Dumbarton Oaks, IV. the Byzantine and House Collections

Dumbarton Oaks, IV. The Byzantine and House Collections

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Citation Bland, Elizabeth. 1971. Dumbarton Oaks, IV. The Byzantine and House Collections. Harvard Library Bulletin XIX (2), April 1971: 204-207.

Citable link https://nrs.harvard.edu/URN-3:HUL.INSTREPOS:37363894

Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Du1nbarton Oaks (Continued) IV. THE BYZANTINE AND IiOUSE COLLECTIONS

Elizabeth Bland

"'\~'henDu111barton Oaks ,v8s transferred to Irlarvard Untversity in 1940, the collection ,vas a }ready an extremely important und highly specialized onet devoted prin1ari1yto Byzantine art but including also fine examples of tbc art of previous l\1cditerrancnn and Near F..-astern civilizations,,as vvellas a f e\V'outstanding ,vestern n1edicvalpieces. In

addition t th ere , vas the t' I-I011 sc Collcc ti on,'' consisting principaliy of

Euro pcun pa.intings I tu pestri es, sen 1pt u re~ objets d ':.1rt t and f urni tore. For the 111ost part these ,vorks of art ren1ain in rl1erooms they occupied before 1940. The Byzantine Collection is exhibited in a ,ving ndded to the 1nain house just before the transfer. ~fhe present justallationi hu\vevcr, ,vas designed in 1965 .. l\1ost of the objects in the coJlection in 1940 had

been assembl cd in the prccc ding ten y·carst for l\ 1r. nnd lVlrs.Bliss secn1 to have 1nade the d cci si on to f Ol-71 s their coJ l ectors~ in tercst on the Byzantine field at about the tirne of the international exhibition of Byzantine art held in Paris in 193 1. They already o,Yncd scvctal important pieces ,vhich ,vere lent to this exhibition: the sixth-century silver paten ,vith the Con1111u111onof the Apostles in gilded repousse, .said to have been found at Rih~, near Aleppo, Syria; a group of silver cross fragn1entst tenth to t,vclfth centuries1 the eighth-centur)r silk t\vilI frngn1cntk110\vn as ~~theElephant Ta111cr');the large Coptic ,vool tapestry of c'IIestia Polrolbosn; 11nda group of early Byzantine je,vclr)T, notably part of the treasure said to have been found in the Piazza della Consolazionc in Ron1c in 1910. By 1940 the collections of jc,vclry and textiles ,vcrc outstanding, and in all the other categories usua11y·desig-

nated as .c'n1inora.rtst' - silver, bronzes, gL-:issand ceran1ics 1 glyptics 1 enan1els~ nnd ivories -the collection hnd acquired ,vorks of the higl1est quality from both the early 2nd the middle Byzantine periods.

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 2 (April 1971) Dtt111bntta11Onks

Fron1the Antioch excavations of the la.re1930Js 1 several n1owic pave~ ments and son1e scu]pn.1rc fro1n tl1e buildings of this late lloman - early· Byzantjnc cit:)7 hnd come to Du1nbarton Oaks and had been in- stalled in the ne-\v ,ving built for the coJlection. Coptic sculpture ,vas also represented, a.nd ]a ter sculpture in clu ded n vo B) 7 Zancine 1nmb Ie reliefs, one of the \ 1irgjn., eleventh century, and the other of an em- peror, late tvvclfth century, as ,vell as tlVO re1iefs from southern lral)7 of the eleventh to t\velfth century~ Since r940 the coJlcction h[lsgro,vn slo,vly~ Very little stone scuip- nu-e has been acqujred. Ho,vcvcrt important ivories have been added from both the early and the 111iddlcByzantine periods; the collection of fifth- and sixth-century· silver is outstanding; 1nost of the ena.n1els and a fevl groups of je\ve]ry haveheen acquired; a late eleventh-century Psalter and Ne\v Testa111cntjs a beautiful exatnp]e of llyzantine manu- script ill 0111 ina tion; und the t\'V o ear 13rfourteenth ~centur)r n1ini atur e 111osaics.,one of the :F.ort)T!viartyTs of Scbaste~ the other of St. John Chrysoston1, are an 1ong the finest achievemen ts of late Byzantine art under t ll c Palaco logi d c1np crors. Throughout the history--of the collection the emphasishas been on the quality of th c obj ccts as , veil as on tl 1eir i ntri nsic value in illus~ tracing the art of the By .. zancinc En1pire f ron1 the fourth to the fifteen th century·, and to some d cg rec the antecedents and neighbors of th is artL Sincc th esc obj ccts arc 1n 1nany 111cd i a and for the 1nost part sn1a1l in seal c, t11c visitor , vj 11proba b Iy have a clearer pi cturc of the co}]cc6 on if he concentrates ·first certain categorjes. The silver and the je\vclry, for examp}e.,prc~ent the clearest picture for the early period (fourth to sev end 1 cen turics) and i I1 us tr:1 tc th c close connection , vi th ]ate Rornan art. The 111iddlcByzantine period (n1id-ninth to the end of the t\velf th ccn tury) is best reprcscntr d by the ivories and the ena1nels. La tc Byzantine art (thirteen th to 1nid-fifteen th century) is covered less extensively~ the t,vo mosaic icons mentioned above are the most important objects from this period. 1\1a.n}7 of the objects \Vere formerly in ,vel1-kno,vn private collections. Usuall)Tthese have been acquired through dealers, but there arc notable exceptions. Both the miniamre n1osaics came to Dumbarton Oaks in a n1ost unexpected ,vay: the St. ]obn Chr·ysostou,.,originally jn the n1onasrery of Vato pedi on A1t. Athos, ,vas presented a.round 19oo to Count Nclidov, the Russian An1bass-ador in Constantinople;

