File:European enamels (1906) (14760191536).jpg

Identifier: europeanenamels00cuny_0 (find matches)
Title: European enamels
Year: 1906 (1900s)
Authors: Cunynghame, Henry H (Henry Hardinge), Sir, 1848-1935
Subjects: Enamel and enameling
Publisher: London : Methuen
Contributing Library: Getty Research Institute
Digitizing Sponsor: Getty Research Institute

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ise blue. It is supposed todate from the sixth century. The splendid collection of Herr Albert vonOppenheim at Cologne contains many interestingpieces, among others one of the most charmingByzantine enamels in existence. It has been care-fully kept, and thus, though it is probably 1300years old, it looks almost as fresh as if it had justleft the workshop. It is a small, book-shaped reli-quary, about four inches long by three inches wide,of silver, overlaid with beautiful cloisonne enamelsrepresenting a crowd of saints. The colours em-ployed are two beautiful shades of green, opaquelight blue, transparent dark blue, a brownish trans-parent red (which was all the Byzantines ever coulddo in enamel), and opaque white. The harmony ofcolour and taste is exceedingly good. The letter-ing is done in gold cloisons standing in a colouredground. Having thus briefly reviewed the chief character-istics of Byzantine art, it remains to inquire whetherit can be termed original or a development. This50
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RELIQUARY OF THE TRUE CROSS AT GRAN, HUNGARY, XI CENTURY BYZANTINE ENAMELS question has been continually discussed by anti-quaries, not only with respect to Byzantine art,but with respect to Italian Carlovingian and Gothic.Before this question can be answered, one mustinquire what is meant by original. In one senseShakespeare is one of the most original geniusesthe world has ever seen. In another sense, neitherhe, nor Dante, nor Milton, nor Cervantes, norGiotto, nor Raphael, nor Michelangelo, are ori-ginal. If by originality is meant the presentationof new ideas, then Byzantine art was highly original.It grafted Persian art upon old classical styles, andbreathed into the compound a totally new religion,philosophy, and idea of life and death. But itselements were as old as was the English languagewhen Shakespeare wove into it new forms ofbeauty. Search through Byzantine art, and wherewill you find a single form that is not a develop-ment of what has preceded ? The pillars with theircap

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