alb3600110
Cassone with painted front panel depicting the Conquest of Trebizond
![Cassone with painted front panel depicting the Conquest of Trebizond. Culture: Italian, Florence. Dimensions: H. 39-1/2 x W. 77 x D. 32-7/8 in. (100.3 x 195.6 x 83.5 cm); Painted surface 15 1/4 x 49 1/2 in. (38.7 x 125.7 cm). Maker: Attributed to workshop of Apollonio di Giovanni di Tomaso (Italian, Florence ca. 1416-1465 Florence); and workshop of Marco del Buono Giamberti (Italian, Florence 1402-1489 Florence). Date: after ca. 1461.
Purchased in 1913 from the Florentine dealer Stefano Bardini (1836-1922), this elaborate chest, or cassone, has long enjoyed status as one of the few fifteenth-century objects of its kind to survive intact and, moreover, to portray a contemporary historical event--the conquest of Trebizond, the last outpost of the Byzantine Empire, by Mehmed II in 1461 (for another example of a cassone panel depicting a contemporary historical event, see 07.120.1). This status has been called into question by a detailed, technical examination undertaken in 2008. It has now been demonstrated that so far from being intact, various parts of the chest are not integral and that, most importantly, the painted front may originate from another chest. This means that the purported provenance of the chest from Palazzo Strozzi, first asserted by Weisbach [see Ref. 1913], may have no bearing on the interpretation of the scene on the painted front. That the chest itself is connected with some member of the Strozzi family is clear from the emblems that appear on the end pieces, which are original to it: the Strozzi falcon or hawk perched on a caltrop (spiky metal devices that, when scattered on the ground, destabilize the enemy's horses) with a banderole inscribed ME[Z]ZE--perhaps indicating another Strozzi emblem, the half-moon crescent [see Ref. Nickel 1974]. The inside of the lid and the back of the cassone retain their original stenciled patterns simulating patterned fabric, and the top of the lid is embellished by a gessoed piece of cloth that is gilded and tooled to simulate a runner of cut velvet (this motif is worn, the paint having been almost entirely lost, so that the design is barely legible today).
The scene on the painted front is universally recognized as coming from the most active and prestigious workshop for the production of painted cassone in mid-fifteenth-century Florence: that shared by Apollonio di Giovanni and Marco del Buono. Its subject is neither biblical nor mythological, nor even based on a contemporary novella such as those by Boccaccio. Rather, it depicts an event that unfolds before two identifiable cities of the Byzantine Empire. Much work has been done identifying the places shown [see especially Refs. Paribeni 2001, Paribeni 2002, and Lurati 2005]. In the left background, clearly labeled on its walls, is Constantinople. An attempt has been made by the artist to suggest a number of the city's landmarks and distinguishing topographical features, some of which are also labeled. There is the Latin church of San Francesco; the monumental column of Justinian in the Augustaion and the Egyptian obelisk (evidently topped by a crescent) in the Hippodrome originally laid out by Emperor Septimus Severus in the third century AD and further embellished by Constantine; the Hagia Sofia; the nearby sixth-century church of Saint Irene; what must be intended either as the Blachernae Palace or its thirteenth-century annex, the Palace of Porphyrogenitus, which served as the imperial residence for the last Byzantine emperors (the fragmentary inscription may possibly have been intended as [PALAZZO] DEILO [IM]PER[AT]ORI); the Golden Horn--the city's fabled inlet that was protected by a chain that could be drawn across it--with western ships (carracks) moored next to the Genoese quarter of Pera, the walls of which are dominated by the great circular Galata tower, atop which the Genoese flag can be seen. Other boats in the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara may be either Greek dromons or Ottoman. Further back, on the European side of the Bosphorus, is the CHASTEL NVOVO (the "new fortress" of Rumeli Hisari built by Mehmed II in 1451-52 in preparation for the seige of Constantinople; its distinctive towers are still a landmark today). Across the Bosphorus is another walled city designated as LO SCUTARIO--Scutari, present-day Üsküdar (the name, Skutarion, derived from the leather shields of the Roman soldiers stationed there; it fell to the Ottomans almost a century before Constantinople). Then, dominating the hill on the right is the walled city of Trebizond (modern-day Trabzon). Located on the southern coast of the Black Sea, it became the seat of a separate Byzantine empire when it was conquered by Alexios Komenos in 1204--the year Constantinople fell to the crusaders--and was the last outpost of the Byzantine Empire following the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans in 1453. It fell to the Ottomans in 1461, marking the final demise of Byzantium. Although hardly an accurate depiction, it seems clear that for his depiction of Constantinople the artist was supplied with descriptions and maps, such as the one included in Cristoforo Buondelmonti's Liber insularum Archipelagi of 1420 [see Ref. Pope-Hennessy and Christiansen 1980] as well as, possibly, drawings by that inveterate traveler Cyriac of Ancona and the reports of other visitors to the city [see Ref. Lurati 2005].
Before the walled city of Trebizond is depicted a battle. An encampment of tents is shown on the far right, in front of which the leader of one of the armies is seated on a triumphal chariot drawn by two white horses. He wears a turban, as do other members of his army, including the troops emerging behind Scutari, and he points his white baton towards a gesticulating, bearded figure who, dressed in blue, wears the sort of cylindrical hat splayed out at the top that was associated in Western Europe with the Byzantine Greeks [see Ref. Lurati 2005]; he rides a black steed and is plainly either reporting on the progress of the battle or taking orders. Prior to 1980 it was presumed that the figure on the chariot was Mehmed II [see Ref. Weisbach 1913] and that the battle depicted the Ottoman defeat of the Byzantines in 1461--hence the designation of the chest as the Trebizond Cassone. However, as has been pointed out by Paribeni [see Ref. 2001], Trebizond was taken by Mehmed II without a battle: it capitulated without bloodshed. Moreover, a close examination of the costumes reveals that it is the Ottomans who are being vanquished (for the costumes, see especially Refs. Paribeni 2001, Paribeni 2002, and Lurati 2005). Clearly shown among the captives and those in retreat are members of the Ottoman elite infantry, the Janissaries, wearing their distinctive white conical hats with the top folded over. Other conical hats are gold, some with a feathered decoration (for similar Turkish costumes, see Cesare Vecellio's Degli habiti antichi . . . , Venice, 1664, book 7, pp. 297-302). Their commander is almost certainly the turbaned figure to the left of the melee, dressed in gold, holding a scepter and mounted on a black horse. He is defended by Janissaries, one of whom turns around while pointing with his left hand. Scimitars are wielded by both armies, as are the distinctive recurved composite bows of Ottoman warfare. In front of the triumphal chariot five captives, two of whom kneel, are being presented to the victorious army commanders. The characterization of the two armies should have been enough to refute the common identification of the figure on the triumphal chariot as Mehmed II. And, in fact, a careful examination with the aid of infrared light in 1980 revealed an inscription identifying him as TAN[B]VRLANA--Tamerlane, or Timur (1336-1405), the celebrated Mongol emperor and commander who defeated the Ottomans under Bayezid I at Ankara in 1402 (Bayezid was taken prisoner). The battle, then, would seem to be Tamerlane's victory over Bayezid at Ankara, but anachronistically shown against the backdrop of Trebizond. As remarked by Gombrich [see Ref. 1955], "it cannot have been the intention of the painter simply to represent a Greek disaster." And, indeed, the setting of a battle that took place in 1402 in front of a city that fell to the Ottomans in 1461 signals an emblematic intent.
In the minds of Europeans, Tamerlane's victories assured him a place among the "worthies". As such, his image was included in a fresco cycle of famous men commissioned about 1432 by Cardinal Giordano Orsini for his palace in Rome. A number of interpretations have been suggested to explain the apparent anachronisms (see the thorough summary in Ref. Krohn 2008). One would have it that the figure is not actually Tamerlane but the Turkmen rival of the Ottomans, Uzun Hasan (1423-1478), who was known in his time as a second Tamerlane [see Ref. Paribeni 2001 and Baskins, as reported in Ref. Krohn 2008]. Uzun Hasan made a pact with Mehmed II not to aid the Byzantine forces and thus to assist the Ottoman conquest of Trebizond. How this relates to the actual battle scene depicted remains problematic, but it may be worth noting that the Venetians sought Uzun Hasan as an ally against the Ottomans. What cannot be doubted is the intention to conflate historical events, using the past as a template for the future by reminding viewers that the Ottomans--now a threat to Europe--were not invincible. Paribeni [see Ref. 2001] has indicated a pair of cassoni panels commissioned from the workshop of Apollonio, apparently in 1461, that illustrate the triumph of the Greeks over Xerxes' invading Persian army in 480-79 BC. Given the date of the commission, there would appear to be a reference to the conquest of Trebizond, the collapse of the Byzantine Empire, and a hoped for reversal. At the Council of Mantua in 1459, Pius II promoted a crusade against the Turks. An army was assembled in Ancona in 1464, but dispersed when Pius died there on August 15. There were, of course, also mercantile interests, and Paribeni [see Ref. 2001] has pointed out that in December 1460 an accord established a Florentine commercial presence in Trebizond. The presence on the MMA cassone of the two cities of Constantinople and Trebizond would thus seem to transform Tamerlane's victory at Ankara in 1402 into an emblematic prognosis for the defeat of the Ottoman conquerors of Trebizond.