Ia tcr it disappcared 1 2 Ithou g h it ,vas kn o, vn to scholars ·throng h pub-

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 2 (April 1971) 206 Harvard Library Bulletin

lications; in 1954 it turned up in P;1ris, and \V8S offered to Dumbarton Onks~ The icon of Tbe l-i'ort':i.111artJ 1rs of Sebaste had been ju the collection of Hayford Peirce for n1any )'ears, ~nd ,vas unkno,vn to most scholars ,vhen l\1r.s.Peirce presented it to Du1nbarton Oaks in 1947 in n1c1nory of her '"husband. The sixth-century silver chalice fro1n Riha~ the ''Ty1er Chulicc'J-joined the paten nnd flabe}Jum fron1 the san1c treasure ,v hen it , -vas presented to the c oHcction in n1en1or)7 of Royall T) 7 ler by n1embers of his fnn1ily. The gold e-n- colpiun1 (pend-ant medallion) fro1n Cyprus, forn1crly in tl1e collection of Joscp h Strzygo,vski,,vas acquired f ron1 his son. This f rained medal- ]ion1,vith the Baptism on one side 2.ndthe ''irgin and Child enthroned on the other~ is the most interesting single piece of earl)r Byzantine je,velry at Dun1barton Oaks, and \vas probabl)7 struck to comn1en1oratc t] 1c baptist n of Th codosi us, .son of th c En1 peror A-1au rice, in tl 1e y·ear 584 .. The latest Handbook of tbe Byzantlne Collection \Vaspublished jn 1967. There are nlso c~talogucs of the c]assical n1atcrial, by Gisela J\1.A ..llichter, nnd of the 1netal,vork, je,ve1ry,and cnan1cls, by 1'1arvin C. Ross. A catalogue of the jvories"b)'~ K.urt l/Veitzn1ann,is in preparation~ Several articles in tl1e D1011barto11Oaks Papersdeal \Vith individual objects, and a fe,v arc published more extensively in the scrjes of Duu1barton Oaks Stndies~ The collection of approxin1ately 1 1,600 Byzn.ntine coins has been acquired for the 111ost part since 1948. T,vo volun1es of the Catalogue of t/Je B:yz.rtntineCoins in the Du111barto11Onks Collectiou a11din tbe 1i7 bitteu,ore Collection.(bequeathed to Harvard University in 1950) have appeared=Volurne I, AuastasiusI to ./11auricc,491-602, by Alfred R. Bellinger, and \T olun1e 11, JJbnclls to Tbeodosius11/'J 602~7 17? hy Philip Grierson. \ 1 olntne III, also by Philip Grierson, is in preparation, nnd nvo subsequent volun1cs are planned. The systematic acquisition of Byzantine coins began ,vich the purch~se in 1948 _ofthe Hayford Peirce collection. Later, three other Jarge private collections ,verc

acquired l arid th c pro gra n1 to fi l1 la cun:i e continues t hr ou g h pure hase of individual rarities nnd groups of coins. The collection 1sof particu1ar in tctcst to th c specialist in Byza ncin e nu misn latics, and only· a small group of f ourth-cennrry 1nedallions is on exhibition.. These havc been published.by Alfred R~ Bellinger in D111ubarto11Oaks Papers~Nurnbcr 12. The extensive collection of Byz3 ntine lead sea ls ( about 1 3,o oo in

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 2 (April 1971) D1n11bartoJ1Oaks all) is also of in tcrcs t p ri1narily to the specialist. In ad dicion, Du tn... barton Oaks possesseseight Byzantine gold sealsJor bu1lac,,vhich have been pnb]ished b)7 Philip Grierson in D11111barto11Oaks Papers,Num- ber 20. Certain categories of the lead seals ate included in the Corpus of Byzantine Seals being prepared by Fa thcr \T, Laurent. The lvfusic Roornj ,vith its French Renaissance chin1ney-piccc and eighteenth-century oak parquet floor, provides a spacious setting for son1e of the European paintings~ sculpture,. and tapestries at Dum- barton Oaks. Among the paintings arc the ,vell-kno,vn El Greco l 1isitntion,and the early FJorentinc lltadonna llJJd Cbi/d Enthroned by Ilernardo Daddi. There are t\VO statues in ,vood of the l\1adonna and Child., one French Gothic of the thirteenth century., the other of the late :fiftecnth ccntur)r~ b)r Tiln12n Ricrncnschncidcr~ Flemish tapestries include the 1\1011tbof April fron1 a series of the nvelvc monthst

