseof theAflbaarmor,showingpreserved
dama- the designhas been carvedout of the metal,
scening.A!boutactualsize whereasin fact the embossingprocessis essen-
tially one of modeling.
Embossingwasnot the only methodof em-
bellishingthe surface.Areasmight be mer-
cury-gildedor chemicallybluedto createcon-
trastsof metal color, and flat surfacescould
be intricatelydamascenedto producea sim-
ilar result on a finer scale. The processof
damascening,or inlaying fine wires into in-
cisedpatterns,wasintroducedto Europefrom
the Near East in the MiddleAges,but in the
sixteenthcenturybecamethe specialprovince
of Italianarmorers.The unembossedsections
of the Albaarmorwereonce entirelycovered
with graceful damascening,which now re-
mains only on isolatedparts that were pro-
tected from rust (Figure I2). The surfaceof
the element was scribed with the pattern
desired,and the design either crosshatched
or cut with burrededges to hold the inlay.
Fine wire, usuallyof gold or silver,was then
workedinto the pattern,and hammeredand
burnishedflushwith the background,creating
a lacy effect of greatdelicacy.
If the ravagesof time have ruinedmuchof
the surfaceof the Alba armor,the beauty of
Piccinino's damasceningis evident on the
gauntlets (Figures I3 and I9) for Prince
Philip's armor.In the unembossedareasof
the cuffs and acrosseach of the plates that
forma protectionfor the backof the handare

266
rs
W :}

:E
 _ strongly characteristic
sj
suits
igauntlets
-sm |least
: cause
! harnesses
items
auction
i of
with
was
they
the
in- the
for
which
house
royal
comparatlvely
wereboys
I839. disappearance
palace,
not
in
they
These
of exhibited
London
securely
Piccinino's
belonged.
turned
across
easy
and
of
in the
up
fastened
aseveral
were
tosingle
at
court
Ofremove
Christie's
auctioned
style.
thirteen
from
hundred
gallery
to be-
the
the

I I lavishpatternsof damascening, accentedby

rowsof the raisedsilverbeadingthatareso
typicalof Piccinino'swork.The fingersare
missing,but a portraitof Philipwearingthis
l
suit (FiguresI4 and I5) showshow they
looked.It alsoindicateshowthe longcentral
cartoucheon the cuff,with its flankingfes-
toonsof fruit,continuesand completesthe
formal,rhythmical designon the arm-again

_l _ These gauntletsbecameseparatedfrom
_- _ their matchingharness(FigureI6) under
1X1 _ mysteriouscircumstances in the nineteenth
_ century.Thecollectionof the RoyalArmory
of Madrid,foundedin I565 by PhilipII in
; onorof his father,CharlesV, hassuffered
overthe centuries;
severalcalamitles not the

andprivatecol-
off,mainlyto Englishdealers
4 I ctors.Amongthepieceswereseveralpairsof

___ armory, andit

onlyonestillhasits gauntlets,
thatgauntletsin othermu-
is not surprising

gauntlet
. Right ofa pairmadefor armor
a suitofembossed ofPrince of _
Philip
Spain Abouts590.Fingers
III),byLucioPiccinino.
(Philip Length
lacting.
Rogers
7S inches. Fund,19.128.1 _ 0 R _

_R_
* 1, hS

aswornbyPhilip
oneof thegauntlets
15,showing
s4. DetailofFigure _
268
s5. Allegoryof the Educationof PhilipIII, by JustusTiel, I 6. Half-armorof PrincePhilip,to whichthegauntletsshown
Flemish.About1594. Museodel Prado in Figures13 and /9 belonged.RoyalArmory,Madrid

269
 seumsandcollectionsareoften identifiedwith
this group.In the caseof the Museum'spair
there can be no doubt: even if the technical
and stylistic relationshipwith the suit of
Philip III were not so strong, the portrait
wouldprovideabsoluteconfirmation.
The Museumpossessesstill anotherpairof
gauntlets(FiguresI7 and I8) that canbe asso-
ciated with this group-and with Piccinino
as well,althoughthey have neverbeenattrib-
uted to him. They were unquestionablypart
of the Christie'ssalein I839, describedas "A
Pair of Page'sGauntlets,the right-handfin-
gers of chain, chasedand engravedwith fig-
ures."On these gauntlets,overlappingscales
suchas thoseshownin PrincePhilip'sportrait
areusedon the left hand,but are replacedon
the rightby bandsof mail,whichwereappar-
ently substitutedfor scalesat some time be-
forethe Christiesale.Thisdifferenceis suchan
unusualfeaturethat it makesthe pairunique.
Thereis anotherportraitof Philip III, show-
ing him in the suit that matchesthesegaunt-
lets- but without any gauntlets!
There is some circumstantialevidence to
link thesegauntletsto Piccinino.The suit to
which they belongedis known to have been
given to Philip, as was the suit of embossed
armor,by the Duke of Terranova,governor
of Milan.It does not seemfarfetchedto sup-
pose that both harnesseswere commissioned
fromthe finestMilanesearmorerof his gener-
ation.The strongestevidenceof all, however,
comesfromdirectcomparisonof the two pairs

270
graphs
skill.
I It
9. is ofaWepTiel's
Detail know,
ofty anthat
portrait
however,
Lucio gauntlet,
embossed of
Piccinino
that
Philipthefamily
theIII;
had
mateno
0 Javier
to- tra-
;;. f ,: t-f-0
which ;; X X- in_ Figure
; is f shown
;E'0:>?i^' i_; ... <' Re ...... 3jb-_ _ _ ' s3

of gauntlets
themselves.Although therelief ;A;00000
ttt;00^
25t0WX_
decoratton
of thepairwithfingersis simply !;S;;;;i;;
;i--;?
:jtt>:i:
-? i fi i
chiseled
ratherthanembossed,theconstruc- >400000000;0_
ttonanddamascen1ng areverysim1lar,and j.0f;0--WiR?;*i4w?
thearmedclassicalwarriors
on thecuffsare 0 ;:y0f4-<$i-
S i
almostexactlyalike.Thesamecharacteristic t-; _
silverbeadingalsoappears
on bothpalrs.If f0V;j---t<--w _ 5 @S11

nottheworkofPiccininohimself,
thechiseled l;000<Sit
jQ4 w _ t. ^;v D w
gauntletsmustbe fromanotherMilanese :3&XLi
t$-0 ti _

scattered
plecesremaln
as testlmony
to his -t -f
;i; 000 +v >M_ r >; ;

ditionof craftsmanshipdidnotdieoutwith ; ;::;:;; i _ _ -

him.ThereisintheMuseum a Milanesecup- lQ^ t0;0
htltedrapierof theseventeenth century,one : 0 ::0X;
';-;? < _ _ _ :
ofthefinestinexistence,itshiltmagnificently ; r00;t >0* _ _
chiseled
in relief;on theexteriorofthecup, 0000-Xvr>- z_
neartheopening fortheblade,isthesignature 0i;
.
CarloPicc1nino. ;; 0i;;::::

NOTE: I should liketo thankJoseGudiol, t -t __

directorof the InstitutoAmatller
de Arte i;000--iisiR:sR*RXtR24;iB&riE0|0t?&-__
HispanicoinBarcelona,forprovidingphoto- ^w; t?^ri5S,:0S,;fff',,>::,,,,,,,,;,,,

Cortes,
formerdirectorof theRoyalArmory : : ;::t:S X__
in Madrid,forfacilitating
thestudyof the - __
princes'
armor; andthe Dukeof Alba,for __
supplyinga photographof ancestral
armor.
Themajor monograph onPiccininoisAugust
Grosz's"VorlagenderWerkstatte desLucio
Piccinino,"
publishedinJahrbuchderKunst-
historischen
Sammlungen
in Wien36 (I925),

I 7, 18. Pairof gauntletsmadefor a suit of chiseledarmorof PrincePhilip.

Italian(Milan). About 1590. The mailedJingerson the right hand
are a restoration.
Length9 inches.RogersFund.o4.3.34-3s

_-
|

__
__
i . |

27I
Precious Objects in Iron:

EUROPEAN wroughtiron,like otherappliedarts,sharedin the development and

growthof the stylesprevailing at variousperiodsamongthe finearts.Becauseof the
relativeintractability of the medium,a wrought-iron objectrarelyexistedas an end
in itself,yet it oftenwasmadeto delighttheeyeaswellasto servea practical purpose.
A numberof examples of well-wrought
andbeautifully ornamented ironwork,including
twentygrillsandscreensfromthe collectionof WilliamRandolph Hearstandmore
thanseventypiecesfromthecollection of SamuelYellin,havecometo theMuseum in
recentyears.Rangingin datefromthe Renaissance to theeighteenthcentury,andin
sizefroma small,delicatelychiseledkey designedby the Frenchmannerist Jacques
AndrouetDucerceau to the majestic,fifty-two-footchoirscreenfromthe Cathedral
of Valladolid, theseobjectsforma representative selectionof someof the bestEuro-
peanartlstryln lron.
. . .

In Italy,wheretherevivalof theartof classical antiquitywasof centralimportance,

Two Collections of European Smithing

C L A R E V I N C E N T Curatorial
Assistant,Department
of Western
EuropeanArts

the Renaissancesmithwasapparently somewhatlimitedby the absenceof classical

modelsfordecorative ironwork. Inthefifteenthandearlysixteenth centuries,
therefore,
Italiansmithstendedto continueto uselatemedieval formsasthebasisof theirdesigns,
gradually adaptingthemto newaestheticstandards. In contrastto Florentineworkof
the sameperiod(whichis oftencomposed of motifspatterned afterarchitectural
ele-
ments,suchascolumns andcornices),ironwork in theTuscancityof Sienareflectsthe
newRenaissance interestin sculptural
form,butretainsthemedievaltradition of pre-
servingtheidentityof theironbarfromwhichit wasworked.
Anirondoorknocker in theshapeofa dragon(Figure3) wasprobably madein Siena,
forit is mostcloselyrelatedto sucha prizedaccessory of the Sienesepalazzoas the s. Balconygrill.SouthGermanor
griffin-shaped
bannerholderon the PalazzoGrisoli(Figure2). The dragonis in all Swiss,secondhayof thexvIs
likelihoodnot muchlaterthanthe firstquarterof the sixteenthcentury,sincein century.WidthZofeet 934inches.
knockers madelaterin thatcenturythespontaneity of the earlierSieneseworkseems Dict Fund,57.I37.57
 to have been lost. Both dragonand griffin partsof a churchfromothers.Spanishchapel
wereconstructed froman iron bar,rapidly screens of ambitious proportions werealready
bent into shapewhilehot from the forge. being made duringthe last yearsof the
Separatepiecesforwingsandfeet werethen fifteenth century,but the Renaissance in
heated,drawnout, andattachedto the bar Spanish ironwork beganearlyin thesixteenth
withironrivets.Finally,hammerandpunch centurywhenthe smithreplacedthe square
wereusedto supplythe identifyingfeatures or twistedironbarwiththeslender,rounded
of the animalsandto createa satisfyingsur- ironspindle,a sortof ironadaptation of the
facedecoration, as, for example,the pattern Italian stone baluster. The Renaissance reja
of hammerblows on the dragon's body that was composed of two or three tiers of spindles,
suggestsits scales.Thesevivaciouscreatures hammered fromsolidironin thelightest,most
demonstratethe strengthand livelinessof symmetrical of formsandcold-chiseled with
formof the bestworkof the TuscanRenais- decorativefoliation.The tiers were divided
sanceblacksmiths. andcrestedwithhorizontal bandsofembossed
In the courseof the sixteenthcentury,the ironelaborately decoratedwith Renaissance
Renaissance idealscultivatedin Italianart motifs,andtheywereaccented vertically with
graduallyreplacedthe late Gothic in the woodenpilasters, sheathedin ironembossed
northand west.In Spain,France,and the withItalianate grotesques.
Germanic regions, up-to-date ironworkers felt Theseearlyrejas provedsosatisfying a solu-
the influence of the newtasteandreactedin tion to the screeningof Spanishchoirsand
a surpr1s1ng
.