As noted above, the painted front may have belonged to another chest so that the attempts to link it with the Strozzi remain speculative. Moreover, it has not been proven that the chest itself came from the Strozzi palace, though it contains Strozzi emblems. Several Strozzi marriages have been suggested as appropriate moments for the commission: Caterina Strozzi, who married Jacopo degli Spini in 1462 [see Ref. Nickel 1974]; the brother of Vanni di Francesco Strozzi, who traveled to Constantinople and Trebizond in 1462 and who commissioned a cassone from Apollonio for the marriage [see Ref. Paribeni 2001]; Strozza di Messer Marcello degli Strozzi, who married in 1459; Benedetto di Marco degli Strozzi, who married in 1462 [Baskins, reported in Ref. Krohn 2008]; and finally, most prominent of all, the wealthy banker Filippo Strozzi--the builder of Palazzo Strozzi--who married Fiammetta degli Adimari in 1466 [Beatrice Paolozzi-Strozzi, in Ref. Krohn 2008].](/photos/prev/YWVkODMyMA/album_alb3600110.webp)
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Titel:
Cassone with painted front panel depicting the Conquest of Trebizond
Untertitel:
Automatische Übersetzung: Cassone mit bemalter Frontplatte, die die Eroberung von Trapezunt darstellt. Kultur: Italienisch, Florenz. Abmessungen: H. 39-1/2 x W. 77 x T. 32-7/8 in. (100,3 x 195,6 x 83,5 cm); Bemalte Oberfläche 15 1/4 x 49 1/2 in. (38,7 x 125,7 cm). Teekocher: Workshop von Apollonio di Giovanni di Tomaso zugeschrieben (Italienisch, Florenz ca. 1416-1465 Florenz); und Werkstatt von Marco del Buono Giamberti (Italienisch, Florenz 1402-1489 Florenz). Datum: nach ca. 1461. 1913 vom Florentiner Händler Stefano Bardini (1836-1922) gekauft, genießt diese kunstvolle Truhe oder Cassone lange Zeit den Status als eines der wenigen Objekte ihrer Art aus dem 15 zeitgeschichtliches Ereignis ? die Eroberung von Trapezunt, dem letzten Außenposten des Byzantinischen Reiches, durch Mehmed II. im Jahr 1461 (für ein weiteres Beispiel einer Cassone-Tafel, die ein zeitgeschichtliches Ereignis darstellt, siehe 07.120.1). Dieser Status wurde durch eine detaillierte technische Untersuchung im Jahr 2008 in Frage gestellt. Es wurde nun nachgewiesen, dass verschiedene Teile der Truhe bei weitem nicht intakt sind und dass vor allem die bemalte Vorderseite möglicherweise von einer anderen stammt Truhe. Damit ist die angebliche Provenienz der Truhe aus dem Palazzo Strozzi, die erstmals von Weisbach behauptet wurde [siehe Ref. 1913], haben möglicherweise keinen Einfluss auf die Interpretation der Szene auf der bemalten Vorderseite. Dass die Truhe selbst mit einem Mitglied der Strozzi-Familie verbunden ist, geht aus den Emblemen hervor, die auf den originalen Endstücken erscheinen: der Strozzi-Falke oder Habicht, der auf einem Caltrop sitzt (stachelige Metallgeräte, die, wenn sie auf der Boden, destabilisieren die feindlichen Pferde) mit einer Banderole mit der Inschrift ME[Z]ZE ? vielleicht ein Hinweis auf ein weiteres Strozzi-Emblem, die Halbmondsichel [siehe Ref. Nickel 1974]. Die Innenseite des Deckels und die Rückseite des Cassone behalten ihre ursprünglichen Schablonenmuster bei, die gemusterten Stoff simulieren, und die Oberseite des Deckels ist mit einem Stück Stoff verziert, das vergoldet und bearbeitet ist, um einen Läufer aus geschnittenem Samt zu simulieren (dieses Motiv ist abgenutzt, die Farbe ist fast vollständig verloren gegangen, so dass das Design heute kaum noch lesbar ist). Es ist allgemein anerkannt, dass die Szene auf der bemalten Vorderseite aus der aktivsten und renommiertesten Werkstatt für die Herstellung von bemalten Cassone in Florenz Mitte des 15. Jahrhunderts stammt: jener, die Apollonio di Giovanni und Marco del Buono gemeinsam hatten. Sein Thema ist weder biblisch noch mythologisch, noch basiert es auf einer zeitgenössischen Novelle wie der von Boccaccio. Vielmehr