Trophy (ornament)

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Roof trophy on Prague Castle , 1753–1775. The trophy consists of a thick trunk with armor and helmet and 6 symmetrically fanned out lance flags.

In art science, trophies are ornaments that combine objects of the same type, mostly weapons, in a decorative arrangement.

Overview

The trophies go back to ancient victory monuments, wooden trunks decorated with prey weapons, which were also used as replicas in art. During the Renaissance, the trophy motif was brought back to life in art and architecture. In the Baroque era, trophies first experienced their heyday under Louis XIV in France, especially as architectural sculptures, and quickly spread to the rest of Europe. The trophies experienced a final rebloom in the age of historicism.

Trophies were used as sculptures and reliefs in architecture and depicted in paintings, drawings and book illustrations. As sculptures they often served to crown roofs, portals and pillars, as reliefs they were often used as independent or surface-filling facade or wall decorations. Trophy sculptures stood alone or were supplemented by other figures, for example prisoners of war or putti. The weapons were often replaced by other items, for example musical instruments or tools.

Antiquity

Greeks

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In ancient Greece, the victors of a battle erected a tropaion to mark their victory. The Romans called the victory symbol tropäum, in modern times the term trophy became common. The Greeks used man-high tree stumps or stakes as trophies, which they hung with weapons and clothing from their enemies. This gave the torso-like structures a human-like appearance, similar to a doll or scarecrow.

The first trophy with literary evidence was erected by the Athenians in 490 BC after defeating the Persians at Marathon . The oldest artistic representation of a trophy can be found on a fragment of a Kabiren vase from the 5th century BC, and the oldest plastic representation is found on a relief frieze of the Heroon of Gjölbaschi-Trysa , which was created around 380 BC. The coin on the right shows the trophy erected by the Thebans in 371 BC after they defeated the Spartans at Leuctra. The two tetradrachms below show the goddess of victory Nike together with a trophy, a popular trophy motif of the Greeks.

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1. Boeotian coin with the trophy of the Battle of Leuktra 371 BC, date of origin unknown.
2. Fragment of a Kabiren vase with a trophy, 5th century BC.
3. Relief with trophy, Heroon of Gjölbaschi-Trysa , around 380 BC.
4. The goddess of victory Nike wreaths a trophy, the back of a tetradrachm with the portrait of Seleukos I Nikator (358–281).
5. The goddess of victory Nike nails a helmet on a trophy, the back of a tetradrachm with the portrait of Agathocles of Syracuse (317–289).

Romans

The Romans adopted the trophy motif from the Greeks. Their trophy representations often show captive prisoners of war lying under the trophy. During triumphal marches, trophies carried on stretchers were a popular propaganda tool of the victorious generals. The preferred location for trophies were reliefs on victory columns and triumphal arches that glorified the deeds of the emperors, for example the reliefs of the Trajan Column and the Arch of Constantine . Occasionally, architectural, mausoleums-like trophies were erected, for example the Tropaeum Traiani , a victory monument in the Romanian village of Adamklissi ( → illustration ).

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6. Trophy relief on the tomb of Caecilia Metella in Rome, 1st century BC.
7. Part of a triumphal procession frieze with trophy and 2 prisoners, Temple of Apollo Sosianus , 34 BC.
8. Raising a Trophy, Gemma Augustea , 9-12 AD.
9. Trophy with tied satyrs, below: stylized trophy with two women and a warrior, Nero's Domus Aurea.
10. Full relief with captured weapons, base of the Trajan Column in Rome, 112-113 AD. Engraving by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, 1770.
11. spandrel relief with the trophy bearing goddess of victory Victoria , Arch of Constantine in Rome, 312-315 AD.

Modern times

The trophy as an art object found widespread use in modern Europe in the Renaissance, Baroque and Historicism periods.

Renaissance

During the Renaissance, the trophy motif was first reflected in painting, architectural drafts and ornamental engravings, but also in architecture and sculpture.

A series of paintings by Andrea Mantegna glorifies Caesar's triumphal procession, during which numerous trophies were traditionally displayed. In a series of woodcuts, Albrecht Dürer portrayed three trophy bearers on horseback in the triumphal procession of Emperor Maximilian I. Wendel Dietterlin designed a portal overloaded with trophy reliefs, cannons and cannon barrel pillars, which was realized in a similar way in the Baroque in Verona (Figure 23). We owe Polidoro da Caravaggio a grotesque compilation of a trophy with 2 colossal amphoras. The other images show trophies as sgraffiti on the facade , as a relief of pillars and as a corner figure of a palazzo.

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12. Trionfi di Cesare (Triumph of Caesar), painting by Andrea Mantegna , around 1486–1505.
13th sgraffito facade with trophies, Via Santa Lucia in Rome, 16th century.
14. Trophy between 2 amphorae, drawing by Polidoro da Caravaggio , before 1543.
15. The Hungarian trophy, drawing for the woodcut series “The great triumphal chariot” by Albrecht Dürer , 1518.
16. Portal with trophy reliefs, cannons and cannon barrel columns, template book “Architectura” by Wendel Dietterlin , 1598.
17. Trophy pillars in the arcade courtyard of Porcia Castle , Spittal an der Drau, 1598.
18. Trophy sculpture, Palazzo della Loggia, Brescia , 1499/1500.

Baroque

The triumphal procession of the trophy motif began in the Baroque, starting from the French court of King Louis XIV, around the middle of the 17th century. The spread of the trophies peaked in the early and mid-18th century. They were mainly used as sculptures to crown roofs and gates, as area-filling reliefs they adorned walls, doors and portals. The rest of Europe adopted the trophy motif based on the model of the culturally leading France. Many examples can be found on castles and other public buildings, for example the New Palace in Stuttgart, the Berlin Armory or the Invalides Cathedral in Paris.

While trophies originally only represented warlike objects, in the Baroque era they were also formed from objects related to religion, art, science and craft. Examples are trophies with musical instruments, gardening tools or agricultural implements.

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19. Roof trophy with Fama on mount, Zeughaus Berlin , east facade, around 1705.
20. Wooden door panels, Zeughaus Berlin , around 1705.
21. Roof trophy with coat of arms, eagle, lion and putto, Neues Schloss , Stuttgart, 1748–1753.
22. Trophy sculptures and trophy reliefs, Brandenburg Gate , Potsdam , 1770/1771.
23. Portal with trophy reliefs and cannon tube columns, Porta dei Bombardieri, Palazzo di Cansignorio, Verona , 1687.
24. 1 of 12 domes with trophy reliefs, Invalides , Paris, 1679–1708.
25. Trophy with attic window, main courtyard of the Invalides , Paris, 1679–1708.
26. Trophy relief, south facade of the Invalides , Paris, 1679–1708.
→ More images 

  • Relief with trophy frame
    Palazzo Bonanno, Syracuse .

historicism

The trophy motif experienced a second bloom from around 1800 in historicism . Castles and armories in particular, as well as other representative buildings, were often decorated with trophy sculptures or trophy reliefs, for example the New Castle in Vienna, the armory in Ludwigsburg and the Fontana della Dea Roma in Rome.

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27. Königstor with roof trophies, formerly Stuttgart, 1809.
28. Trophy sculpture, Fontana della Dea Roma, Piazza del Popolo in Rome, 1823.
29. Arched gusset relief with a trophy, Villa Berg in Stuttgart, 1846–1848.
30. Fighter relief with music trophy, Villa Berg in Stuttgart, 1846–1848.
31. 4 trophy reliefs, Zeughaus Ludwigsburg , 1872–1874.
32nd Trophy Sculpture, Neue Burg , Vienna, from 1881.
33. Goddess with a cornucopia between a trophy and an eagle, Neue Burg , Vienna, from 1881.

literature

  • August Baumeister (ed.): Monuments of classical antiquity to explain the life of the Greeks and Romans in religion, art and custom. Volume 3: Abacus - Twelve Gods. Oldenbourg, Munich 1889, (pdf)
  • Hubert Cancik (Ed.): Tropaion. In: The new Pauly: Encyclopedia of antiquity. Volume 12.1: Antiquity. Tam - Vel. Metzler, Stuttgart 2002, pp. 872-873.
  • Isolde Dautel: Architecture and architectural decoration in form and function. In: Andreas Schlueter and the Zeughaus in Berlin. Imhof, Petersberg 2001, pp. 28-36, especially pp. 33-35.
  • Günter Irmscher: Trophy ornaments. In: Ornament in Europa: 1450 - 2000; An introduction. Deubner Verlag for Art, Theory & Practice, Cologne 2005, pp. 76–78.
  • Johann Georg Krünitz: Trophy. In: Economic Encyclopedia or General System of State, Urban, House and Agriculture: in alphabetical order. 188: shoot to troubadour. Pauli, Berlin 1846, pp. 678–683, (pdf)
  • Martin Miersch: Trophy. In: Uwe Fleckner (ed.): Political Iconography: A Handbook. Volume 2: Imperator to Dwarf. Beck, Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-406-67009-1 , pp. 463-470.
  • Karl Woelcke: Contributions to the history of the tropaion. In: Bonner Jahrbücher. Year 120, 1911, pp. 127–235, plates VIII-XII.
  • Wolfgang Wolters: Trophies. In: Architecture and ornament: Venetian architectural jewelry of the Renaissance. Beck, Munich 2000, pp. 120-123.

Web links

Commons : Trophy (ornament)  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Stefanie Leibetseder, Esther P. Wipfler, Trophy, in: RDK Labor (2017)

Footnotes

  1. ↑ See Wiktionary: Trophy .
  2. ↑ # Woelcke 1911 , p. 134.
  3. ↑ # Woelcke 1911 , pp. 149-150.
  4. ↑ #Cancik 2002 , p 873rd
  5. ↑ #Cancik 2002 , p 873rd
  6. ↑ #Baumeister 1889.2 , pp. 1708, 1710.
  7. ↑ #Dautel 2001 , pp. 33-34.
  8. ↑ #Dautel 2001 , p. 34, #Irmscher 2005 , p. 77.
  9. ↑ # Krünitz 1846 , pp. 678-680.