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Download Download Faith, Memory, and Barnyard Fowl 57 Faith, Memory, and Barnyard Fowl The Hen and Chicks Sculpture of the Basilica di Giovanni Battista at Monza ELIZABETH ROSE* Within the treasury of the Basilica di San Giovanni Battista, in Monza, Northern Italy, one object stands out: a golden statue of a hen, surrounded by her seven chicks, all placidly pecking grain from a large disk (figure 1). According to local tradition, the hen and her brood were discovered in the thirteenth century within the sarcophagus of Queen Theodelinda (c. 570-628 C.E.), when her remains were transferred from their original resting place in the chapel of her sixth-century palace to Monza’s newly-built basilica.1 * University of Toronto 1 Graziano Alfredo Vergani, Museum and Treasury of Monza Cathedral: Concise Guide (Milano: Silvana, 2007), 14; Matthias Hart, “Royal Treasures and Representation in the Early Middle Ages,” in Strategies of INTAGLIO: University of Toronto Art Journal, Vol. 1, Spring 2019 Elizabeth Rose 58 Among the remnants of medieval treasuries that have managed to survive to the present day, the hen is undoubtedly an unusual piece. Yet it is often described as unique, “un unicum assoluto” without any point of comparison2—an assertion that is patently untrue. The image of a hen and chicks can be traced through diverse media, from art objects to theological tracts, dating from the late Antique to the early Modern era. Figure 1. Statue of a hen and Chicks, gilded silver These repeated applications of and gems. Hen is 40 cm long, 27 cm high; chicks are roughly 7 cm high. In the Museo del Duomo, analogous figurative formulae also Monza. Image from The Iron Crown and Imperial provide conclusions as to the most Europe II: In Search of the Original Artifact Part I, 186. likely intended significance of Monza’s sculpture. Furthermore, because there are no indications beyond local legend that the hen came into contact with the living Theodelinda, we are left with the question of how this belief emerged. An exploration of the object’s afterlife exposes potential sources for the sculpture’s centuries-old associations with the queen and her tomb. In terms of physical composition, the hen appears to have a great deal in common with some of the medieval era’s most famous treasures. Unfortunately, discrepancies in available reports make decisive conclusions on its material nature difficult. The size of a small modern chicken, the golden hen is made of gilded silver foil supported on a wooden core.3 Most of the body was shaped using repoussé out of a single sheet of silver. Delicate chasing created the surface texture of the feathers, while circular punches are used to suggest the finer feathers of the head. The legs were made separately and welded to the body, as was the double crest.4 The hen’s eyes are Distinction: The Construction of the Ethnic Communities, 300-800, eds. Walter Pohl and Helmut Reimitz (Boston: Brill, 1998): 269; Conti, Roberto. Il Tesoro: Guida alla conoscensa del Tesoro del Duomo di Monza (Monza: Museo del Duomo di Monzi), 46, etc. 2 Augusto Merati, Il Tesoro del duomo di Monza (Monza: Comune di Monza, 1963), 36. 3 Vergani, Museum and Treasury of Monza Cathedral, 15. 4 Margaret Frazer, “Oreficerie altomedievali,” in Il Duomo di Monza: I tesori, ed. Roberto Conti (Milano: Electa, 1990), 19. INTAGLIO: University of Toronto Art Journal, Vol. 1, Spring 2019 Faith, Memory, and Barnyard Fowl 59 red gemstones, reported in different sources as either rubies or garnets.5 The stone of the left eye is a somewhat crude intaglio of an armoured warrior, the execution of which bears close resemblance to Alexandria-based glass carving from the third and fourth centuries.6 A cache of stones cut using the same technique was uncovered at Aquileia, increasing the likelihood of late Antique eastern-Mediterranean provenance for the intaglio.7 The chicks have sapphires for eyes, and the texture of their feathers is suggested using half-moon punches.8 Their bodies are formed using a thicker layer of silver than that of the hen, and it has been argued that the increased thickness is because the bodies were created via casting.9 Others have claimed that the chicks were made with the same repoussé technique as the hen, but that their smaller size prevented the artisan from achieving consistent finesse. Supporting the later conclusion are unconfirmed reports of incisions of varying lengths found in backs of each chick, allowing access to the inside.10 Another unverified source describes the chicks as having different head positions, which would preclude the use of a single mould.11 Most often, whether the chicks are described as made in repoussé or out of casts appears to depend on whether an author wishes to assign the hen and her chicks the same or separate dates (see discussion below). Each bird appears to have undergone repairs at least once since its creation. The tails of the chicks have been