var1etyof ways.
. .

chapelsthattheyremained themodelsforthe
Renaissance architecture andornament ap- rejero untilwellintotheseventeenth century.
pearedin Spain at a time when the wealth Toward the end of the sixteenth century, how-
of the Spanishoverseas empire provided ever, the ornament became more restrained,
thewherewithal formagnificent architecturalwhentheseverearchitectural styleof theEs-
projects.TheSpanish ironworker sharedfrom corial, begun in I563 by Juan Bautistade
the firstin the floweringof the new style, Toledoand finished by Juan de Herrerain
adoptingRenaissance ornamental elementsas I 584, prevailed. In I 585 Herrera also provided
readilyas did the contemporary Spanishar- a mostambitiousplanfor the Cathedral of
chitects.In addition,the Spanishsmiths,in Valladolid. The cathedral wasbegunin I589
contrastto the Italiansof the preceding cen- andconsecrated in I668, althoughonlya part
tury,wereprovidedwithnumerous commis- of the originalplanwasactuallycarriedout.
sions,of whichthe mostimportant werethe Thecathedral archives showthatin thelatter
rejas, or ironscreens usedto dividecertain yearthe ironmaster PedroJuanwaspaidfor
the makingof the choirscreen.The cresting
and gildingwere not, however,completed
until I764.
The tiereddesignof spindles,separated by
horizontal ironbands,linksthisreja, nowin
the Metropolitan Museum(Figure4), di-
rectlyto theillustrious lineof Spanish Renais-
sancemasterworks. But the restrained useof
decoration andtheintensification of therhyth-
micrepetition of thespindles achievedby the
suppression of pilastersin favorof accenting
2. Bannerholderon thePalazzo spindles,slightlythickerin sectionand dis-
Grisoli.Italian(Siena), xv cen- playingbaroque twistsat theirbases,combine
tury.Photograph: - Afrt
AMlinari to give thescreena formalmagnificence that
Reference Bureau reflectsthe intervening influenceof Herrera.
 SeveralsmallSpanishgrillsshow the appli-
cationof the severestyle on a lessmagnificent
scale.One of these(Figure5), bearinga panel
workedwith the ironmaster'sname, Francus
Gozales(probablya Latinizedabbreviationof
FranciscoGonzales),illustratesa curiousdis-
intereston the part of the smith for any ele-
ment but the spindles,which are beautifully
finished by applying thin gold leaf to the
surfaceso that the pleasinglywroughttexture
of the iron remainsvisible.In its relianceon
the decorativeeffectof the repetitionof spin-
dles of highly sophisticatedproportions,the
grill is relatedto a smallconfessionalgrill in
the Museumthat is inscribedwith the date
I629. The repeatedcherubheadsthat hover
betweenthe spindlesof the Gonzalesgrillfur-
ther indicatea seventeenthcenturydate, for
they have been cast in bronze and gilded
ratherthan individuallyembossedin iron, as
they almost certainlywould have been in a
fine exampleof the precedingcentury.
When the Renaissancearrivedin sixteenth
centuryFrance,two groupsof metalworkers,
the armorersand the locksmiths,especially
flourished.The work of the latter is repre-
sentedby a gildedkey decoratedwith French
manneristornament(Figure7). The key be-
longsto the veryold traditionof chefsd'oeurre,
or "masterpieces," test pieces made by ap-
prenticesseekingadmissionto the locksmiths'
guild.As earlyas I 393, Parisapprenticeswere
expectedto produceone or moreexamplesof
their proficiencyafter an apprenticeshipof
seven to eight years, and this requirement,
with certainexceptions,lastedthroughoutthe
subsequenthistory of French locksmithing.
The French were renownedfor these test
pieces,whichusuallyconsistedof one or more
varietiesof lockandkey. They areoften mag-
nificentexamplesof cold-chiselediron,carved
like sculpturefromsolidmetal,and the finest
of them, decoratedin whateverstyle of orna-
ment was current, were often pierced and
gildedas well.