zeigt es ein Ereignis, das sich vor zwei identifizierbaren Städten des Byzantinischen Reiches abspielt. Es wurde viel Arbeit geleistet, um die gezeigten Orte zu identifizieren [siehe insbesondere Refs. Paribeni 2001, Paribeni 2002 und Lurati 2005]. Im linken Hintergrund, deutlich an den Wänden beschriftet, ist Konstantinopel. Der Künstler hat versucht, eine Reihe von Wahrzeichen und topografischen Besonderheiten der Stadt anzudeuten, von denen einige auch beschriftet sind. Da ist die lateinische Kirche San Francesco; die monumentale Säule von Justinian im Augustaion und der ägyptische Obelisk (offensichtlich von einem Halbmond gekrönt) im Hippodrom, ursprünglich im dritten Jahrhundert n. Chr. von Kaiser Septimus Severus angelegt und von Konstantin weiter verschönert; die Hagia Sofia; die nahe gelegene Kirche Saint Irene aus dem 6. Jahrhundert; was entweder als Blachernae-Palast oder als sein Nebengebäude aus dem 13 [AT]ORI); das Goldene Horn ? die sagenumwobene Bucht der Stadt, die durch eine Kette geschützt wurde, die darüber gezogen werden konnte ? mit westlichen Schiffen (Karacken), die neben dem genuesischen Viertel Pera festgemacht sind, dessen Mauern vom großen runden Galata-Turm dominiert werden , auf der die genuesische Flagge zu sehen ist. Andere Boote im Goldenen Horn und im Marmarameer können entweder griechische Dromonen oder osmanische sein. Weiter hinten, auf der europäischen Seite des Bosporus, befindet sich das CHASTEL NVOVO (die ?neue Festung? von Rumeli Hisari, die von Mehmed II. 1451-52 in Vorbereitung auf die Belagerung von Konstantinopel erbaut wurde; ihre markanten Türme sind noch heute ein Wahrzeichen). Auf der anderen Seite des Bosporus befindet sich eine weitere ummauerte Stadt mit der Bezeichnung LO SCUTARIO ? Scutari, das heutige Üsküdar (der Name Skutarion leitet sich von den Lederschilden der dort stationierten römischen Soldaten ab; sie fiel fast ein Jahrhundert vor Konstantinopel an die Osmanen). Dann dominiert die ummauerte Stadt Trapezunt (das heutige Trabzon) den Hügel auf der rechten Seite. An der Südküste des Schwarzen Meeres gelegen, wurde es zum Sitz eines separaten byzantinischen Reiches, als es 1204 von Alexios Komenos erobert wurde ? dem Jahr, in dem Konstantinopel an die Kreuzfahrer fiel ? und war der letzte Außenposten des Byzantinischen Reiches nach dem Eroberung von Konstantinopel durch die Osmanen im Jahr 1453. Es fiel 1461 an die Osmanen und markierte den endgültigen Untergang von Byzanz. Obwohl es sich kaum um eine genaue Darstellung handelt, scheint es klar, dass der Künstler für seine Darstellung von Konstantinopel mit Beschreibungen und Karten versorgt wurde, wie sie in Cristoforo Buondelmontis Liber insularum Archipelagi von 1420 enthalten sind [siehe Ref. Pope-Hennessy und Christiansen 1980] sowie möglicherweise Zeichnungen des eingefleischten Reisenden Cyriac von Ancona und die Berichte anderer Besucher der Stadt [siehe Ref. Lurati 2005]. Vor der ummauerten Stadt Trapezunt ist eine Schlacht dargestellt. Ganz rechts ist ein Zeltlager zu sehen, vor dem der Anführer einer der Armeen auf einem von zwei Schimmeln gezogenen Triumphwagen sitzt. Er trägt einen Turban, ebenso wie andere Mitglieder seiner Armee, einschließlich der Truppen, die hinter Scutari auftauchen, und er richtet seinen weißen Stab auf eine gestikulierende, bärtige Gestalt, die, in Blau gekleidet, eine Art Zylinderhut trägt, der oben ausgebreitet ist wurde in Westeuropa mit den byzantinischen Griechen in Verbindung gebracht [siehe Ref. Lurati 2005]; er reitet auf einem schwarzen Ross und berichtet ganz offensichtlich entweder über den Fortgang der Schlacht oder nimmt Befehle entgegen. Vor 1980 wurde angenommen, dass es sich bei der Figur auf dem Streitwagen um Mehmed II handelte [siehe Lit. Weisbach 1913] und dass die Schlacht die osmanische Niederlage der Byzantiner im Jahr 1461 darstellte ? daher