especially prone to cracking and have been reinforced with silver foil. 12 The supporting disk is of relatively recent origin, and differences in their representation point to rearrangements of the chicks over the centuries. Most of the documented restoration has been done to the hen: the feathers of the tail, the right 5 Rubies in: Roberto Conti, Il Tesoro: Guida alla conoscenza del Tesoro del Duomo di Monza (Monza: Museo del Duomo di Monzi), 46; Merati, Il Tesoro del duomo di Monza, 33; Vergani, 15, etc.; garnets in: Gilda Rosa, “Le arti minori dalla conquista longobarda al Mille,” in Storia di Milano II: Dall’invasione dei barbari all’apogeo del governo vescovile (493-1002), ed. Giovanni Galbiati and Paolo Mezzanotte, (Milano: Fondazione Treccani degli Alfieri per la Storia di Milano, 1954), 686; Raffaella Farioli Campanati, “La cultura artistica nelle regioni bizantine d’Italia dal VI all’XI secolo,” in I Bizantini in Italia, ed. Guglielmo Cavallo (Milano: Libri Scheiwiller, 1982), 411; Antonio Morassi, Antica Oreficeria Italiana (Milano: Ulrico Hoepli, 1936), 20, etc. 6 Liselotte Müller, “Die Henne mit den Sieben Kücken im Domschatz zu Monza,” Pantheon 31 (1943): 165. 7 Conti, Il Tesoro, 48. 8 Frazer, “Oreficerie altomedievali,”22. 9 Conti, Il Tesoro, 48. 10 Frazer, “Oreficerie altomedievali,”19. 11 Angelo Lipinski, “Der Theodelinden-Schatz im Dom zu Monza,” Das Münster 13 (1960): 162 12 D. Talbot Rice, “Opere d’arte paleocristiane ed altomedieval,” in Il Tesoro del Duomo di Monza, edited by Lamberto Vitali, (Milano: Banca popolare di Monza, 1966), 33. INTAGLIO: University of Toronto Art Journal, Vol. 1, Spring 2019 Elizabeth Rose 60 wing, and the tips of the feet all having suffered breakages and repeated repair.13 The greater damage could be the result of the hen being earlier in date than her offspring, but could equally be explained by her larger size and greater delicacy of construction. The original design of the hen’s legs was structurally insufficient to support the body’s weight over time, and the legs have thus suffered considerable damage. At some point, a grey adhesive was used to strengthen the left leg around the first joint. A later restoration effort re-enforced the abdomen with a smooth sheet of silver extending from the same leg. The original silver underside of the hen’s tail has been replaced by a wooden cylinder.14 Theories concerning the original significance of the sculpture range from the Seven Churches of Asia of the Book of Revelation to purely decorative intentions with no meaning beyond visual whimsy.15 Among the many proposed possibilities, there are three strains of thought most commonly discussed. The first is a reiteration of the local tradition that the hen represents either Theodelinda or the Lombard kingdom, and the chicks are subsequently the seven dukes or the provinces that they ruled.16 The second connects the sculpture to unverified pre-Christian practices that coexisted with early Lombard Christianity. In this vein, the hen is presented as either a fertility object related to Theodelinda’s second wedding or as a lavish, enduring variation on the Germanic practice of placing chickens in graves. 17 Before examining the third variety of hypothesis, let us establish some facts about the hen and chicks as an image. First of all, the form has significance. One of the few things about the hen of which we can be sure is that at some point, someone 13 Frazer, “Oreficerie altomedievali,” 19. 14 Ibid. 15See: Jean Hubert, “La poule aux poussins d’or du trésor de Monza,” in Humanisme Actif: Mélanges d’art et de littérature offerts à Julien Cain, ed. Julien Cain (Paris: Hermann, 1968), 293; Jean Hubert, “La poule aux poussins d’or du trésor de Monza,” in Humanisme Actif: Mélanges d’art et de littérature offerts à Julien Cain, ed. Julien Cain (Paris: Hermann, 1968), 293; Wolfgang F. Volbach, “Le arti suntuarie,” in L’Europa delle invasioni barbariche, eds. Jean Hubert, Jean Porcher, and Wolfgang F. Volbach (Milano: Feltrinelli, 1968), 245; Merati, Il Tesoro del duomo di Monza, 37. 16 Karl Baedeker, Italie septentrionale jusqu’a Livourne, Florence et Ravenne (Paris: K. Baedeker, 1895), 48; Henry Bernard Cotterill, Medieval Italy during a Thousand Years (305-1313): A Brief Historical Narrative with Chapters on Great Episodes and Personalities and on Subjects Connected with Religion Art and Literature (London: George G. Harrap and Company, 1915), 254; Lucca Frigerio, Bestiario medievale: animali simbolici nell'arte cristiana (Milano: Àncora, 2014), 321, etc. 17 See: Morassi, 20; Isa Belli Barsali, Medieval Goldsmith’s Work, trans. Margaret Crosland, (London: Paul Hamlyn, 1969), 60; Adolfo Venturi, Storia dell’arte italiana II: Dall’arte barbarica alla romanica (Milano: Ulrico Hoepli, 1902), 94; Gian Piero Bognetti, “Milano longobarda,” in Storia di Milano II, 130; Hubert, “La poule aux poussins d’or,” 291; Merati, Il Tesoro del duomo di Monza, 37.
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