3. Door tnockerin theshapeof a dragon.

Italian(probablySiena),late xv or early
XVI century.
Heights434inches.Dict Fund,
57Ri37I27
 It is generallydifficult to prove that any bookof HenriIII for I580 indicatesthat they OPPOSITE:
specificlock or key was madeas a test piece did exist: it recordsthe paymentof seventy Choirscreenfrom the Cathedral
and not by a masterlocksmithas part of his crownsfor "sixty-sixouncesof wide ribbon of Valladolid,Spain,executedin
day's work.Unusualevidence,however,sug- of silverand silk, of white, orange,and dove Z668 by theironmasterPedro
geststhat the Museum'skey wasindeedmade color,to serveto suspendthekeysof thegentils- Juan. Thegildingand cresting
as a masterpiece. In a book of designsfor hommesordinaires of the King'sChamber."In werecompleteda centurylater.
metalwork, known as "Modeles de Serru- I 585, for the firsttimein Frenchhistory,a set Heights2feet.Giftof TheHearst
rerie," by the architect and ornamentalist of regulationsstrictly governing the move- Foundation, 56.234.s
JacquesAndrouetDucerceauthe Elder, ap- ments and privilegesof the courtiersin the
pearsan engravingof four designsfor keys royalpalaceswaspublishedby HenriIII. En-
labeled"Pourclefsde chedoeuure"(Figure6), tranceto the royalapartmentswasforbidden
andone of theselooksvery muchlike ourkey. to nearlyall the old nobilitywhohadformerly
Mostof the majorelementsof the designhave claimedthatprivilege,andeven the admission
been followed:the scrolledbrackets,the fe- to the king'saudiencechamberswas severely
maleterms,the grotesqueheads,and the rest- restricted.Thusa courtier'spossessionof such
less miniaturestatue of the male nude set a key musthaveheld specialsignificanceafter
within the architecturalfrontispiece.Ducer- I585, and specialcare must have been taken
ceau'sbookseemsto havebeenpublisheddur- in theirworkmanship. Keys of this sort,how-
ing the thirdquarterof the sixteenthcentury, ever, were alreadyconsideredmarvelsof an-
Grillbearingthe name"Francus
and it is in this periodthat the key wasprob- otherage in I627 whenMathurinJousseillus-
Gozales."Spanish,XVII century.
ably made. tratedfourof them (Figure9), includingtwo
Height43 inches.Gift of
AnothersixteenthcenturyFrenchkey (Fig- that stronglyresemblethe ones here and in
TheHearstFoundation,
ure 8) representsa quite differenttradition: the Victoriaand Albert,in his FidelleOurera-
56a234.I2
the key as a symbolof favoror office.It be- turede l'Art de Serrurier, the most extensive
longs to a groupof keys comparablein struc- treatiseon French locksmithingbefore the
ture and design,such as one in the Victoria eighteenthcentury. Jousse,whose authority
and Albert Museum.Both have a carefully wasstill beingcited by the eighteenthcentury 9l,
filed, comblikebit attached to a hollow col- encyclopedists,commentsin his chapteron
umnorpipe,whichis surmountedby a capital. antiquelocksmithingthatsuchdecorationwas
The bowsconsistof pierceddesignsof winged, accomplished"selonla capacite'des ouuriers
addorsedfiguresand animalor humanheads tellementque cela est long a dificile a'faire
supportingbrokenarchitraves,whichin turn commeonpeutroirdansles4. Clefssuiuantes"
supportsmallurnsflankedby tiny dolphins. ("accordingto the ability of the artisans,to 2- E
A small ring on the top of the urn on the such an extent that the makingis long and Trrr
Victoriaand Albert'skey providesthe means difficult,as can be seen in the four following
by which the key can be suspended.The keys").
piercedfinialon the urnof the Metropolitan's In sixteenthcenturyItaly the techniqueof
key once undoubtedlysecureda similarring, cold-chiseling sculpturesque subjectsremained
and the cover of the urn itself is made to primarilythe provinceof the armorer.Sculp-
swivel,allowingthe key to hang freely. This turesqueornamentextendedeven to the tools
whole group of keys is distinguishedfor the of the armorer'scraft.The jawsof an ironvise
exquisiteuse of cold chiseling,which renders (FigureI0) aredecoratedwith a mermaidand
themasfinelyfinishedasanygoldsmith'sprod- a merman,whileanothermermanadornsthe
uct. Indeed,they wereprobablydisplayedas back.The vise is inscribedwith the date I588
proudlyas gold pendantswould have been. and the nameof its maker,Jacopoda Ferrara,
These highly ornamentedkeys were prob- aboutwhomnothingfurtheris known,though
ably made during the last third of the six- his name suggestshe had left Ferrarawhen
teenth century for French royal courtiers. thispiecewasmade.Althoughthe threecrea-
Thoughno contemporary descriptions of them tures of chiselediron are less finely finished
I
have come to light, an entry in the account than many of those of the sixteenthcentury

277
j

PRB M1ERE Fl6YR L

oNeXs
OPPOS ITE:
Afbore:
6. Fourdesignsformaster-piecekeysbyJacques
Afndrouet
DucerceautheElder(abouts5z o-
aboutIs84),froma bookknown as "Modeles
de Serrurerie."
French,thirdquarterof the
XVI century.Engraring.3h x 6h8inches.
Dict Fund,32.55.s

7. Key madeas a testpiecefor admissionto

the loctsmiths'guild. French,probablythird
quarterof the XVI century.Height3%
inches.Dict Fund,58.z 6.2

Below:
8. Courtier's
key. French,about I580-I589.
Height5%6 inches.Dict Fund,58.z 6.3

9. Fourkeys.PlateIfrom the FidelleOurera-

turede lArtde Serrurier
by Mathurin
Jousse,publishedby GeorgesGriveau(La
Fleche,z 627). Engraring.7M2x zsh inches.
Dict Fund,26.6.3

so. Armorer's vise,byJacopoda Ferrara.

