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16th C. Jewelry and Goldsmith Work, Gems
Colors in the print include metallic gold
Another Fine Quality Print from Martin2001

Print Specifics:

Type of print: Lithograph - Original French antique print
Publisher: Librairie de Firmin Didot, Paris, Rue Jacob 56, 1885-1887.
Condition: 1 (1. Excellent - 2. Very good - 3. Good - 4. Fair)
Dimensions: 11 x 15.5 inches (28 x 40 cm), including blank margins (borders) around the image.
Paper weight: 2 (1. Thick - 2. Heavier - 3. Medium heavy - 4. Slightly heavier - 5. Thin)
Reverse side: Blank
Notes: 1. Green color 'border' around the print in the photo is a contrasting background on which the print was photographed. 2. Detail of the print is sharper than the photo of the print.

Legend to the illustrations:

Fig. 1. Panagiae ornaments consisting of aureoles and nimbi in the shape of tiaras and gorgets. Both are sometimes attached to one another by movable rings, as seen in n° 8. When a circular fragment projecting to one side distrupts the tiara shape of an aureole, that fragment is the nimbus of the Christ Child in the arms of his mother. The head is outlined only on the outside of painted effigies, and the aureole, though it projects out from the surface, is intended to be behind them. No. 2, 5, 7, 8, 14, 16, 21 and 45. 2. Pendant crosses, the inner image of which determines their status as sacred jewellery. N° 12,18 and 24, front and back; 20, 22, 28 and 29, front and back; 30, 32 and 34, front and back; 33 and 39, front and back; 36, 37, 40, 42 and 44. front and back. These first two series, which make up the larger part of the plate, are reproduced from life, on a scale of two-thirds the size of the originals. 3. Fragments of painted ornaments taken from Slave-Russian manuscripts of the sixteenth century, contemporary with the jewellery shown here. The style of these fleurons is in keeping with that of the enamels. N° 1,3,4,6,9, 10, 11. 13, 15, 17, 19, 23, 25, 27, 31, 35, 38, 41 and 43. 4. A sample of the imported style, n° 26, decorating the cover of a book dating from the end of the seventeenth century. It was the Gospel book of the Czarina Nathalie, nee Naryskine, second wife to the Czar Alexis Mikhailovitch. mother of Peter the Great and regent during the latter's minority. She died in 1693. Beneath the transformation in style, the latter work (no. 26), which is complicated and excessively rich, demonstrates the persistence of a love for magnificence characteristic of the Slave-Russians. This was first revealed by then ancestors, if in fact, as it appears likely today, the Scythians, those ancient goldsmiths and craftsmen of gem and gold were indeed the first to devise this brilliant form of ornamental goldwork. Judging by our examples, the original stream of inspiration was still alive in the sixteenth century. How, then, did it come about that this stream ran dry, apparently in a matter of moments, at a time so close to our own?

The craft of the goldsmith, which is indeed a wonder of human industry, has had a striking effect upon the human imagination throughout the centuries; and, seeing that among primitive peoples superstitious value is attributed to the possession of certain kinds of stones which are used as ornaments and become amulets, it is natural that when goldsmith's work and jewellery were used to the same end, this sort of belief did not diminish. They flattered man in his instincts and the attachment they inspired must have grown still stronger, when, with time, jewels became the insignia of kinship or of a shared belief. This is precisely what occurred among the Slave-Russians, whose traditional tendency toward superstition is well known. In these countries, the goldsmith, with his wondrous productions, had the status of a wizard. A jewel was deemed all the more precious for being the result of a magic spell and often became the object of a superstitious attachment. In pagan times, in all the northern countries, wizardry and magic were part of religious workship. Later, they were incorporated into Christianity and the goldsmith's work of the sixteenth century Slave-Russians, which is decorated according to ancient principles, owes to this very fusion the preservation of its national character. The special art which interests us here was the object of a long-lasting affection among the old Muscovites, who were zealous patriots and Christians, an affection sometimes approaching fanaticism. Not until the latter part of the fifteenth century did Muscovy take its place in the political realm of Europe. Its official Christianity dates only from the dawn of the eleventh century. As naturally prone to superstition as the Slave-Russians may be, their attachment to gold articles should come as no surprise. Indeed, eroneous beliefs about goldsmiths were quite common in Europe for a long time and it was a trading stratagem on the part of jewellery workers to appear involved in the occult sciences. The prestige of the supernatural lent to their products a mystery favorable to the price of the merchandise.