die Bezeichnung der Truhe als Trebizond Cassone. Wie jedoch von Paribeni ausgeführt wurde [siehe Lit. 2001] wurde Trapezunt kampflos von Mehmed II eingenommen: es kapitulierte ohne Blutvergießen. Darüber hinaus zeigt eine genaue Untersuchung der Kostüme, dass es die Osmanen sind, die besiegt werden (zu den Kostümen siehe insbesondere Lit. Paribeni 2001, Paribeni 2002 und Lurati 2005). Unter den Gefangenen und den sich Zurückziehenden sind deutlich die Mitglieder der osmanischen Elite-Infanterie, die Janitscharen, zu sehen, die ihre charakteristischen weißen Kegelhüte mit umgeschlagenem Oberteil tragen. Andere konische Hüte sind aus Gold, einige mit Federschmuck (für ähnliche türkische Kostüme siehe Cesare Vecellios Degli habiti antichi . . . , Venedig, 1664, Buch 7, S. 297-302). Ihr Kommandant ist mit ziemlicher Sicherheit die Turbanfigur links vom Nahkampf, in Gold gekleidet, mit einem Zepter auf einem schwarzen Pferd. Er wird von Janitscharen verteidigt, von denen sich einer umdreht und dabei mit der linken Hand zeigt. Krummsäbel werden von beiden Armeen geführt, ebenso wie die charakteristischen gebogenen Kompositbögen der osmanischen Kriegsführung. Vor dem Triumphwagen werden fünf Gefangene, von denen zwei knien, den siegreichen Heerführern vorgeführt. Die Charakterisierung der beiden Armeen hätte ausreichen müssen, um die gängige Identifizierung der Figur auf dem Triumphwagen als Mehmed II. zu widerlegen. Und tatsächlich enthüllte eine sorgfältige Untersuchung mit Hilfe von Infrarotlicht im Jahr 1980 eine Inschrift, die ihn als TAN[B]VRLANA identifizierte ? Tamerlane oder Timur (1336-1405), der berühmte mongolische Kaiser und Kommandant, der die Osmanen besiegte Bayezid I. in Ankara im Jahr 1402 (Bayezid wurde gefangen genommen). Die Schlacht scheint dann Tamerlanes Sieg über Bayezid in Ankara zu sein, aber anachronistisch vor dem Hintergrund von Trapezunt gezeigt. Wie von Gombrich bemerkt [siehe Lit. 1955], "es kann nicht die Absicht des Malers gewesen sein, einfach eine griechische Katastrophe darzustellen." Und in der Tat signalisiert der Schauplatz einer Schlacht, die 1402 vor einer Stadt stattfand, die 1461 an die Osmanen fiel, eine emblematische Absicht. In den Köpfen der Europäer sicherten ihm Tamerlanes Siege einen Platz unter den ?Würdigen?. Als solches wurde sein Bild in einen Freskenzyklus berühmter Männer aufgenommen, den Kardinal Giordano Orsini um 1432 für seinen Palast in Rom in Auftrag gab. Eine Reihe von Interpretationen wurden vorgeschlagen, um die offensichtlichen Anachronismen zu erklären (siehe die ausführliche Zusammenfassung in Lit. Krohn 2008). Man könnte meinen, dass es sich bei der Figur nicht wirklich um Tamerlan handelt, sondern um den turkmenischen Rivalen der Osmanen, Uzun Hasan (1423-1478), der zu seiner Zeit als zweiter Tamerlan bekannt war [siehe Lit. Paribeni 2001 und Baskins, wie in Lit. berichtet. Kröhn 2008]. Uzun Hasan schloss einen Pakt mit Mehmed II, um den byzantinischen Streitkräften nicht zu helfen und somit die osmanische Eroberung von Trapezunt zu unterstützen. Wie sich dies auf die tatsächlich dargestellte Kampfszene bezieht, bleibt problematisch, aber es ist erwähnenswert, dass die Venezianer Uzun Hasan als Verbündeten gegen die Osmanen suchten. Was nicht bezweifelt werden kann, ist die Absicht, historische Ereignisse zu verschmelzen und die Vergangenheit als Vorlage für die Zukunft zu verwenden, indem die Zuschauer daran erinnert werden, dass die Osmanen ? jetzt eine Bedrohung für Europa ? nicht unbesiegbar waren. Paribeni [siehe Lit. 2001] weist auf ein Paar Cassoni-Tafeln hin, die anscheinend 1461 in der Werkstatt von Apollonio in Auftrag gegeben wurden und den Triumph der Griechen über die persische Invasion von Xerxes in den Jahren 480-79 v. Chr. Veranschaulichen. Angesichts des Datums des Auftrags scheint es einen Hinweis auf die Eroberung von