This panel formed part of a ceiling of a house in Catalonia, Spain, and would originally have been placed in one of the recesses between large supporting beams which spanned the room. Ceilings with painted beams and flat recesses made up of painted panels were more characteristic of Christian than Moorish buildings in the period between 1300 and 1500. This particular panel bears heraldic coats of arms of Catalonia, very much a sign of Christian ownership.
Physical description
Rectangular panel, painted with two shields of the arms of Catalonia (red and yellow vertical stripes), separated from each other by a husk-like divice, with moresques in the bottom corner.
Place of Origin
Spain (made)
Date
ca. 1400 (made)
Artist/maker
Unknown (production)
Materials and Techniques
Wood (probably pine) with polychrome decoration in tempera
Marks and inscriptions
Coat of Arms of Catalonia
Dimensions
Height: 14.7 cm, Width: 29.9 cm, Depth: 1.5 cm
Object history note
This panel belongs to a set that originally formed part of a painted ceiling in Spain, most likely in a domestic setting. Their original setting is not yet known, but the coats or arms are those of Catalonia, so presumably that is where they came from. After being dismantled, this panel and nine others (Museum Nos: 207 to 216 - 1894) were bought in Paris by M. Stanislas Baron, a dealer-cum-collector, who was based in Rue Grange-Batelière 28 (Paris), and specialised in Medieval Arabic, Spanish and Sicilian textiles. Baron subsequently sold these panels to the South Kensington in May1894 for 100 francs. This item was entered in the Registered descriptions as costing eight shillings and (erroneously) the arms of Aragon.
Historical significance: Ceilings with painted beams and panels are more often associated with Christian Spain, and unlike most of the other pieces in this set, this panel is decorated with predominantly Chritian motifs, in the form of the heraldic arms of Catalonia. Nevertheless, the two shields are separated from eachother by Islamic motifs and the bottom two corners filled with moresque patterns. The Islamic style of decoration was to be found in interiors of houses, even in the predominantly Christian parts of Spain.
Historical context note
Ceilings in Christian Spain, during the Middle ages, were often supported by large, decoratively painted beams with painted panels like this example recessed between them. Examples include the ceiling over the cloister of the Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos, south of Burgos, and the one over the Chapel of Santa Agüeda in Barcelona. Just as complex geometrical ceilings, supported by box-core pendants and inscribed with Arabic calligraphy, were characteristic of Moorish buildings, those with painted beams and panels were more often owned by Christians, and found in larger and more important rooms.
Descriptive line
Of wood (probably pine) with polychrome decoration in tempera, including the arms of Catalonia
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Arthur Byne and Mildred Stapley: Decorated wooden ceilings in Spain. (New York and London, G.P.Putnam & Sons, 1920).
V & A Nominal File, Baron, Stanislas (MA/1/B494)
Materials
Paint; Pine; Tempera
Techniques
Painted; Sawing; Planed
Subjects depicted
Shields; Catalonia
Categories
Architectural fittings
Collection code
FWK
