Article
MDVccards: Medieval Trade and Artistic Exchange
[The] bronze weight in the form of an emperor [y1955-3257] is a reminder that complex trade networks have existed between Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia since the time of ancient Greece and Rome The Romans established a system of standard measurements, with tools such as steelyard weights, to ensure fairness along trade routes across the Empire. This example demonstrates that the practice continued into late antiquity and the Middle Ages. A steelyard had three parts: a pole, a tray to hold the item being measured, and a counterweight like this one. To weigh the item in the tray, a person moved the counterweight along the steelyard.
Throughout the Middle Ages, contact between East and West continued through trade, war and crusade, diplomatic missions, and pilgrimage. Textiles, gems, spices, and other luxuries from Asia and the Middle East were transported west by ship and along the famed "Silk Road." A vast network of routes connected China, India, and Africa with Europe. Ivory, gold, and slaves were brought from the interior to the east coast of Africa, where traders then transported them to European ports. By the thirteenth century, African elephant ivory, prized for its fine grain and glossy sheen, became widely available in Europe.
Surviving examples suggest that religious subjects dominated early ivory production in the West, but by the fourteenth century, secular scenes became popular as well. Islamic carvings like this casket with scenes from life at court may have sparked the desire of Western European élites for sumptuous ivory objects with similar subjects. Many ivories produced in Paris in the fourteenth century reflect an interest in courtly life, such as scenes from Arthurian legends and other romances [2009-23].
Enamels from the French city of Limoges were another product renowned throughout Europe. The artists of Limoges were exceptionally skilled at the champlevé technique of enameling, in which the metal ground‚—usually gilt copper‚—is engraved or cut out, and the spaces filled with enamel paste. Once fired, the combination of copper and glass produces images of jewel-like color. [The] gable from a reliquary: [Coronation of the Virgin, 13th century] is of the same style as a group of enameled tabernacles that are now found in collections in England, Bavaria, Bohemia, Spain, and Italy testifying to the wide-spread export of these objects.
As trade and travel increased between East and West, the exchange of artistic techniques and styles also intensified between the Islamic and European worlds. By the sixteenth century, a comparison of Ottoman and Italian ceramics reveals a rich cultural interchange. [The Plate with floral decoration] created in the Ottoman city of Iznik [y1929-285] suggests that the stylized floral patterns of Iznik ceramics both influenced and borrowed from contemporary Italian maiolica.
Throughout the Middle Ages, contact between East and West continued through trade, war and crusade, diplomatic missions, and pilgrimage. Textiles, gems, spices, and other luxuries from Asia and the Middle East were transported west by ship and along the famed "Silk Road." A vast network of routes connected China, India, and Africa with Europe. Ivory, gold, and slaves were brought from the interior to the east coast of Africa, where traders then transported them to European ports. By the thirteenth century, African elephant ivory, prized for its fine grain and glossy sheen, became widely available in Europe.
Surviving examples suggest that religious subjects dominated early ivory production in the West, but by the fourteenth century, secular scenes became popular as well. Islamic carvings like this casket with scenes from life at court may have sparked the desire of Western European élites for sumptuous ivory objects with similar subjects. Many ivories produced in Paris in the fourteenth century reflect an interest in courtly life, such as scenes from Arthurian legends and other romances [2009-23].
Enamels from the French city of Limoges were another product renowned throughout Europe. The artists of Limoges were exceptionally skilled at the champlevé technique of enameling, in which the metal ground‚—usually gilt copper‚—is engraved or cut out, and the spaces filled with enamel paste. Once fired, the combination of copper and glass produces images of jewel-like color. [The] gable from a reliquary: [Coronation of the Virgin, 13th century] is of the same style as a group of enameled tabernacles that are now found in collections in England, Bavaria, Bohemia, Spain, and Italy testifying to the wide-spread export of these objects.
As trade and travel increased between East and West, the exchange of artistic techniques and styles also intensified between the Islamic and European worlds. By the sixteenth century, a comparison of Ottoman and Italian ceramics reveals a rich cultural interchange. [The Plate with floral decoration] created in the Ottoman city of Iznik [y1929-285] suggests that the stylized floral patterns of Iznik ceramics both influenced and borrowed from contemporary Italian maiolica.
