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Medieval Art and the Cloisters: The Church Bell of
Lisignano (Ližnjan)
MASTER MARCUS
Italian (Venetian). Active 1396-1411
Church Bell. 1411
Northern Italian (Venice). Bronze, 22-7/8 in. (58 cm.); diam. 14-1/2
in. (42 cm.); 130 lbs. (59 kg.). Gift of Nathaniel Spear, Jr. 1980.542 to
the Metropolitan Museum of New York City.
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| Master Marcus, active
1396-1411.Church bell, from the parish church of Lisignano, near
Pola (Pula) in Istria. North Italian, Venice, 1411. Bronze. H: 58
cm.; Diam.: 42 cm.; Weight: 59 kg. The Metropolitican Museum of Art,
Gift of Nathaniel Spear, Jr., 1980. MMA 1980.542. Published: entry
by Carmen Gómez-Moreno, in Notable Acquisitions, 1980-1981, New
York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1981, pp. 28-29 and fig.
[Click to enlarge.] |
The bell has a crown consisting of two
confronted pairs of angular loops, through which wooden crossbars were
passed for hanging, and two canons or ears, through which iron bands
passed to secure the bell. The whole is surmounted by a circular loop. The
two side ears show a great deal of wear. One of them, in fact, is so worn
that it would have broken off completely if the bell had continued to be
used. It must have been this particular ear that held the most weight when
the bell was swung for ringing. The original clapper, now missing, would
have been attached to a ring on the inside. The bell has an undecorated
band between two raised lines at the neck and a similar one at the
shoulder that bears the inscription: M[agister] • MARCVS • FILIVS • פ
[quondam] • M[agistri] • VENDRAMI • ME • FECIT • + •
M-C-C-C-C-XI • ("Master Marcus, son of the late Master Vendramus, made me
in 1411"). Above the inscription appears the master's personal mark,
consisting of three lines forming a sort of tripod surmounted by a cross.
Master Marcus is documented as a native of Venice, the son of Master
Vendramus; this is how the inscription appears in his earlier, documented
bells, the first of which is from 1396. It seems from the inscription of
the present example that Master Vendramus was already dead in 1411.
Apart from the natural and most convincing wear of the crown, the bell
is in excellent condition. It shows little signs of corrosion, and the
patina has a very pleasant color. In general the bell has an appealing and
elegant shape, and the gothic lettering of the inscription is accurate and
harmoniously designed.
The composition of the metal is probably in keeping with the standard
recipe for bell making—a higher percentage of tin than regular bronze and
some additional lead. The metal composition as well as the thickness of
the wall were important factors determining the tone of the bell.
This is a rare example of a medieval bell that has known provenance and
is signed and dated. It was originally in the parish church of
Lisignano, a small town near Pola in
the south of the peninsula of Istria. Istria, which is now part of
Croatia, belonged to Austria at the time the bell was put to use. At
some point in history, probably during the First World War, this bell,
together with all the others in the region, was destined to be melted for
the manufacture of war material, a common fate of bells throughout the
world and throughout history. It was by sheer luck that the particular
antiquity of this bell was discovered in time, and the Samassa Bell
Foundry in Leibach, Austria, kept it as a museum piece and eventually sold
it.
Until now, the Medieval department, which is otherwise rather rich in
bronze and brass objects of the twelfth to the sixteenth century, has had
no example of bells of any period within the scope of its collection, and
this is one more reason for making this gift a most welcome acquisition.
Bibliography:
- Paoletti, P. L'architettura e la scultura del
Rinascimento in Venezia. Venice, 1893, p. 133;
- Schiavuzzi, B. "Leggende e sigle sopra vecchie
campane del territorio di Pola." Pagine Istriane 5 (1907);
- Cnirs, A. Alte und neue Kirchenglocken.
Vienna, 1917, pp. 17-18, 60, 94, 218.
CG-M
Sources:
- Image caption - W. Eugene Kleinbauer, "Recent Major Acquisitions of
Medieval Art by American Museums: Number Four". Gesta, Vol. 21,
No. 1 (1982), pp. 75-80;
- Text - William D. Wixom; Carmen Gómez-Moreno;
Margaret English Frazer; Charles T. Little; Katherin Reynolds Brown;
Jane Hayward; Timothy Husband. "Medieval Art and the Cloisters",
Notable Acquisitions (Metropolitan Museum of Art), No. 1980/1981.
(1980-1981), pp. 19-30.
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