Bosetus

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Bosetus , also Bossetus or Bostetus , active in the first half of the 14th century, was presumably an Italian artisan of the Middle Ages . He is only known from a series of similar hexagonal, tin containers, five of which are still preserved today.

Life

Bosetus is only known through the words "Bosetus me fecit" (German: Bosetus made me) on five containers with a hexagonal floor plan. These are located in Berlin in the Kunstgewerbemuseum (inv. No .: 1899,4), in Vienna in the former collection of Albert Figdor , in Paris in the Musée de Cluny (inv. No .: Cl. 1661), in Trieste in the Civici Musei di Storia e Arte (Inv.No .: 21464) and in Bologna in the Museo Civico medievale (Inv.No .: 1999). There is also a description of another container in Buja near Udine from the middle of the 18th century , the whereabouts of which are unknown today. Since no written sources have survived, research attempts to use these containers to derive who Bosetus might have been. The sources of provenance for all containers are poor.

The first literature on some of the containers can be found in the 19th century. In 1851/52 several articles appeared about the wax seal , which at that time was still on the Trieste container. At that time the container belonged to the collection of Marco Bonacich, who was mainly active in the field of numismatics and sphragistics . How and when the container ended up in his collection is not known. In 1871, Eugène Viollet-le-Duc first described what he called the salt barrel from the Musée de Cluny and added illustrations. Alfred von Walcher-Molthein described a comparable container from the Figdor collection in 1904 and corrected the inscription for Bostetus me fecit, referring to Viollet-le-Duc . With this container, as well as with those from Berlin and Bologna, it can be seen that the supposed first “t” and the “e” are in the same position. It therefore appears to be more of a manufacturing error. Germain Bapst listed Bosetus as a 13th century tin caster in 1884. The spelling Bossetus goes back to Bapst . This presumably had the consequence that Bosetus was first classified in the French area.

However, the container in Paris is the only one that is in the French area. The larger number of containers is known from the Italian area. In current research, an origin from the Po Valley is therefore being discussed. Stylistic features on the containers lead to a date in the first half of the 14th century.

Various theses were discussed as to who Bosetus might have been. In Trieste, the conviction also prevailed that it was a salt vessel. From this it was deduced that Bosetus could have been a monk who made the salt vessel for the food on the monastery table.

In Bologna the opinion was also expressed that it was the artist Giacomo Roseto, a goldsmith from Bologna, who worked from 1351 to the 1380s. Apart from the clearly incorrect spelling, the different characteristics of the containers in comparison to Roseto's other works speak against this thesis.

In the Middle Ages it was very rare for works to be signed. At that time, craftsmen were mostly organized in guilds and did not emerge as a single artist. The presented containers are among the earliest known signed tin objects. The signature can be seen as a trademark for an object that has been mechanically reproduced in multiple ways. Presumably, however, it is not about the signature of an individual, which should highlight the artist as the intellectual author. It is more likely that it is a workshop brand and that it does not necessarily come from the performer himself. It cannot be determined whether this workshop specialized in the production of pewter objects. The precision in the relief, the arrangement of the inscriptions and the high graphic quality of the characters can also point to the manufacture of the matrices by a goldsmith or seal carver.

Bosetus' container

description

Images of the container in the Musée de Cluny near Viollet-le-Duc

In the literature, the function of the container with a (liturgical) salt barrel, pyxis or reliquary is stated. The containers measure 3.8 cm in height and 8.4 cm in width. A pentagonal lid is mounted on the container with a hinge . Some of the containers have three feet in the shape of seated lions , a similar one sits as a knob on the lid.

All containers are decorated with the same relief representations , even if they differ stylistically. In the six outer walls quatrefoil each Christ and five saints as brisket shown. So far only Saints Peter with the key and Paul with the book and sword could be identified.

On the outside of the respective lids, the Annunciation to Mary is depicted, which is framed on four sides with lettering in Gothic majuscule consisting of the signature and the angel's greeting : +: BOSETUS: ME FECIT +: AVE: GRATIA: PLENA: DOMINUS: TECUM . Inside is the crucifixion of Christ with John and Mary , the inscription reads +: CUM • SIS • IN • MENSA PRIMO D '• PAUPERE PENSA: CUM PASCIS EUM PASCIS AMICE DEUM:  (When you sit at table, think of the poor first, if you feed him, friend, so you feed God). The interpretation of the container as a salt container goes back to this saying. It can be found in this form or slightly modified in the literature on table etiquette of the 12th and 13th centuries. This could indicate the mundane use of the container. Due to the Christian motif, however, a liturgical use cannot be completely ruled out.

The individual parts for the body of the container were presumably made using a casting process using two or more adjacent matrices, while the lid was created by juxtaposing two equally sized matrices. A comparison of the representations shows that the figures are shaped differently. This indicates that the matrices were made at different times, perhaps by different people. Stylistic differences between the lid and the container gave rise to the thesis that different artisans worked on the same object. Green and red residues of paint on the letters suggest that the containers were painted.

Container in Berlin

The function of a liturgical salt barrel is attributed to the Berlin container, which was used to store the salt that is needed to prepare the water for baptism. The container was purchased in Vienna in 1899. The lion-shaped legs and the pommel were removed from the Berlin container, as they were considered to be a 19th century addition. An outline of the pommel can still be seen on the lid.

Container in Bologna

The container in Bologna was found walled in in 1873 in the altar of the Church of St. Blaise near Faenza . Although this does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about the original use of the container, it does indicate a later function as a reliquary. The three lion-like legs and the pommel are still preserved. On closer inspection, it can be seen that the lateral quadruple frames are not written in the middle of the surfaces and partially protrude into the edges provided with a diamond pattern.

Reservoir in Trieste

The Trieste object was provided with a wax seal from Bishop Angelo Canopeo. The bishop was in office from 1370 to 1383. This means that this container was also a reliquary in its second function after the container was discarded for its actual function. In addition, the wax seal allows a chronological classification. The saints were affixed to the sides more evenly than in the example from Bologna. The lion legs are still preserved.

Container in Paris

Viollet-le-Duc assigned the function of a salt barrel to the container as early as 1871. In an exhibition on the subject of "Insights into everyday life", the salt barrel is presented as a tabletop device and thus assigned a profane use. As in the example in Bologna, the four-pass frames are not attached in the middle on all sides. The legs and the knob are not mentioned in any description of the container.

Container in Vienna

Walcher-Molthein described the container in Vienna as an "older copy" of the example in Paris and classified it as a monastery salt barrel. Its whereabouts have remained unknown since the Figdor Collection was sold in 1930. Two images in Walcher-Molthein's article lead to the conclusion that the container has neither feet nor a knob.

literature

  • Germain Bapst: Études sur l'étain dans l'antiquité et au moyen age. Paris 1884, p. 231.
  • Maurizio Buora: Bonvesin de la Riva, Boseto e un 'antica pisside ”di Buia. In: Ori e tesori d'Europa, atti del convegno di studio. Udine 1992, pp. 255-262.
  • Alessandro Della Latta; Marco Mozzo: La 'firma' nella produione seriale: I peltri di Bosetus. In: Maria Monica Donato (ed.), Le opere ei nomi: Prospettive sull 'firma' medievale , Pisa 2000, pp. 39–44.
  • Visa Immonen: A lid from a 14th century salt cellar found in Turku, Finland. In: Fornvännen. Volume 108. Stockholm 2013, pp. 196-208.
  • Laura Ruaro Loseri: La "saliera" del vescovo Canopeo. In: Aquileia Nostra. Vol. 45-46 (1974-1975), pp. 771-778.
  • Musée de Cluny (ed.): Regards sur la vie quotidienne (press kit for the exhibition), February 2020, online at: musee-moyenage.fr . Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  • Hans Demiani: Bosetus (Bossetus, Bostetus?) . In: Ulrich Thieme , Felix Becker (Hrsg.): General Lexicon of Fine Artists from Antiquity to the Present . Founded by Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker. tape 4 : Bida – Brevoort . Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig 1910, p. 395 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
  • Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc: Dictionnaire raisonné du mobilier français de l'époque carlovingienne a la renaissance. Volume 2, Paris 1871.
  • Alfred von Walcher-Molthein: German and French precious pewter from two Viennese collections. In: Austrian Museum for Art and Industry (Hrsg.): Arts and crafts. Volume 7, 1904, pp. 65-86.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Maurizio Buora: Bonvesin de la Riva, Boseto e un ' "antica pisside" di Buia. In: Ori e tesori d'Europa, atti del convegno di studio. Udine 1992, p. 255.
  2. ↑ CC: Angelo Canopeo vescovo e conte di Trieste. In: L'Istria. Volume 6, 1851, N. 52.
  3. ↑ CC: Suggello della curia vescovile di Trieste del secolo XIV. In: L'Istria. Volume 7, 1852, N. 4.
  4. ^ Custodia in Pimbo del vescovo Angelo Canopeo di Trieste. In: L'Istria. Volume 7, 1852, N. 17.
  5. ↑ Laura Ruaro Loseri: La "saliera" del vescovo Canopeo. In: Aquileia Nostra , Volume 45-46, 1974-75, p. 771.
  6. ^ Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc: Dictionnaire raisonné du mobilier français de l'époque carlovingienne a la renaissance , Volume 2, pp. 150f.
  7. ^ A b Alfred von Walcher-Molthein: German and French precious tin from two Viennese collections. In: Austrian Museum for Art and Industry (ed.): Art and Crafts , Volume 7, 1904, p. 83.
  8. ^ Germain Bapst: Études sur l'étain dans l'antiquité et au moyen age. Paris 1884, p. 231.
  9. ↑ a b Hans Demiani: Bosetus (Bossetus, Bostetus?) . In: Ulrich Thieme , Felix Becker (Hrsg.): General Lexicon of Fine Artists from Antiquity to the Present . Founded by Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker. tape 4 : Bida – Brevoort . Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig 1910, p. 395 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive - “And the place of its origin will probably be looked for in France”).
  10. ↑ a b c Alessandro Della Latta; Marco Mozzo: La 'firma' nella produione seriale: I peltri di Bosetus. In: Maria Monica Donato (ed.), Le opere ei nomi: Prospettive sull 'firma' medievale , Pisa 2000, p. 40.
  11. ↑ Laura Ruaro Loseri: La "saliera" del vescovo Canopeo. In: Aquileia Nostra , Volume 45-46, 1974-75, p. 775.
  12. ↑ Maurizio Buora: Bonvesin de la Riva, Boseto e un ' "antica pisside" di Buia. In: Ori e tesori d'Europa, atti del convegno di studio , Udine 1992, p. 260.
  13. ↑ Visa Immonen: A lid from a 14th century salt cellar found in Turku, Finland. In: Fornvännen, Volume 108. Stockholm 2013, p. 203.
  14. ↑ Alessandro Della Latta; Marco Mozzo: La 'firma' nella produione seriale: I peltri di Bosetus. In: Maria Monica Donato (ed.), Le opere ei nomi: Prospettive sull 'firma' medievale , Pisa 2000, p. 39f.
  15. ↑ Maurizio Buora: Bonvesin de la Riva, Boseto e un ' "antica pisside" di Buia. In: Ori e tesori d'Europa, atti del convegno di studio , Udine 1992, p. 258.
  16. ↑ a b c Maurizio Buora: Bonvesin de la Riva, Boseto e un '“antica pisside” di Buia. In: Ori e tesori d'Europa, atti del convegno di studio. Udine 1992, p. 256.
  17. ↑ SMB-digital - Collection - Liturgisches Salzfass. Retrieved July 6, 2020 .
  18. ↑ a b Visa Immonen: A lid from a 14th century salt cellar found in Turku, Finland. In: Fornvännen. Volume 108. Stockholm 2013, p. 202.
  19. ^ Regards sur la vie quotidienne. (PDF) Musée de Cluny, February 2020, p. 19 , accessed on July 6, 2020 (French).
  20. ^ Alfred von Walcher-Molthein: German and French precious tin from two Viennese collections. In: Austrian Museum for Art and Industry (ed.): Arts and crafts. Volume 7, 1904, p. 81 and p. 86.
personal data
SURNAME Bosetus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bossetus; Bostetus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Tin caster
DATE OF BIRTH before 1350
DATE OF DEATH 14th century or 15th century