The Industrial Arts in Spain

NUMEROUS iron mines have existed in Spain, especially in the Cantabrian provinces, and have been worked from very early times. They are mentioned by Pliny, lib. 34, cap. xii., and have given rise to the development of excellent metal works in the Spanish Peninsula: although in many localities this tradition has been continued until our days, the Basque Provinces have in all times excelled in this artistic industry.

The want of durability and the little care taken of objects of iron-work, owing to the insignificant value of the material employed, prevent us from being able to mention any important examples of a very early date. After drawing attention to some interesting specimens which have reached us from the Spanish-Arabs, we must begin the history of iron-work in Spain in the second half of the 15th century; it continues to progress in the 16th, and produced undoubtedly at that period works which were unrivalled in Europe. The rejas or chancel screens enclosing chapels in the cathedrals of Toledo, Seville, Granada, Salamanca, and other churches in Spain, of which it is much to be deplored no drawings or photographs exist, deserve the especial attention of those who follow this industry in the present day, owing to the beauty of their forms, and the inexhaustible variety of models which they present to the manufacturer.

One of these keys at Valencia, belonging to Count de Trigona, measures 9½ inches long, and was originally gilt; its handle or bow is closed, and covered with delicate work in relief. The wards are ornamented in the same manner with a combination of several words written in Cufic letters of difficult interpretation. Round the handle we can read most distinctly in Arabic the name of the artist: "It was made by Ahmed Ahsan."

This key appears to be of the 13th to 14th century. Two similar ones existed in the town hall of Valencia of a most monumental character; they were considered of great antiquity, but it has been ascertained that they were made in 1632, by the locksmith Juan Marti.

The Cathedrals and large churches in Spain lent themselves in an admirable manner to the construction of objects of all kinds in iron work, especially the railings enclosing the side chapels, or sepulchres, and the double screens required for the Capilla Mayor and Coro, owing to the ancient Spanish custom of constructing the choir in the centre of the principal nave of the cathedral. Hence we meet with names of the iron-masters, rejeros, mentioned in early documents as attached to the different cathedrals in the same manner as painters and architects. We find Bartolomé Morey working at Palma de Mallorca in 1389 to 1397. He was succeeded by his son Juan, from 1401 to 1407. See Piferrer, "Recuerdos y Bellezas de España." Maestro Basil worked at Burgos, and Maestro Pablo at Toledo and its dioceses towards the end of the same century. Maestro Juan Francés worked at Toledo in 1482. By this same artist is the beautiful reja of the Capilla Mayor of the Colegiata of Alcala de Henares; it is signed, "Maestre Juan Francés, maestro mayor de las obras de fierro en España." From this time the names of iron-masters are well known and numerous; we may safely affirm that those who lived in the 16th century have left us the most important works.

The reja of the coro, which is placed opposite that of the Capilla Mayor, is almost exactly similar in size. It is less rich in ornamentation, but so pure and sober in its general lines, and its ornamentation is so perfect, that it is perhaps superior to the other. This reja consists of a single architectonical body, divided in six vertical compartments, covered with bas reliefs of such delicate work that they appear rather to be by the hand of a silversmith than by an iron-master. An innumerable number of figures are combined with the ornamentation in the base, terminations of the columns and coronation; in the same manner it is full of banderoles with Latin mottos, and gilt and silvered; it was finished in 1548, as we see by the inscription. This reja was made by Domingo de Cespedes, a native of Toledo, with the help of his son-in-law, Fernando Bravo; the design was also chosen by competition, and it was finished in seven years. Both these admirable models of iron-work belong to the best productions of the renaissance school, and contain models which might be adapted with great advantage to ironwork of every description in the present day.

Iron pulpits have been made in Spain with great success. Two interesting examples of the end of the 15th century still exist at the cathedral of Avila. They are hexagonal in shape, and supported by lions' claws; they were originally gilt. One of these pulpits is ornamented in the Flamboyant style, the other in good Renaissance; consult Sir Digby Wyatt's "Architect's Note Book in Spain." Friar Francisco de Salamanca made two interesting iron pulpits for the cathedral of Seville; they are covered with bas-reliefs representing the Evangelists and subjects taken from the Acts of the Apostles and the Apocalypse. The pulpit at the parish church of Sⁿ. Gil de Burgos must also be mentioned. Mr. Street, notwithstanding his want of sympathy with every object not strictly of the Middle Ages, says: "It is of very late date, end of the 15th century, but I think it quite worthy of illustration. The support is of iron, resting on stone, and the staircase modern. The framework at the angles, top and bottom, is of wood, upon which the ironwork is laid. The traceries are cut out of two plates of iron, laid one over the other, and the ironwork is in part gilded, but I do not think that this is original. The canopy is of the same age and character, and the whole effect is very rich at the same time that it is very novel. I saw other pulpits, but none so old as this."