Trapezunt, den Zusammenbruch des Byzantinischen Reiches und eine erhoffte Umkehrung zu geben. Auf dem Konzil von Mantua im Jahr 1459 förderte Pius II. einen Kreuzzug gegen die Türken. Eine Armee wurde 1464 in Ancona zusammengestellt, aber zerstreut, als Pius dort am 15. August starb. Es gab natürlich auch kaufmännische Interessen, und Paribeni [siehe Lit. 2001] hat darauf hingewiesen, dass im Dezember 1460 ein Abkommen eine florentinische Handelsniederlassung in Trapezunt etablierte. Die Präsenz der beiden Städte Konstantinopel und Trapezunt auf dem MMA-Kassone scheint somit Tamerlans Sieg bei Ankara im Jahr 1402 in eine emblematische Prognose für die Niederlage der osmanischen Eroberer von Trapezunt zu verwandeln. Wie oben erwähnt, könnte die bemalte Vorderseite zu einer anderen Truhe gehört haben, so dass die Versuche, sie mit den Strozzi in Verbindung zu bringen, spekulativ bleiben. Darüber hinaus ist nicht bewiesen, dass die Truhe selbst aus dem Strozzi-Palast stammt, obwohl sie Strozzi-Embleme enthält. Mehrere Strozzi-Ehen wurden als geeignete Momente für den Auftrag vorgeschlagen: Caterina Strozzi, die 1462 Jacopo degli Spini heiratete [siehe Ref. Nickel 1974]; der Bruder von Vanni di Francesco Strozzi, der 1462 nach Konstantinopel und Trapezunt reiste und bei Apollonio einen Cassone für die Hochzeit in Auftrag gab [siehe Ref. Paribeni 2001]; Strozza di Messer Marcello degli Strozzi, der 1459 heiratete; Benedetto di Marco degli Strozzi, der 1462 heiratete [Baskins, berichtet in Ref. Krohn 2008]; und schließlich, am prominentesten von allen, der wohlhabende Bankier Filippo Strozzi ? der Erbauer des Palazzo Strozzi ? der 1466 Fiammetta degli Adimari heiratete [Beatrice Paolozzi-Strozzi, in Ref. Kröhn 2008].
Cassone with painted front panel depicting the Conquest of Trebizond. Culture: Italian, Florence. Dimensions: H. 39-1/2 x W. 77 x D. 32-7/8 in. (100.3 x 195.6 x 83.5 cm); Painted surface 15 1/4 x 49 1/2 in. (38.7 x 125.7 cm). Maker: Attributed to workshop of Apollonio di Giovanni di Tomaso (Italian, Florence ca. 1416-1465 Florence); and workshop of Marco del Buono Giamberti (Italian, Florence 1402-1489 Florence). Date: after ca. 1461.
Purchased in 1913 from the Florentine dealer Stefano Bardini (1836-1922), this elaborate chest, or cassone, has long enjoyed status as one of the few fifteenth-century objects of its kind to survive intact and, moreover, to portray a contemporary historical event--the conquest of Trebizond, the last outpost of the Byzantine Empire, by Mehmed II in 1461 (for another example of a cassone panel depicting a contemporary historical event, see 07.120.1). This status has been called into question by a detailed, technical examination undertaken in 2008. It has now been demonstrated that so far from being intact, various parts of the chest are not integral and that, most importantly, the painted front may originate from another chest. This means that the purported provenance of the chest from Palazzo Strozzi, first asserted by Weisbach [see Ref. 1913], may have no bearing on the interpretation of the scene on the painted front. That the chest itself is connected with some member of the Strozzi family is clear from the emblems that appear on the end pieces, which are original to it: the Strozzi falcon or hawk perched on a caltrop (spiky metal devices that, when scattered on the ground, destabilize the enemy's horses) with a banderole inscribed ME[Z]ZE--perhaps indicating another Strozzi emblem, the half-moon crescent [see Ref. Nickel 1974]. The inside of the lid and the back of the cassone retain their original stenciled patterns simulating patterned fabric, and the top of the lid is embellished by a gessoed piece of cloth that is gilded and tooled to simulate a runner of cut velvet (this motif is worn, the paint having been almost entirely lost, so that the design is barely legible today).