Panagiae Ornaments: Fig. 2. Nimbus of both the Virgin and Jesus. Glided and enamelled copper with a few coloured stones. One specific Insignia is present in the child's nimbus, the gorget, designating the leader. Gorgets which appear to have belonged primarily to northern Asians were found in the treasure of Petrossa, which is thought to have been the property of a Hunnish king of the third century. Their shape is more or less that of a crescent. It may be that the design of several of the gorgets in our panagiae and in the inner crosses of several of the pendant jewels had a dual purpose. On the one hand, they are the emblem of the leader or chief, while on the other they may also represent the Greek letter omega and its meaning, the end of all things. The ground of the piece Is stippled. 5. Nimbus of the Christ Child, surrounding a bonnet-shaped crown. This piece was accompanied by a royal gorget. Gilded and enamelled copper. 7. Nimbus of both the Virgin and Jesus. Gilded, enamelled and openwork copper. 8. Nimbus of the Christ Child with gorget. Gilded and enamelled copper decorated with pearls. 14. Nimbus of the Christ Child. Gilded and enamelled copper.

16. Gorget. Gilded and enamelled copper, with a central stone. 21. Nimbus. Gilded and enamelled copper, solid metal, stippled ground. 45. Nimbus of the Christ Child. Gilded, enamelled and openwork copper. Pendant Crosses 12. Small cross of engraved gold. It is finely openworked and is not enamelled. 18 and 24. Front and back of a icwel whose sacred character is indicated by the small cross in the centre front. This cross is designed according to the Oriental rite. The common usage in the Orient, where the Greek language retained Its pre-eminence, of the equi-branched Greek cross appears to be a reminder of the letter X, the first letter of the Greek Christogram, formed by four right-angles. However, the Greek cross was a symbol older than Christianity. In order to avoid confusion, the Greeks chose to include the name of Jesus in their depictions of the cross by adding a small diagonal bar to the upright of the cross, a clearer reminder of the Greek X than the equi-branched cross on its own. This pendant cross is made of gilded and enamelled copper, decorated with small stones and turquoises. It is the gem of this collection. 20. Small Greek cross. Gold with five white stones set in relief and four small coloured stones in the corners.

22. Gilded and enamelled copper cross. This one has inscriptions at the ends of its arms, and, hanging from it, the gorget of the sovereign. 28 and 29. Back and front of a pendant cross. The top part of the cross is carved en cabochon with a hole for the cord. A gorget in the shape of an omega also figures on the inner cross. This Insignia recalls the God of the Jews who is the end of all things. Gilded and enamelled copper, adorned with semi-precious stones. 30. Small cross of gilded and enamelled copper with radiating diagonals. A gorget figures on the cross inside the jewel and there are inscriptions on its four arms. 32 and 34. Front and back of a silver cross, enamelled on the front and engraved on the back. A gorget figures on the inner cross, as do inscriptions on the four arms of the jewel. 33 and 39. Front and back of an enamelled silver cross. At the top is an Inscription. The ends of the remaining three arms are en cabochon. 36. Engraved silver cross. This piece is not a sacred jewel.

37. Jade cross mounted in gilded copper and decorated with semi-precious stones and pearls. Christ is engraved on the cross. 40. Glided and embossed copper cross, decorated with coloured stones set in relief. Engraved Christ. 42 and 44. Back and front of a silver cross, with gilded front. This openwork jewel Is adorned with coloured stones set in relief and is sacred in character. Fragments from Illuminated Manuscripts of the XVIth Century All the fragments are taken from breviaries and prayer books belonging to Russian libraries and collections. 26. Cover of a Gospel book belonging to the Czarina Nathalie. This metalwork from the end of the XVIIth century is very richly decorated and displays a great variety of techniques including engraving., enamelling, the setting in relief and the Inlaying of semi-precious stones, and intaglio. The ornamentation is evenly distributed across the cover according to no apparent general plan. This type of binding is thus essentially different from what is known of the Byzantines and of those who imitated them in the decoration of prayer book covers. It has nothing in common with the well-known style of binding where a border frames a scene engraved in relief, in metal or ivory. The line is of lesser importance to the Slavs than harmony of colour and pattern. It is important to note, however, that this piece is made up of elements which lack the local naivete of the earlier works. The shape of some of the areas of solid metal is borrowed from the Persians while the somewhat heavy foliated scrolls which tie the pattern together are inspired by the Greek acanthus.

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