,vovcn in Brussels in the early sixteenth ccnrut) 7 ~ and n late fifteenth- century Tournai tapestr) 7 \vith the allegory of the Prjncc of l\1alicc .. l\1ost of the furniture in the room is Italian and Spanish of the sixteenth and seventeen th ccntur ics. 0 nc of the 111.ostinteresting pie ccs is the 1nonumcntal ,valnut cabinet fron1 a villa at Capraro]a, near llornc, ,vith an inscription on the cornice, Qti i escit ani11,n libri s. Th ere are also a fe,v French eighteenth-century arn1chnirsl the finest by the cabinet- maker CJaudc Etienne J\1ichard..Other obj ccts in rhe roon1, acquired by 1\1r.~nd l\1rs. Bliss before their inr.erest\vas focussed on Byzantine art, -are a T'ang stone head of a Bodhisattva and a Chou br_onr...erin1a1 vessel in the form of -an O\VI; fron1 ancient Egypt there is -a.lgtc Dynastic bronze cat and an Eigh tcenrh-Dynast)T ,vood figurine of a dancing gir1. · During tl l c .san1 c )7 Cars the Blisses -a1 so acquired a f e, v pain tings by the F rcnc h ln1prcssionists: the Degas Repetition de Cban t, and his sketch of Julie Bcllelli; the llcnoir pastel Head of n Child, nnd the early· Seurat Head of n Young TfT0111011 are among the~-e~American painters of the same period, notably-Childc I--l~ssan1and John H. T,vachnnan, are also re presented. Pi cturcs in their priv2 tc co11 cction~ ,v hich have

only.. recently con1c to Dun1harron Oaks1 include the l\1u.risscBuff et et Table of 1899; a smaU early Picasso, Tbe Jester's Frunily,in ink., colored pencils, and ,vash; a still life hy· Odilon Rcdon; and a group of paii1tingsb)T the Belgian artist Alfred Stcvcnsa l\lany of these are no,Y exhibited in the Garden Library.

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 2 (April 1971) CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE

ELIZABETH P~ BENSOK, Curator of the Robert \:Voods Illiss Collection of Pre- 0 i ln n1 bi an A rt ::it the Du rn1 }~ rton O ks Research Library and Collection, is the author of 1.,beAlaya H7 o:rld, \Vhich \Vas puLiishcd by Cro,,·ell in HJ67.

l\ 1KS. El .1ZAUETH j\ 1A DDREN IlLAJ-;" o is Asso ci a tc Curator of th c Il y~.antin c Co1- lecti on at the J)u1nhnrton Onks H.eseatch J....ibr::iry nnd CoJlection.

JAi\'lES G. FRAsr.Ris an A nglicnn priest in the Diocese of l\·1elbourne, and hes been a lecturer on Old Tcst:an1cnt language :ind literature at Ridley Col-

ege 1 i\-JeJhourne} and at the University of St. Andre\VS\ Scotland.

0\VRN Gn•.a.;nnct-1i!:i .Profts~or nf A~trono1ny ::indof the Hi~tory of Science :at I-Iar vard; T /; eor-y and O bservat io u of Norn 1nl Stell a:rA t1uo spbere s {P roe ccd- in gs of the Third I-larvard~Sn1ithsonian Conference on Stellar Atn1ospheres)t ,vhich he cditccl) ,vas published by the f\1.I.T~ Press in 1969~

HARLEY P. }IoLDEN is Assjstant Curator of the I-farvard Unhrcrsity Archivcsr

D c N CAK IsLEs tea ch es at Hir kb eek College of the U l1 iversi ty of l..rondon+

A, .AN T. j\1c K F.N7..IP j s A,i;;sistr1nt Prof es-sorof F.ng lis h at Purdue Uni \'Crsity 4

1\1ARY G + 1\1:ASON is Assistant Prof cssor of Eng Hsh at En11112:nucl College in Boston; her ll a.rvard doctoral dissertation ( I 9 67) ,vas on 1 The Imaginary Por- tra.its of ,~ralter Pater/ 1

STu ART F. C. N 1ERri.tEI ER is Assistant Prof cssor in the D cp a rnn ent of English at Univ crsigr Co Hege of the University of Toronto.

JoHN S. THACHER is Honomry Associate of the Oaks Research Li bra r y an

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Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 2 (April 1971)