The scene on the painted front is universally recognized as coming from the most active and prestigious workshop for the production of painted cassone in mid-fifteenth-century Florence: that shared by Apollonio di Giovanni and Marco del Buono. Its subject is neither biblical nor mythological, nor even based on a contemporary novella such as those by Boccaccio. Rather, it depicts an event that unfolds before two identifiable cities of the Byzantine Empire. Much work has been done identifying the places shown [see especially Refs. Paribeni 2001, Paribeni 2002, and Lurati 2005]. In the left background, clearly labeled on its walls, is Constantinople. An attempt has been made by the artist to suggest a number of the city's landmarks and distinguishing topographical features, some of which are also labeled. There is the Latin church of San Francesco; the monumental column of Justinian in the Augustaion and the Egyptian obelisk (evidently topped by a crescent) in the Hippodrome originally laid out by Emperor Septimus Severus in the third century AD and further embellished by Constantine; the Hagia Sofia; the nearby sixth-century church of Saint Irene; what must be intended either as the Blachernae Palace or its thirteenth-century annex, the Palace of Porphyrogenitus, which served as the imperial residence for the last Byzantine emperors (the fragmentary inscription may possibly have been intended as [PALAZZO] DEILO [IM]PER[AT]ORI); the Golden Horn--the city's fabled inlet that was protected by a chain that could be drawn across it--with western ships (carracks) moored next to the Genoese quarter of Pera, the walls of which are dominated by the great circular Galata tower, atop which the Genoese flag can be seen. Other boats in the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara may be either Greek dromons or Ottoman. Further back, on the European side of the Bosphorus, is the CHASTEL NVOVO (the "new fortress" of Rumeli Hisari built by Mehmed II in 1451-52 in preparation for the seige of Constantinople; its distinctive towers are still a landmark today). Across the Bosphorus is another walled city designated as LO SCUTARIO--Scutari, present-day Üsküdar (the name, Skutarion, derived from the leather shields of the Roman soldiers stationed there; it fell to the Ottomans almost a century before Constantinople). Then, dominating the hill on the right is the walled city of Trebizond (modern-day Trabzon). Located on the southern coast of the Black Sea, it became the seat of a separate Byzantine empire when it was conquered by Alexios Komenos in 1204--the year Constantinople fell to the crusaders--and was the last outpost of the Byzantine Empire following the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans in 1453. It fell to the Ottomans in 1461, marking the final demise of Byzantium. Although hardly an accurate depiction, it seems clear that for his depiction of Constantinople the artist was supplied with descriptions and maps, such as the one included in Cristoforo Buondelmonti's Liber insularum Archipelagi of 1420 [see Ref. Pope-Hennessy and Christiansen 1980] as well as, possibly, drawings by that inveterate traveler Cyriac of Ancona and the reports of other visitors to the city [see Ref. Lurati 2005].
Before the walled city of Trebizond is depicted a battle. An encampment of tents is shown on the far right, in front of which the leader of one of the armies is seated on a triumphal chariot drawn by two white horses. He wears a turban, as do other members of his army, including the troops emerging behind Scutari, and he points his white baton towards a gesticulating, bearded figure who, dressed in blue, wears the sort of cylindrical hat splayed out at the top that was associated in Western Europe with the Byzantine Greeks [see Ref. Lurati 2005]; he rides a black steed and is plainly either reporting on the progress of the battle or taking orders. Prior to 1980 it was presumed that the figure on the chariot was Mehmed II [see Ref. Weisbach 1913] and that the battle depicted the Ottoman defeat of the Byzantines in 1461--hence the designation of the chest as the Trebizond Cassone. However, as has been pointed out by Paribeni [see Ref. 2001], Trebizond was taken by Mehmed II without a battle: it capitulated without bloodshed. Moreover, a close examination of the costumes reveals that it is the Ottomans who are being vanquished (for the costumes, see especially Refs. Paribeni 2001, Paribeni 2002, and Lurati 2005). Clearly shown among the captives and those in retreat are members of the Ottoman elite infantry, the Janissaries, wearing their distinctive white conical hats with the top folded over. Other conical hats are gold, some with a feathered decoration (for similar Turkish costumes, see Cesare Vecellio's Degli habiti antichi . . . , Venice, 1664, book 7, pp. 297-302). Their commander is almost certainly the turbaned figure to the left of the melee, dressed in gold, holding a scepter and mounted on a black horse. He is defended by Janissaries, one of whom turns around while pointing with his left hand. Scimitars are wielded by both armies, as are the distinctive recurved composite bows of Ottoman warfare. In front of the triumphal chariot five captives, two of whom kneel, are being presented to the victorious army commanders. The characterization of the two armies should have been enough to refute the common identification of the figure on the triumphal chariot as Mehmed II. And, in fact, a careful examination with the aid of infrared light in 1980 revealed an inscription identifying him as TAN[B]VRLANA--Tamerlane, or Timur (1336-1405), the celebrated Mongol emperor and commander who defeated the Ottomans under Bayezid I at Ankara in 1402 (Bayezid was taken prisoner). The battle, then, would seem to be Tamerlane's victory over Bayezid at Ankara, but anachronistically shown against the backdrop of Trebizond. As remarked by Gombrich [see Ref. 1955], "it cannot have been the intention of the painter simply to represent a Greek disaster." And, indeed, the setting of a battle that took place in 1402 in front of a city that fell to the Ottomans in 1461 signals an emblematic intent.