OBJECTS of bronze of native origin are less frequently met with in Spain than those of silver and iron. Many foreign artists worked at this industry, the history of which only begins in the 16th century. The specimens of bronze work made by the Moors will be described in their proper place. It is true that examples of bronze made by the Iberians and Romans are frequently met with in excavations; they consist chiefly of hatchets and other arms, bracelets, fibulas, etc., but they are similar in every respect to objects of the same kind found in other European countries. During the Middle Ages, objects of enamelled gilt bronze were used on a very large scale in churches; specimens of a very high order may be seen in Spain, such as the splendid altar at San Miguel de Excelsis in Navarre; that at Santo Domingo de Silos, and the statuette of the Virgin de la Vega at San Esteban, Salamanca. These objects were, however, probably made at Limoges, or in some other locality out of Spain. We hardly can trace any bronze of this period but cathedral bells. One was made at Puig-Valencia as early as A.D. 622, melted in 1550, the only trace of the early work being the inscription and date, which are given by contemporary authors.

Before entering into the renaissance period, I must mention some remarkable specimens which have reached us, the work of the Spanish Arabs. Probably the most ancient and interesting is a sculpture representing a stag, now at the Provincial Museum of Cordova, which evidently belonged to a fountain. It was found in the ruins of the palace of Medina Az Zahra, the construction of which corresponds to the time of Abd er Rahman III., (961); it is undoubtedly work of this period, and probably belonged to this palace, so celebrated by Oriental writers. The fragments of a bronze fountain and several lamps, at the Museum of Granada, are of a later date; they were found in the excavations of the early city of Illiberis, which was abandoned in the 11th century, when its inhabitants chose the present site of Granada. The fragments, which are supposed to have belonged originally to a fountain, consist of a small temple 22 inches high, of an hexagonal base, with twelve small columns supporting bands of open work, frescoes, cupola, and turrets: in the angles are birds. There are six lamps, all of which are mutilated and incomplete; their form and object is indicated by the remains of chains which suspended them. Some of them are half melted, giving testimony to the conflagration which the mosque suffered in the time of the Arabs. Other bronze fragments have been found in the same locality. All these objects are artistic in their general lines, but the workmanship is indifferent, and the ornamentation heavy and coarse.

A bronze lamp of a similar ornamentation was found some years ago at Cordova—it is not unlike in form and shape Roman lamps of the same kind made of earthenware. It is engraved all over, and the subject of a dog pursuing a hare appears often repeated. None of these objects of bronze work are however equal in importance to a lamp made during the reign of Mohammed III. of Granada, now at the Archæological Museum, Madrid [See Plate.] It is composed in its base of a body destined to hold the light, upon which is supported a large four-sided piece in the form of a pyramid, which is completed with an octagonal body which surmounts it. Four graduated balls suspend it. The height of this lamp is 2½ yards, and taking into account its general structure, it appears as if the chains or intermediate pieces are wanting, which probably existed on the inverted bell of the base. The manufacture and elegance of decoration of this object is of a very high order, and may be compared with bronze work of Damascus. The greater part of the pieces are covered with pierced open work, and the motto of the Kings of Granada, "There is no conqueror but God." In the lower part of the large pyramid, truncated in four sides, is a long inscription in Arabian characters, stating the lamp to have been made by order of Mohammed III. year of the Hegira, 705 (A.D. 1305).

"It was designed and executed by Bartolomé Morel in 1562. Juan Giralte, a native of the Low Countries, and Juan Bita Vazquez helped him to make the statues which are at the head of this candelabrum, and Pedro Delgado, a sculptor of great renown, worked at the foot.

"It is 8 yards and a half high, and the triangular upper part is 3 yards wide: it is surmounted by fifteen statues which represent Our Saviour, the Apostles and two other disciples or evangelists. In the vacant space of the triangle there is a circle ornamented with foliage, in the centre of which is a figure in high relief of the Blessed Virgin, underneath is a medallion bust of a king. This centre is of bronzed wood, and is supported by four small bronze columns, below which are four caryatides, resting on a nobly designed border ornamented with lions and other animals in the renaissance style." See woodcut on next page.

Notwithstanding the great merit of these works, the stands for the choir books are even finer and more exquisite in detail. They are made of gilt bronze and represent subjects from the life of St. Ildefonso, the Prophet David and the Apocalypse. They were modelled and designed by Juan Navarro in 1562, and carved by Nicolas de Vergara and his son some years afterwards.

Two artists, natives of Aragon, were very famous during the same century for their bronze work. One of these, Celma, made the pulpits of the cathedral of Santiago, which are finely ornamented with busts between the columns, and bas-reliefs representing subjects of the lives of the saints, and a fine design of leaves and flowers. In one of the inscriptions may be read: "Joannes Baptista Celma, Aragonentis patria pingendi artifex salutis anno 1563. Compostellæ faciebat." The other artist was Cela, the author of the fine reja del coro of the church of the Pilar at Saragossa, dated 1574-79.

Two gilt metal Monstrances of Spanish work of the 16th century are in the South Kensington Museum. No. 4310, 57, represents an architectural shrine, decorated with strap and cartouche-work, columns, and arcades in the renaissance style; it is dated 1537. See woodcut on next page. The other, No. 190, 66, has an ornamented stem, with knob, on which stands a triangular shrine with kneeling angels; above is a smaller shrine surmounted by a crucifix.

The exaggerations and bad taste, which were so common in every branch of artistic industry, were as prominent in bronzes—the bas-reliefs of this metal which ornament the back of the high altar of the cathedral of Toledo, at the "Transparente," are generally mentioned as models of bad taste. They are by Narciso Thomé; the architecture, painting, statues and carvings in marble, jasper and bronze are by the same person, as appears in the inscription which he placed there at its termination in 1734.

THOSE who have a taste for the study of prehistorical monuments in Spain, will find a very extensive collection of arms and other utensils of this period at the Muséo Arqueologico, Madrid, which have been found in different localities of the country. They chiefly consist of hatchets, knives, and lance and arrow points made of flint, and are similar in form to those which have been discovered in the north and centre of Europe. There are therefore, constant analogies between the implements used by the primitive Iberians, and those of other European races of the prehistoric period.

The probable antiquity of these weapons always remains a matter of doubt; this is especially the case with stone implements. When on their discovery the geological structure of the soil has been studied, some evidence exists on which to ground an opinion; but this is very seldom the case in Spain, and Messrs. Prado, Villanova, Botella, and MacPherson, are among the few and most trustworthy geologists who have investigated this subject. With reference to bronze implements, Spanish authors have a tendency to attribute them to prehistoric times. I see no reason to justify this opinion, and it appears to me that when this subject has been studied in a more satisfactory manner, it will appear that these arms were used during the Roman domination at the same time as the iron ones.

I must end by mentioning the funda, or slings, and leaden plummets (glandes), which were thrown so dexterously by the slingers of the Balearic Islands. The slingers of this province are mentioned with great praise by ancient authors. (V. Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. Funda.)

During the 13th and 14th centuries, the Spanish Christians continued to use the same weapons as in other European states. The history of Spanish arms, in like manner with its artistic history and civilization, is similar to that of other nations; it frequently occurs that objects of this kind are classified with those of other countries, the only exceptions to this general rule being those which result from the Moorish conquest and influence.

The Arabs, after they took possession of Spain at the beginning of the 8th century, imported, with their arts and industries, special arms and weapons, the greater part of which were copied from Persian models; their swords, helmets, and shields deserve special attention; in other weapons the difference is not so great; and, indeed, in the two first it is chiefly confined to their decoration.

The Arabs introduced their forms and manner of decorating arms when they invaded the Peninsula; it is, however, highly probable that the traditions still existed at Bilbilis and Toledo of the manner of tempering steel. It is known that Abd-er Rahman II. (A.D. 822-852) reformed the manufacture of arms at Toledo, and that in A.D. 965, Al Hakem II. sent a rich present of specimens made in the locality to Don Sancho, King of Leon. Notwithstanding the high reputation of the industries of Cordova, the great centre and court of the Spanish Arabs during the earlier period of their domination, "it never became famous for its working steel," as Fernandez Gonzalez tells us in his study on Spanish moresque swords, from which much of this information has been derived. (V. Mus. Esp. de Antiguedades, V. I. and V.). Almeria, Murcia, Seville, and Granada were greatly distinguished in this manufacture during the domination of the Arabs in Spain.

We know that Almeria, during the 12th and 13th centuries, "was also famous for the fabrication of all sorts of vases and utensils of iron, copper, or glass." (Mohamadan Dynasties in Spain, by Al-Makkari, vol. i. p. 51.) Abou Said, in writing in the 13th century of Murcia, says, "Objects are made there of latteen and ron, consisting of knives and scissors, with an ornamentation in gold. Other similar utensils, proper for the outfit of a bride, or a soldier, in such large quantities, that the mere thought of it confuses the imagination."

No specimens of Hispaño moresque swords exist previous to the 15th century. We possess some highly interesting examples of this period, all, or the most part, of which were made at Granada, the last centre of civilization of the Spanish Arabs. The most important are the sword, dagger, and double-handed sword and knife, which, with the authentic costume, belonging to Boabdil, the last king of Granada, are now in the possession of the Marquis of Villaseca, at Madrid. These objects were gained by an ancestor of the marquis, who took Boabdil prisoner in 1482 at the battle of Lucena. In compliance with the chivalrous practice of the time, the arms of the conquered king went to the conqueror, and have been kept as heirlooms since that time.

The sword of Villaseca is 39 inches long, this includes 12 inches of the hilt. (See woodcut.) "The steel blade," says S^r. Fernandez, in his article, vol. v. p. 395, "is of a later date, and appears to have been added to the sword after the older one had disappeared. It is a Toledo blade, marked with the letter S, similar to the one used by Alonso Sahagun the elder, and with a hollow line in the centre."

I am of opinion, however, that it may be the original blade, for the other sword, which still exists at Granada, of the same kind, has likewise a blade marked T, Toledo. This coincidence appears to suggest that those made there were preferred, and in both instances they exactly fit the sheath, which is the original one.

The hilt of this fine sword is formed of solid gold, enamelled in blue, white, and red. This decoration runs along the pommel and cross bars. The axle is made of ivory carved with the utmost skill. Two octagons are on each side, with the following inscription in semi-Cufic letters:

On a band which appears under the axle, on enamel, are the following letters:

On the opposite side: