Onyx from Schaffhausen

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Onyx from Schaffhausen

The onyx of Schaffhausen is an ancient cameo that is one of the most important works of glyptic art from the Augustan period and is one of the highlights of the exhibition at the Museum zu Allerheiligen in Schaffhausen . In the 13th century the cameo was given an ornate gold and silver setting and a hallmarked lapel .

The piece, measuring 15.5 cm × 13 cm, is dated to the first half of the 1st century AD; the frame is said to have been made around 1240. It bears the museum's inventory number 16375 and was presented in the Michael's chapel, used as a "treasure chamber", in the center of the choir area. Since the renovation of the permanent exhibition in 2010, the onyx has been located in the middle of the Kreuzsaal on the 2nd floor of the north wing.

description

The cameo

The 9.5 cm × 8 cm large, high-oval shaded relief than Glyptik worked, pointing to the front of the barefoot standing Pax Augusta , the Imperial Regiment peace symbolizing or goddess Felicitas , embodies the happiness and fertility. She is standing with her right elbow leaning on a pilaster and holding a cornucopia in her left arm , and in her right hand is the caduceus with a holy band tied to it, the symbol of supreme power. She herself wears a gem around her neck and on her head a wreath made of both bay leaves and oak leaves . In Roman mythology , these insignia represent victory, sovereign power and loyalty. It can be interpreted as an allegory of peace.

Your face is designed as a profile . Her head and her gaze are tilted slightly downwards, her short boyish hair tied back in a thin bun . She wears a wafer-thin dress that falls loosely to the floor and is gathered under the breast. The right strap has slipped off her shoulder. A cloth is wrapped around her hips with a sturdy fabric, with which she cushions her right arm on the pillar.

This gemstone is a so-called layer stone , in this case an Arab sardonyx , a variety of quartz . It has been provided with the relief image on the borderline of differently colored layers (dark – light – dark). The onyx in the colors blue and brown was originally probably worn as a coat clasp. Remains of the mechanics can still be seen on the back.

The falconer

The falconer in silver on the back

The back consists of a silver-gilded plate in which a standing person (possibly a knight) "in a long, pleated house dress with cloak and breast jewelery, a wreath of flowers on the head and the falcon on the gloved left" was engraved. The background is filled with mosaic-like rhombuses and crosses. The inscription scratched into the pre-drawn frame lines reads: ✠COMITIS LVDIWICI DE VROBURCand means "(possession) of Count Ludwig von Froburg ". The symbol of the cross precedes the text as an invocation . The text begins at the top and runs clockwise around the depicted person, the capitalization height is 5–6 mm. This text was probably changed in the 16th century, possibly to obscure ownership. The changes were made by changing the existing capital letters to other letters with additional lines, which no longer makes sense. The altered text reads . Nevertheless, the original lettering can be reconstructed quite well. ✠OOMETRS DWDDIWIOI DE VKOBUKO

The portrayal as a falconer would fit Frederick II , whose territory also included Sicily, because he owned falcons and wrote the book De arte venandi cum avibus (“About the art of hunting with birds”), but the reverse is probably from Graf Ludwig III. or his son, Count Ludwig IV. It is also possible that the engravings on the back caused different generations: the falconer as the oldest design element would have been created under Friedrich II., the legend under Ludwig III./IV. The person depicted there would thus represent the then owner Friedrich II, but based on the inscription one of the two Ludwigs apparently also claimed this portrait.

This representation including the inscription corresponds to the design of Ludwig III. († 1256/1259) and Ludwig IV. Used seals , but without the introductory word SIGILLVM.

The gold version

This cameo has a gold setting, which is set with 54 precious stones, semi-precious stones and additional pearls, mainly with sapphire , turquoise , garnet and lapis lazuli , three of which are missing. Several eagle and lion figurines can be seen in the gold frame from a certain angle.

It is noticeable that the setting with the precious stones is very even. In each quarter arch of the entire rosette there are four stones of the same type, so that a total of 16 arises. The three inner rows are occupied by stones of the same type - a total of 48 pieces - while the outer wreath alternates with different stones; also a total of 16 pieces. In addition, there are 16 alternating small pearls in between.

  • front

  • Oblique view

Ownership history

The origin or even the artist of the cameo can no longer be determined today, as well as the way in which the gemstone came into the possession of Friedrich II , the oldest owner still known today. How Friedrich, with his extensive possessions and high artistic interest, got this cameo remains to be speculated. According to Kettler, the gold version was possibly added in a Strasbourg workshop, a sign of the appreciation that antiquity was shown at the time.

After Knoepfli, Ludwig III. or Ludwig IV. the Frohburger named as another owner. In the Bildindex der Kunst und Architektur it is referred to as “booty from the Battle of Grandson ”. By donation or inheritance, the piece came to the widow of Heinrich III in 1279 . , Herr von Rappoltstein , who entered the Paradies Abbey above Schaffhausen that same year . These include the gold edging and the engraving on the back.

With the Reformation, the monastery's treasures and archives, including the cameo, became the property of the city. Since 1616 it can be traced in the archives of the city under the name “Ein Goldin Klainot mit Edelgestainen Versetz NN genandt”, from 1740 under the name “Onyx”. In 1799 Johannes von Müller kept it in his desk. With the abolition of the city state of Schaffhausen, the onyx came into the possession of the canton and was kept in the state archive. Despite several attractive purchase inquiries, it was not sold and has been on permanent loan in the All Saints Museum's exhibition since 1928. Since then he has only left the museum for the exhibition Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation in the Kunsthistorisches Museum Magdeburg in 2006.

rating

The gem is entirely in the tradition of Greek and Roman handicrafts. Similar representations can be found over many centuries, which differ only slightly from one another. The technique of cameo cutting, which probably originated in the Arab world, was adopted and varied by ancient artisans. Instead of agate , they later used layer stones, which, when worked in the right position, produce haunting works of art in the smallest of spaces.

The goldsmith's work, probably from a workshop in Strasbourg, is comparable to many other pieces from this period, both in terms of equipment and craftsmanship. First and foremost, sacred works of art should be mentioned in comparison, including the so-called "Wettinger Splendor Cross" from the Wettingen-Mehrerau Abbey , which externally has the same decoration.

literature

  • Martina Junghans: Onyx from Schaffhausen. In: Matthias Puhle, Claus-Peter Hasse (Ed.): Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation 962-1806. From Otto the Great to the end of the Middle Ages. Catalog volume for the 29th exhibition of the Council of Europe Dresden 2006, ISBN 3-937602-59-3 , pp. 287–289.
  • Lize Braat, Giorgia Passaro (ed.): Strasbourg 1200–1230, La révolution gothique, Strasbourg 2015, ISBN 978-2-35125-137-9 , pp. 290–295.
  • Johann Jakob Oeri : The onyx of Schaffhausen. Anniversary font of the historical-antiquarian society Schaffhausen. JJ Hofer Verlag, Zurich 1882.
  • Albert Knoepfli : The onyx in the All Saints Museum in Schaffhausen. In: Schaffhauser contributions . 30, 1953, pp. 5-107.
  • Marie-Louise Vollenweider : The Onyx in Schaffhausen. In: Helvetia archaeologica. 1971, 2, pp. 78-89.
  • Hans-Jörgen Heuser: Upper Rhine goldsmithing in the high Middle Ages. German Association for Art History, Berlin 1974, ISBN 3-87157-041-0 .
  • Wilfried Kettler: Corpus inscriptionum medii aevi Helvetiae Vol. 4: The inscriptions of the cantons of Lucerne, Unterwalden, Uri, Schwyz, Zug, Zurich, Schaffhausen, Thurgau, St. Gallen and the Principality of Liechtenstein up to 1300, with addenda to volumes I – III . de Gruyter, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-7278-1122-6 , pp. 28-29.7

Web links

Commons : Schaffhausen Onyx  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Medieval imperial history in the splendor of the most precious exhibits. Excerpt from the exhibition "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation 962 to 1806. Part 1: From Otto the Great to the End of the Middle Ages." ( Memento from May 13, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 34 kB) Kulturhistorisches Museum Magdeburg , 2006, P. 287.
  2. ↑ Lize Braat, Giorgia Passaro (ed.): Strasbourg 1200–1230, La révolution gothique, Strasbourg 2015, ISBN 978-2-35125-137-9 , p. 294.
  3. ↑ Martina Junghans: Onyx von Schaffhausen In: Matthias Puhle, Claus-Peter Hasse (Hrsg.): Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation 962-1806. From Otto the Great to the end of the Middle Ages. Catalog volume for the 29th exhibition of the Council of Europe Dresden 2006, ISBN 3-937602-59-3 , p. 287.
  4. ↑ a b Walter Ulrich Guyan: Tour of the All Saints' Day Museum. Museum Guide , 1982 edition, ISBN 7-100-10361-4 , pp. 55, 57.
  5. ↑ a b c d Wilfried Kettler: Corpus inscriptionum medii aevi Helvetiae. Vol. 4, de Gruyter, Berlin, 1997, ISBN 3-7278-1122-6 , p. 75. ( limited preview in the Google book search)
  6. ↑ a b Paul Ganz: History of Heraldic Art in Switzerland in the XII. and XIII. Century. 1899, p. 102.
  7. ^ Image index of art and architecture
  8. ↑ Representation of a Greek work 2nd century BC : Ptolemaic princess with scepter and double horn of plenty with king armband, carnelian intaglio, gold setting with garnets and green glass
  9. ^ Hermann Fillitz : Lecture Cross. In: Office of the Lower Austrian Provincial Government (Hrsg.): The time of the early Habsburgs. Cathedrals and monasteries 1279-1379. Catalog of the Lower Austrian regional exhibition in Wiener Neustadt 1979. Office of the Lower Austrian regional government, cultural department, Vienna 1979, p. 479 no. 277 (full text) .