In the minds of Europeans, Tamerlane's victories assured him a place among the "worthies". As such, his image was included in a fresco cycle of famous men commissioned about 1432 by Cardinal Giordano Orsini for his palace in Rome. A number of interpretations have been suggested to explain the apparent anachronisms (see the thorough summary in Ref. Krohn 2008). One would have it that the figure is not actually Tamerlane but the Turkmen rival of the Ottomans, Uzun Hasan (1423-1478), who was known in his time as a second Tamerlane [see Ref. Paribeni 2001 and Baskins, as reported in Ref. Krohn 2008]. Uzun Hasan made a pact with Mehmed II not to aid the Byzantine forces and thus to assist the Ottoman conquest of Trebizond. How this relates to the actual battle scene depicted remains problematic, but it may be worth noting that the Venetians sought Uzun Hasan as an ally against the Ottomans. What cannot be doubted is the intention to conflate historical events, using the past as a template for the future by reminding viewers that the Ottomans--now a threat to Europe--were not invincible. Paribeni [see Ref. 2001] has indicated a pair of cassoni panels commissioned from the workshop of Apollonio, apparently in 1461, that illustrate the triumph of the Greeks over Xerxes' invading Persian army in 480-79 BC. Given the date of the commission, there would appear to be a reference to the conquest of Trebizond, the collapse of the Byzantine Empire, and a hoped for reversal. At the Council of Mantua in 1459, Pius II promoted a crusade against the Turks. An army was assembled in Ancona in 1464, but dispersed when Pius died there on August 15. There were, of course, also mercantile interests, and Paribeni [see Ref. 2001] has pointed out that in December 1460 an accord established a Florentine commercial presence in Trebizond. The presence on the MMA cassone of the two cities of Constantinople and Trebizond would thus seem to transform Tamerlane's victory at Ankara in 1402 into an emblematic prognosis for the defeat of the Ottoman conquerors of Trebizond.
As noted above, the painted front may have belonged to another chest so that the attempts to link it with the Strozzi remain speculative. Moreover, it has not been proven that the chest itself came from the Strozzi palace, though it contains Strozzi emblems. Several Strozzi marriages have been suggested as appropriate moments for the commission: Caterina Strozzi, who married Jacopo degli Spini in 1462 [see Ref. Nickel 1974]; the brother of Vanni di Francesco Strozzi, who traveled to Constantinople and Trebizond in 1462 and who commissioned a cassone from Apollonio for the marriage [see Ref. Paribeni 2001]; Strozza di Messer Marcello degli Strozzi, who married in 1459; Benedetto di Marco degli Strozzi, who married in 1462 [Baskins, reported in Ref. Krohn 2008]; and finally, most prominent of all, the wealthy banker Filippo Strozzi--the builder of Palazzo Strozzi--who married Fiammetta degli Adimari in 1466 [Beatrice Paolozzi-Strozzi, in Ref. Krohn 2008].
Technik/Material:
Poplar wood, linen, polychromed and gilded gesso with panel painted in tempera and gold
Museum:
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
Hersteller:
Attributed to workshop of Apollonio di Giovanni di Tomaso (Italian, Florence ca. 1416-1465 Florence) • and workshop of Marco del Buono Giamberti (Italian, Florence 1402-1489 Florence)
Bildnachweis:
Album / Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
Freigaben (Releases):
Model: Nein - Eigentum: Nein
Rechtefragen?
Rechtefragen?
Bildgröße:
4245 x 2891 px | 35.1 MB
Druckgröße:
35.9 x 24.5 cm | 14.2 x 9.6 in (300 dpi)
Schlüsselwörter:
