The Sunday Christ

As my friends Irini and Fotis mulled over whither Fotis really needed a Darth Vader helmet or a feather boa (sensible boy he bought neither) I wandered out of the Hollywood Costume Exhibition Shop at the Victoria and Albert into a small gallery next door. Though it is located a good deal away from the splendid Medieval Galleries it houses a few lovely pieces of religious art of mixed origins from the period. As often happens I focused in on one lovely piece of the carver's art.

This time the medium wasn't wood but alabaster and as is often the case with works of the period, this figure is dated circa 1500, the artist who created it is unknown. And until I saw this piece I must admit that the subject was unknown to me: The Sunday Christ.  The card in the case explained that this was a unique work probably from Southern England or Wales and was meant not as a devotional object but as an admonition to those who wounded Christ by working on the Sabbath.

Normally the figure of the Sunday Christ appears in paintings and frescoes, often larger than life, and seems to have been particular to southern England, Cornwall, Wales, and the Alpine regions of France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia and northern Italy.   Frequently situated at the entrance to a church the painting or fresco portrayed "The Man of Sorrows" acquainted not with grief but with the grievous wounds caused by the tools of workmen who had chosen not to "to abstain from those works and affairs which hinder the worship to be rendered to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s day, or the suitable relaxation of mind and body."  In more than one representation the blood from the wounds have a particularly gory aspect which causes me to wonder why it didn't become the subject for more Southern artists who seem to revel in suffering with a capital "S".   It was hoped that in regarding the Sunday Christ (with or without the gore) the pious could find assurance that they were not amongst those re-crucifying Christ and the repentant would see what their act of impiety had led to.  I'm not sure what effect it would have on those who continued to work as they wouldn't have darkened the door step of the church to view the suffering their sinful behavoir had wrought.

Many of the tools that are inflicting wounds on The Sunday Christ are agrarian in nature - suggesting that this figure was carved as a warning to farm labourers in the surrounding district.  Which church it was created for is unknown as are the details of how it found its way to Portugal before being acquired by the V and A. 

There is a theory that in the wake of the Black Death the Holy days of obligation had increased to a point where if craftsmen, labourers and farmhands had abstained from work on all of the required days that nothing would have been done.  In many cases work was necessary, if crops were to be planted or brought in, buildings to be constructed or water to be drawn that work continue despite it being the Sabbath.  It was very much a case of "damned if you do, damned (or starved) if you don't". 

It is highly unusual for The Sunday Christ to be worked in stone or wood and this little figure is the only known representation in this form in England. The figure was probably stored in a shuttered tabernacle close to the door of the church and may even have been carried in processions on one of the many Feast Days or Days of Obligation.  Perhaps it was when viewed in those processions that the shame of working and inflicting new wounds on their Lord overcame those labouring and they threw down their tools and did their duty.

Thought I have been a trifle tongue in cheek about the purpose of this little figurine I can recall the time was here in Canada when Sunday was indeed a welcome day of rest.  And it was very much the same in our area of Roma and many places in Germany and Austria that we visited.  Sunday was a day to go to church, if you were so inclined, visit the family, stroll through the park or go to lunch with friends.  All of which fit perfectly in to the canonical command "to abstain from those works and affairs which hinder the worship to be rendered to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s day, or the suitable relaxation of mind and body." and none of which would have contributed to the suffering of this little Christ figure.

30 December - 1919: Lincoln's Inn in London, England, UK admits its first female bar student.

Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat Where Have You Been?

Well actually I've been to London if not to visit the Queen then to do quite a lot of things in four short days.

This delightful lithograph in the lobby of the National Theatre proves that
many cats can indeed look at a Queen!  Sadly I didn't make a note of the artist's
name or the title and the National website gives no clues.

I first visited London when I was 19 in 1969. Up until then the farthest I had been away from home was New York one Christmas with my mother (when we had the embarrassing scene with the unsuccessful attempted to "poison" me with "uncooked" hamburger at Schrafft's Restaurant) and Nassau with my friend Eugene (who saved me from drowning two hours after we arrived and has suffered with a bad back ever after). You would think that those two episodes alone might have killed any urge I had to travel but no, that May I set off on the first of many voyages to London; and I was to cross the Atlantic once again three months later en route to Austria.  In those heady years of high salaries, working for the airlines and living at home if I had been eligible for air points (if such a thing had existed) I would have had enough to do around the world within a year or two. The trips were frequent and mainly to Europe and many of the trips meant time spent in London - sometimes only for a day or two.

The reason for that first trip was opera - The Glyndebourne Festival and the Royal Opera at Covent Garden. Then there was the theatre - Love for Love with Geraldine McEwan at the National Theatre (still housed in the Old Vic back then), Sarah Miles and Eileen Atikens in Vivat Vivat Regina and a trip down to Chichester to see the incomparable Alistair Sim and a very young Patricia Routledge in Pinero's The Magistrate. 

Well 43 years later I arrived at Heathrow a week ago Thursday past for a few days and the principal motivation once again was opera - plus ca change!!

The Royal Opera House was staging a rare revival of Meyerbeer's Robert la diable  - the last time the infamous ghostly ballet of debauched nuns danced on that stage was 1890.   And in one of those strange little quirks of serendipity the National Theatre (in their South Bank home) was presenting The Magistrate with John Lithgow as the beset-upon Mr Posket.  Did I mention "plus ca change"????

Not only the shops in Mayfair were dressed up for the season;
though this little girl was not at all impressed with the Candy Cane.

And if there's a Candy Cane man, you just know there had to be
a Candy Kiss on roller skates nearby - after all it is London.

I really meant to go and check that the crows were still at the Tower after
encountering this rather exotic outfit at the M and S check-out. However the Russian gentleman
with the fat wallet with her seemed rather pleased with his lady so....  chaqu'un as they say.

There were, of course, quite a few added attractions - my dear Fotis was coming in from Athens for the opera and we had seats together (quite by accident) in the front row of the amphitheatre; Chantal, a colleague from Rome was on temporary duty at the High Commission and I had an invitation to stay with her and a night out at the National; and David and the Diplomate had issued an invitation to Sunday lunch.  It was going to be a full four days.

Although the landscapes don't quite marry up it is possible that the artist intended the portraits of Ashraf 'Ali Khan and his mistress Muttubby to be a facing each other in a book. Dip Chad is one of the few artists of the period of whom much is known and his style is distinctive for its experimentation and subtle use of colour.  For some reason the portrait of Muttubby reminded me of Magritte - funny the associations our minds make.

From the catalogue for MUGHAL INDIA, British Library

But of course being London there were all the serendipitous events that pop-up in what is still after all these visits one of the most exciting cities on the surface of this ever shrinking globe.  At 1430 on Thursday afternoon Fotis phoned to say that he had an extra ticket for the (sold-out) Hollywood Costume exhibition at the V and A and to get my lily-white over there by 1530 if I wanted to see it.  And see it I did - and met his friend Irini Kyriakidou who, as well as being a very beautiful and talented soprano in her own right, just happens to be married to Bryan Hymel who was singing the eponymous Robert.  Which then led to an opportunity to go backstage after the performance followed by a late night dinner in Covent Garden with Irini, Bryan, Fotis and their friend Sascha.  An e-mail exchange with David about Sunday's lunch led to an unplanned trip to the British Library to see a splendid exhibition of books and illustrations from the Moghul Period in India.  And Sunday lunch as well as bringing the delights of a perfectly cooked joint of lamb placed me in the company of David, Diplomate and Edward, a fascinating gentleman with an equally fascinating history.

And my faithful travelling companion Sidd accompanied me to Pink to look at shirts but frankly was more interested in getting his photo taken with Santa.  I mean where else but London would you find a Pink Santa?

Some how I managed to squeeze a trip to Seldfridge's and a quick pop by Fortnum and Mason to see their very disappointing windows this year - no moving figures and more advertisement than anything - with a stop behind them at Pink on Jermyn Street.  To make up for the disappointment of not spending £175.00 on that great shirt I headed back to the V and A again.  A walk-around their remarkable Medieval Galleries, a look-in at the Raphael's and a saunter through the English Renaissance displays was almost as good as retail therapy.

You could almost miss this beautiful little 13th century ivory fragment from Northern England in the midst of all the glories of the Medieval galleries at the V and A.  Carved from a walrus tusk it depicts Joseph of Aramathea supporting the body of Christ as it is removed from the cross.  Strange how a small piece of ivory can be turned into something so moving.

A full but strangely not exhausting few days that proved that even after the many visits I am very much not "tired of life".

"Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford."
— Samuel Johnson to Boswell, September 20, 1777.

22 December -1890: Cornwallis Valley Railway begins operation between Kentville and Kingsport, Nova Scotia.

Not Your Usual Biscotti

Three years ago this coming October we were in Berlin and visiting the Island Museums; I mentioned at the time that I found the Bode the most interesting of the lot particularly their Renaissance collection.  Late last week I was reminiscing about that trip and going through pictures that I had taken on that visit. I also unpacked a box of books and came upon a little book that had a serendipitous if slightly tenuous connection with a few of those pictures.  The following February we spent a few days in London and at my friend David's suggestion spent a glorious Saturday morning at the V&A basking in their new Medieval and Renaissance wing.  And at their bookstore I picked up a fascinating little book: Renaissances Secrets by Jo Wheeler.  It contains all sorts of wonderful - you guessed it - Renaissance Secrets.   Illustrated with rarities from the V and A collections it includes recipes and closely guarded secret formulae for a myriad of concoctions once used to create medicines, cosmetics, printing materials, even amulets meant to ward off the plague.  Lip balm, rare paint pigments, stain removers; they are all there as are, of course, aids to the noble art of love making!  And just so you don't think the Renaissance was all Adoring Magi, Breast-feeding Bambini and Virginal Assumptions here's an easy to follow cookie recipe (if you can find or afford the ingredients) along with a few of the more "specialized" works from the Bode Renaissance collection.

This lovely ivory carving is an innocent representation of Adam and Eve covering their nakedness in shame.  Or is it?  The look on their faces isn't exactly one of chagrin and a closer look reveals that their "communal" loin cloth can be removed to unveil heaven only knows what sort of salacious display!

.

Morsels to excite Venus.
Proven many times and which increase sperm. They do not cause any harm.

Take

• 3 drams each of walnuts, pine-kernels and pistachio nuts;
• 3 drams each of powdered seeds of rocket, onion and knotgrass (also known as swine-grass or bloodwort)
• Half a dram each of cloves, cinnamon and ginger
• 1.5 ounces of skinned skinks (saltwater lizards) - four should suffice with heads and feet removed and ground to a fine powder
• 1 ounce of Indian nut (coconut)
• 1 dram each of long pepper, galangal, seeds of wild asparagus, chickpeas (the red variety)
• 3 ounces of diasatirion*
• A dram of ambergris
• Half a dram of musk
• 12 ounces of sugar dissolved in rosewater

Make morseletti in the normal way.
*also known as "wolf's testicles" it was a concoction based on the bulbous roots of an orchid.

And it would appear that after ingesting these biscotti Venus embarked upon a rather elaborate voyage if this little "Triumph of Love" is to be credited. (A left click will enlarge the picture for a closer look)

These biscuits apparently packed quite a punch with most of the ingredients guaranteed to excite lust, particularly the pistachios.  They were known to be "wondrous for stimulating sexual desire" if fattening! But then plump wasn't a problem in the Renaissance, in fact it was thought of as erotic. Florentine apothecary Stefano Rosselli (whose recipes this is) also stocked a rub which was to be used in the event of impotence.  Rosselli obviously gave the customers what they wanted - or needed!

It would appear this Satyr is in no need of Dottore Rosselli's magic morsels - and one wonders where these naughty putti's mothers are. Shouldn't they be home in bed rather than helping the horny old bugger (litterally) in his depravity?

There is one secret that Mr Wheeler doesn't divulge in amongst his treasury of formulae and concoction - he may let us in on how Venetian woman turned their hair golden but the oft sought secret of how to turn base metal into gold remains untold.  Given its price on the market these days I was hoping it would be revealed - no such luck!  

01 settembre/September - Sant'Egidio abate

... And Carried Him Away, and Delivered Him to Pilate

One of the many pleasures of our recent holiday in London was the chance to take a look at a few of the new Medieval and Renaissance Galleries at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Our friend David had suggested that they were not to be missed - and as always with David he was on the letter.

We saw perhaps a third of the wonders that are in the vast collection. Of course many of the objects were of a religious nature and many addressed the events being commemorated in the Western Christian faith this week.

I was particularly struck by these three small panels (roughly 46x74x12 cms)that were created in 1579-80 by Giambologna, an artist known for his marble and bronze sculptures. The panels, in red wax on a wooden background, are models for a series of six bronze reliefs on the Passion that were done for the Grimaldi Chapel in San Francesco di Castelletto, Genoa. When the church was demolished in 1815 the bronzes created from the models were moved to the University of Genoa and can be seen there today.

And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate, the governor.
Gospel of Matthew

Then came Jesus forth, wearing a crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate said unto them, Behold the Man!
The Gospel of St. John

... he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person ....
Gospel of St Matthew

The medium used to create the models was beeswax with animal fat added, making the mixture easier to model and adhere. Over time some of the fat has separated and come to the surface which gives the models a slightly shiny appearance.

It appears that only these three models survived as no mention of the other three can be found in any catalogs.

02 aprile - Venerdi Santo