Italian,dateds588. Heightso3/6inches.
Dict Fund,58.s6.5
Loct andkeymade for Mafeo
BarberiniPopeUrbanVlll.
Italian(Rome),Z623-s644.
Widthof loct 2s inches,height
of key6S inches.Dict Fund,
57eI37.44a-c
Milanesearmorers,who were world famous
for the beautyanddelicacyof theirsculptured
ornament,they arefarmorelively in concep-
tion. In the taut, powerfulanatomiesof the
mermaidandmermanbracedagainsteachjaw
of the vise, Jacopowasable to expressall the
strainingpowerof the mechanismthey adorn.
Anothertechniquefor ornamentingmetal-
work,and one in which the Italiansexcelled,
was damascening,a processof inlayingmetal
with patternsof thin silver, gold, or copper
wire. The decorationof an Italian lock and
key (Figure I I) of the secondquarterof the
seventeenthcenturywasappliedby this diffi-
cult anddelicateprocess.The lock,nearlytwo
feet wide, was probablyplacedon the inner
side of a door,wherethe bolt and springme-
chanismcould be left exposed.These func-
tional elements of polished iron have been
visually contrastedto the rest of the metal-
work, which has been lightenedin effect by
the ornamentationof silverdamascening. The
simplediaperpatternof the massivesupport-
ing plate, which is borderedon three sides
280
with a damascenedtorusmolding, is further
contrastedto the swirlingfoliationson the
plates that guide the bolt and protect the
mechanism.The centralplate also bearsthe
threegoldenbeesof the Barberinifamilysur-
mountedby thepapaltiara,thearmsof Maffeo
Barberini,Pope UrbanVIII,forwhoma num-
ber of architecturalprojectswere carriedout
in Rome during the yearsof his pontificate,
I623 to I644. One of these projectswas un-
doubtedly the originalsite of the Museum's
lock.
In the Germanicregions,smithscontinued
to employelaboratelate Gothic designsuntil
long pastthe middleof the sixteenthcentury.
When such motifs were at last abandoned,
they werereplacedby essentiallyflatpatterns
of flowing,interlacedcurves. In contrastto
the sculptural,manneristdesignsof theFrench
and Italiancold-chiseledironworkof the same
period,these Germanicarabesqueswere pro-
duced from hammerediron beaten thin and
interthreaded,then decoratedwith floraland
foliateforms.For the next centurysuch pat-
I2. Detailof thebalconygrillshownin Figurez

terns were used on well canopies,window

grills,signbrackets,andasapplieddecorations
on locksand doorfittings.Towardthe middle
of the seventeenthcentury the intersecting
arabesquesbecame even more two-dimen-
sional,and the matter-of-factfloralandfoliate
elementswere replacedby fancifullittle gro-
tesquesworkedinto the structureitself.
The incredibleairinessof such ironworkis
demonstratedby a balcony grill (Figures I
and I2) of the secondhalf of the seventeenth
century. The examplesclosest in style and
executionto thispiecearefoundin the region
of Switzerlandand the southwesternGerman
state of Baden, such as the semicircularstair
railin the Cathedralof Constance(FigureI3).
A close examinationof the Museum'sgrill
(FigureI2) showsthat the smithhas reduced
theironrodsto theminimumthicknessneeded
to carrythe weightof the material.His tech-
nicalsophisticationcan be seenin the skillful
assemblageof these countlessrodsand in the
incised,attenuatedfoliations,whichnot only
disguisethe weldingof the rodsbut also em-
phasizethe rhythmof the curves.The struc-
ture has been furtherlightenedby the mor-
tising of the majorintersectionsand by the
welding,ratherthan rivetingor collaring,of
the rest of the joints. A whimsicaltouch has
been added by transformingone of the two
foliateornamentsat eachend of the grill into
a grotesquemask.
The last twenty years of the seventeenth
centurymarkedthe floweringof baroqueiron-
work in Italy, France,and England.French
engravers,architects,and blacksmithsled the
way in this development,publishingan un-
precedentednumberof designbooksforblack-
smithsand locksmithsthat weredisseminated
throughoutEurope.JeanLepautre,Jeanand
DanielMarot,and JeanBerainareamongthe
most illustriouswho includedideasfor iron-

z3. Stairrailfromthe Cathedral of Constance.

SouthGerman,secondhalf of the XVII
century.(Plate25from DeutscheSchmiede-
eisentunst,II, by FerdinandStutzmann)
 workamongtheirbooksof ornament,but
lessermensuchas NicolasGuerardand the
smithMichelHastecontributedgreatlyto
the wealthof publisheddesigns.FoliatedS-
scrollsandC-scrolls wereusedin endlesscom-
binations byFrenchdesigners, andtheybegan
to appearon a widevarietyof metalobjects.
Irongrills,locks,andmetalinlaysfor furni-
tureallweredecorated in thebaroque manner.
A cofferlock(Figure I5) iS a survival of the
traditional lockwiththreecatches,a typede^
scribedby MathurinJoussemorethanhalfa
centurybefore,but decoratedwith pierced
designsin thenewestscrolled patterns. Itskey
is modernized only by the decorative use of
heavybaroqueS-scrolls on its bow;otherwise
it is deriveddirectlyfromearliermodelslike
thoseJousseillustrated, witha delicatelyfiled
bit, a hollowpipeof triangular section,and
a chiseledcapitalandbow.
Thiskindof locklastedwellintotheeight-
eenthcentury.Itsmechanism wasillustrated,
for instance,in the Afrt dfu Serrurier (Paris,
I767), the volumeon ironwork fromthe en-
cyclopedicseries"Description des Arts et
Metiers," published undertheauspices of the
FrenchRoyalAcademy of Sciences asanoffi-
ciallyapprovedalternativeto the politically
unorthodox"Encyclopedie" edited by Di-
derot.This engraving(FigureI4), froma
designby a smithnamedBretez,wasappar-
ently preparedover fifty yearsbeforethe
publication of the book,for it, like several
othersin the volume,is datedI7I6. In the
chapterson locksmithing, the academician
Reaumur commented thatsucha coffier lock
of only threecatcheswasa relativelysimple
mechanism and that, for the moredifficult
cofferlocksmadeasmasterpieces,it wasusu-
ally necessary for the apprenticeto demon-
stratehisskillby providing a greaternumber
of catches.
Vignetteson otherplatesfromthe same
treatise,thesedatedI7I7, showblacksmiths
fashioning foliatedscrollsfor the crestof an
s4. Designfor a co;ferloct, showingthe mechanism.PlateXXVI, dateds7Z6, were
irongrill(Cover).The sametechniques
from the Jrt du Serrurier(Paris,s767). Engraring.s?4 x s6 inches.The
usedto createthe gracefulironworkof the
Libraryof theMetropolitan Museum
Frenchrococowithits asymmetrical designs.
A pairof sconces(CoverandFigureI6) pro-
vide smallbut delightfulexamples of rococo

282
iron.Their repeatedscrollswerefashionedon
a form, or pattern,in the mannerdescribed
in the 24rtdu Serrurier: the smith heated an
iron bar, which he had drawnout from an
ingot, until it waswhite-hotat one end. Using
a hammerandvise,he startedthe innercurves
of the scrollfreehand.He then clampedthe
iron bar to the pattern and, little by little,
hammeredthe baralongits exact curve.The
smallerrevolutionsof the scrollwerecustom-
arilyfinishedby diminishingthe thicknessof
the iron with chiseland file, impartinga rib-
bonlike lightnessto the work. Some of the
scrollendsof the Museum'ssconceswerefin-
ishedin this manner,while otherswere ham-
meredinto dot shapesknownas "snubends."
The scrollswere then weldedor mortisedto-
getherto format once the structureanddeco-
ration of the sconces.The final test of the
blacksmith'sskill came, however,in the cut-
ting and shapingof the variousleaf formsto
be weldedto appropriatepointson the scrolls.
Accordingto the 24rzdu Serrurier, the ability
to imparta naturallook to the formandplace-
ment of the leavesdemonstrates"allthe taste
andskillof the craftsman,talentsthat one can
acquireonly by long practice." s5. CoXerlocaandtey. French,aboutI680-I700. Heightof lock6o/6inches,height
By the middle of the eighteenthcentury, Of key 55 inches-DickFund,57. I37.7 a-b
rococodesignprevailedthroughoutEurope.
Even such objects as the Venetiangondola
prows or dfel;fni("dolphins,"as they were Z6. Sconce,oneof a pair. French, J2rsthalf of thexvlss cent?wry.
Widthz 7 inches.
fancifullycalledby the Venetians),of which Dict F?wnd, 57.I37.40
two arenowin ourcollectionsandwhichwere
the productof a long, local evolution, bore
tracesof rococoornament.Oneof theseprows,
a raresurvivalfrom the mid-eighteenthcen-
tury (FigureI7), displaysa typically asym-
metricalrocococartoucheset amongthe more
traditionalItalian engraved arabesquesand
grotesques.The arms enclosed in this car-
toucheand surmountedby the cap of office,
or corno,of the doge are thoseof the Delfini
family. Like other Venetianaristocratswho
counteddogesamongtheirancestors,the Del-
Sni recordedthe honoron theirfamilycrest.
Indeed, the silhouetteof the flat iron blade
itself is an allusionto the corno.Below the
blade there are four small teeth facing for-
ward, two of which securedthe prow to the
gondola.Graduallysix becamethe standard
number,giving rise to the legend that they in use;as HoratioBrown,authorof Life on OPPOSITE AND BELOW:
symbolizedthe six districtsof Venice. the Lagoons,commented: "Theyusedto be z 7. Gondolaprowmadefor the
The earliestreferenceto iron gondolafit- madeof hand-wrought iron,lightandpliant, Delginifamily.Italian
tingsdatesfrom the late fifteenthcentury.A thatwouldbendandnot breakif theycame (Venice),mid-xvlll century.
deed of I485 speaksof a gondola "sinedel- in contactwitha bridge.Now the newferri Longestdimension56% inches.
phini,"or "withoutdolphins,"but thesecould [ironprows] arecastin moulds,andareheavy Dzct Fund,S8.Z6.so
not yet have been common,for they never andbrittle.Agoodgondolier will,verylikely,
appear on the little black gondolas with possess an oldferro, whichmayhavebeenan
pointed ends in the contemporarynarrative heirloom in hisfamilyformanyyears,forthe
paintingsof Gentile Belliniand VittoreCar- ferri if properly caredforandnot allowedto
paccio. Small, clublike delJ#ni,attached to
each end of the flat-bottomedgondolasby s8. Sixteenthcenturygondolaswith
meansof projectingpins, were clearlyin use delfni at bow and stern.
when CesareVecellio'scharmingaccount of Pages22from De gli habiti
fashions,De gli habiti antichiet modernide antichie modernidi diverse
diversepartidel mondo,was pllblishedin Ven- partidel mondoby Cesare
ice in I590 (Figure I8). The book describes Vecellio,publishedby Damian
the delMni as "thoseironsat the sternand bow Zenaro(Venice,I590). Wood-
that, due to their gleamingcondition,seem cut. 4H8x 6S inches.Rogers
to be of silver." Fund,2Z.36.s46
No fixeddate can be assignedto the aban-
donmentof the delJinoat the stern and the
evolutionof the prowinto the gracefulplaque
that we know today. The changehadalready
takenplace,however,when the gondolahull
evolved into the present-dayasymmetrical,
flat-bottomedshell with the long axis to one
sideof the center,allowingthe narrowside to
oSset the weight of the gondolieron the
crossaxis,while the prowbalanceshis weight
on the longaxis.If the accurateeyesof the Ve-
netianartistscan be trusted,the finalchange
took placesometimebetween I725 and I740,
;; a
for in the paintingsof Marieschiand Cana-
letto of this periodthe gondolasare pictured
with the singleironand the characteristic tilt rust . . . will outlive many gondolas."The
of the asymmetricalhull. The mooredvessels Delfini prow has indeedoutlived many gon-
in the detail from a Marieschiengraving dolas,and, like the other iron objectsin our
shown in Figure I9 provideexcellentexam- collections,provesthat utility need not pre-
ples of the finalappearanceof the sleek,effi- clude beauty.
cient little craft.
The presenceof the rococo cartoucheon NOTE: I shouldlike to expressmy thanksto
the Delfini prow establishesit as well within the Museum'sDepartmentof Printsfor aid-
the final evolutionof the gondolaprow as a ing my extensivestudy of their materialin
counterweightto the gondolier.The prow's preparingthis article. In addition, I should
silhouetteand its engravedfamilyarmsset it like to thank JuanJose Martin Gonzalesof
apartfrom the more standarddesignsof the the Seminariode Estudiosde Arte y Arque-
periodand indicatethat it was used only on ologiaof the Universityof Valladolidfor his
a familygondola. searchingof the Valladolidcathedralarchives.
As lateas I 894, century-oldprowswerestill The informationrelating to the reign of

285
HenriIII was takenfrom the Comptesde vided the technicalsourcesfor both lock-
Depensesde Henri III: s580-Z588and the smithing andblacksmithing.
Ensuyrentles ReglemensFaictspar le Roy le
premierjour de janvier mil cinq cens quatre- REFERENCES
vingtcinq,volumeIO in the firstseriesof the ArthurByne and MildredStapley,Spanish
"Archives Curieusesde l'Histoirede France" Ironwort(The HispanicSocietyof Amer-
(Paris,I836), editedby M. L. Cimber.That ica, I 9 I 5) *
relatingto guild apprenticeshipcamefrom
GinoDamerini,La Gondola(Venice,I957).
Les Me'tiers de la Villede Paris
et Corporations
J.StarkieGardner, Ironwort,3 vols.(London,
(Paris,I 879) by ReneLespinasse andFranocois
I 896).
Bonnardot, volume2 of the "Histoire Gene-
ralede Paris."La FidelleOuverature de l'Afrt EdgarFrank, Old FrenchIronwort (Cam-
du Serrurier(LaFleche,I627) by Mathurin bridge, I950).

Jousseandthe Afrtdu Serrurier(Paris,I767) AugustoPedrini,II Ferrobattuto,sbalzato,e

by HenriLouisDuhameldu Monceauand cesellatonell' arte Italiana (Milan,I929).
ReneAntoineFerchault deReaumur (volume Ferdinand Stuttmann,Deutsche Schmiede-
I6 of "Description desArtset Metiers") pro- eisentunst, 5 vols.(Munich, I927).

Z9. centurygondolaswithdelflniat prows.Detailof TemplumS. MariaeSalutisby

Eighteenth
MicheleMarieschi(s696-I743), Italian(Venice).Engraving. of wholeZ85S
Dimensions x I2H2

inches.TheElishaWhittelseyCollection,5g.508.84

H N-: S s;v
The Trusteesfor Orphansin Afmsterdam, by Nicolaes Eliasz. Pickenoy(I590/9I-I654/56),
Dutch. Dated s628. Oil on canvas.70 x 9IM inches.Lentby the Cityof Amsterdam
courtesyof theRziksmuseum
On the occasionof the New York World's
Fair,the City of Amsterdamis lendingto the
MetropolitanMuseumone of the most exclu-
sivelyDutch typesof painting:a seventeenth
centurygroupportrait.For the firstfewweeks
it will hangin the front hall, and laterit will
find its place among paintingsof the same
periodin our galleries,adding to the Muse-
um's rich representation of singleDutch por-
traitsa missingand thereforemost welcome
aspectof Holland'sheritage.
The Dutch group portrait presupposesa
corporationwhosememberscoordinatetheir
individualityfor a practicalpurposeand a
civic service.No other countryhas ever pro-
duced this type of portraiture-nor appre-
ciated it. Rarely have such paintingsfound
their way outside of Holland, while there
they still aboundin museums,town halls,and
guild rooms,testimonyto socialorganization
and civic pride. Family portraits,picturesof
friends gathered together (as cultivated in
England),representations of religiousconfra-
ternitieswerepaintedalmosteverywhere;but
groupsof unrelated,usuallyelderlyand dig-
nified,men or women joined for the benefit
of their communitywere portrayedin Hol-
throughthe
landonly. Thisodd speciesof paintingsaw
its startin the sixteenthcenturyand flour- NoDes
ished prodigiously all throughthe seven-
teenth,especially in Amsterdam. Firstcame
theSchutters-Stukken,portraits
ofmilitaryclubs
readyto defendtheirhometownin caseof
need,but doinga greatdealof eatingand
drinkingin the meantime.Thoseby Frans
Halsarebrilliant examples, whileRembrandt's
"NightWatch"is the mostfamous.Toward
theendof thesixteenthcenturytheRegenten-
stukkenbecameequallypopular,representing
governors or trusteesof workhouses, guilds,
hospitals,or, here,of the city'sorphans.
This groupportrait,paintedin I628 by
NicolaesEliasz.Pickenoy,represents the col-
lege of trusteesfor the orphansof the city
of Amsterdam, togetherwith their senior
beadle.The orphantrustees,or Weesmeesters
as they werecalled,held one of the most
respectedthoughnon-political publicposi-
tionsin the complexcity government. Com-
posedof ex-burgomasters and otherhonor-
ables,they rankedhighin the city'sofficial
hierarchy.Appointedas a seniorcollegein
thefifteenthcentury,theysuperintended the
estatesof orphansand watchedover their
287
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financialinterests,somewhatas an orphans'
courtdoestoday.In the accountsof the Wees-
meesterswe find, for example,repeatedmen-
tion of Titus, Rembrandt'sson and heir to
the estateof his deceasedmotherSaskia;after
Rembrandt'sbankruptcyand insolvency,the
Weesmeesters steppedin andappointedguard-
ians to protectTitus'sinheritance.
For a numberof years this portraitmust
havehungin the chamberof the old townhall
wherethe trusteesfor orphansmet. But after
the old andovercrowdedbuildingburntdown
in I652, the picture does not seem to have
been transferred to the splendidroomallotted
to the trusteesin the magnificentnew town
hall. Instead,it is first recorded,in I784, as
hangingin the regents'roomof the "spinning
house," the house of correctionfor women,
and thereforehas been thought to represent
the trusteesof that institution.Recent Dutch
scholarship,however, has found the clue to
the picture'sidentity in the scenedepictedin
the paintinghangingbehindthe men. There
fourofficialsstandbehinda long counterwith
severalmen and women and a little boy in
front.Thispicturehardlyrelatesto a women's
prison; instead, the presence of the child
makesthe meaningclear:he is an orphan,and
his relativesor guardianshave come to ac-
count for his estate.
In our portrait the four Weesmeesters,
seated solemnlybehind a table, are listening
to suchan account.A questionhasbeenasked
and the spectatorfindshimselfin the placeof
the interrogated.The eyes of all the officials
are fixed on him. There is a moment of in-
tense, arrestedattention, and we expect the
men to move againas soon as the answeris
given, to pay out some guildersand to enter
the decisioninto the ledger.
Old recordstell us the namesof the four
trustees in I 628: Reinier Adriaensz.Pauw
(I564-I636), Pieter Jansz.Reael (I569-I643),
Dirk de Vlaming van Oudtshoorn (I 574-
I643), and Harmenvan de Poll (I599-I634)
or Pieter Matthiisz.,called Schrijver(I557-
I634), who succeededPoll in I628. Of these
only Pauw can be identifiedwith certainty,
on the groundsof another portrait, as the
man on the left. Burgomasterof Amsterdam
for seventeenyears,directorof the East India
288
Company,leaderof the Calvinistparty, he
wasthe most prominentof the fourand head
of the college- whichis indicatedby the ges-
ture of the beadle,who handshim a note. A
link with the New Worldis establishedby his
son Michiel Pauw, after whom, in I629, the
Dutch settlementof Pavoniawasnamed- still
the nameof a townnearCamden,New Jersey.
The othersare difficultto identify because
of theirsameness,all elderlyand bearded,clad
in somberblackandwearingimmaculateruffs
and broad-brimmedhats, effectively reflect-
ing the gravity of their office.It is probably
largely the painter'sfault that in trying to
flatterand ennoblethem he leavesthem lack-
ing in individualcharacterization.And yet
this row of single portraits,united just by
space and time and varied only slightly by
posedgestures,expressesthe democraticequal-
ity that is the essenceof Dutch group por-
traits.This sacredtraditionwasviolatedonly
once:by Rembrandt's"NightWatch,"where
the action is tumultuous,the actors (though
they all paid for their portraits)hardlyvis-
ible, and the light dramatic-equality sub-
ordinatedto the artist's vision. Rembrandt
laterreturnedto the foldandin his "Syndics"
conformedto the rules,but imbued the old
formulawith the mostpenetratingandpower-
ful characterization.
Pickenoywasan ablepainter,not a genius.
His familycame,perhaps,froma villageof a
similarnamein FrenchPicardy,whichwould
explainhis name.His wife'sgood connections
andhishonestskillensureda successfulcareer.
He was one of Amsterdam'smost fashionable
portraitists,andmanyof hispleasantportraits
are still attributed to better-knownnames.
This one is initialedNEP at the left and dated
I628 at the right (the last digit is now illeg-
ible), makingit a key picture in Pickenoy's
oeuvre.It puts beforeus now a faithfuldocu-
ment of the citizens' integrity and public
responsibilitythat madeseventeenthcentury
Amsterdamproud and powerful.It also re-
flects the spirit of the Dutch settlersof our
city, and thus is a meaningfulloan to New
Amsterdam.
CLAUS VIRCH,
AssociateCuratorof EuropeanPaintings
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