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Door Knocker with Dragon Head (one of a pair)
Door Knocker with Dragon Head (one of a pair)
Date: 16th or early 17th century
Dimensions:
W 18.4 x L 33.5 x D 11.9 cm (W 7 3/16 x L 13 3/16 x D 4 11/16 in.)
L of Hammer 19 cm (L of Hammer 7 1/2 in.)
Max. Diameter of Hammer 22.2 cm (Max. Diameter of Hammer 8 3/4 in.)
Medium: Wrought Iron
Credit Line: Acquired by Archer M. Huntington for the Hispanic Society, 1906.
Place Made:Spain, Castille, Toledo?
Period: Golden Age
Culture: Spanish
Not on View
DescriptionDoor Knocker with a Dragon Head (one of a pair)
Castile (Toledo?), 16th or early 17th century
Iron, plate 18.4 × 33.5 × 11 cm, hammer 22.2 cm
New York, The Hispanic Society of America, R73
PROVENANCE: Lionel Harris, The Spanish Art Gallery, London, 1906; acquired by Archer M. Huntington, New York, for The Hispanic Society of America, 1906
This robust object combines a Mudéjar oval hammer ring with a diagonal cross-section, animated on the resulting flat surfaces with two bands of zigzag dotted punchwork separated by a punched dotted line. Two heart-shaped forms at the bottom on the inside of the ring are piled on one another, pointing up to a wolf-like dragon’s head that serves as the hinge for the ring. Square terminal posts mark the end of the ring on either side of the dragon’s head. The wall plate is a cross fleury augmented by swirling strapwork forms with incised lines. While the Mudéjar elements of the ring argue for a date before 1600 (Anne Sawyer Durand dated it 1470–1530), the robust forms of the plate look forward to the Baroque. Pairs of superior door pulls (designed to be grabbed from horseback) on large exterior doors would take the same form, although two monumental door knockers of this type would certainly have added cachet to the entrance of a noble house. Durand cites comparative works associated with Toledo. MB
Texto en Español:
Este robusto objeto presenta una argolla mudéjar ovalada de sección romboidal (seccionados sus ángulos agudos por sendos planos secantes) y superficies planas animadas por dos franjas de punzonado en zigzag separadas por una línea de puntos marcados también a punzón. En el interior de la argolla hay dos formas acorazonadas, una encima de la otra, apuntando hacia una cabeza de dragón lobuna que sirve de espigón para el giro de la argolla. Dos terminales cúbicos marcan el final de la argolla a uno y otro lado de la cabeza de dragón. La placa trasera es una cruz flordelisada de formas ampliadas mediante cintas planas de perfiles curvos con líneas incisas. Mientras que los elementos mudéjares de la argolla apuntan a una fecha anterior a 1600 (Anne Sawyer Durand dató la pieza en 1470-1530), las robustas formas de la placa anuncian el barroco. Los pares de manijas altas (para que pudiera asirlas un jinete desde su caballo) en grandes puertas exteriores adoptarían la misma forma, aunque dos aldabas monumentales de este tipo sin duda añadirían distinción a la entrada de una mansión nobiliaria. Durand cita obras comparables vinculadas a Toledo. MB
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
DURAND 1938 Anne Sawyer Durand, “Ironwork,” in The Hispanic Society of America Handbook: Museum and Library Collections. New York: The Hispanic Society of America, 1938, pp. 226-27
CODDING ( ED. ) 2017 Mitchell A. Codding (ed.), Tesoros de la Hispanic Society: Visiones del mundo hispánico. Madrid, New York: Museo Nacional del Prado, The Hispanic Society of America, 2017, p. 151, no. 49
CODDING ( ED. ) 2018a [Spanish edition] Mitchell A. Codding (ed.), Tesoros de la Hispanic Society of America. Mexico City, New York: Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, The Hispanic Society of America, 2018, p. 139, no. 49
CODDING ( ED. ) 2018b [English edition] Mitchell A. Codding (ed.), Visions of the Hispanic World: Treasures from The Hispanic Society Museum & Library. New York: The Hispanic Society of America, 2018, no. 49
Castile (Toledo?), 16th or early 17th century
Iron, plate 18.4 × 33.5 × 11 cm, hammer 22.2 cm
New York, The Hispanic Society of America, R73
PROVENANCE: Lionel Harris, The Spanish Art Gallery, London, 1906; acquired by Archer M. Huntington, New York, for The Hispanic Society of America, 1906
This robust object combines a Mudéjar oval hammer ring with a diagonal cross-section, animated on the resulting flat surfaces with two bands of zigzag dotted punchwork separated by a punched dotted line. Two heart-shaped forms at the bottom on the inside of the ring are piled on one another, pointing up to a wolf-like dragon’s head that serves as the hinge for the ring. Square terminal posts mark the end of the ring on either side of the dragon’s head. The wall plate is a cross fleury augmented by swirling strapwork forms with incised lines. While the Mudéjar elements of the ring argue for a date before 1600 (Anne Sawyer Durand dated it 1470–1530), the robust forms of the plate look forward to the Baroque. Pairs of superior door pulls (designed to be grabbed from horseback) on large exterior doors would take the same form, although two monumental door knockers of this type would certainly have added cachet to the entrance of a noble house. Durand cites comparative works associated with Toledo. MB
Texto en Español:
Este robusto objeto presenta una argolla mudéjar ovalada de sección romboidal (seccionados sus ángulos agudos por sendos planos secantes) y superficies planas animadas por dos franjas de punzonado en zigzag separadas por una línea de puntos marcados también a punzón. En el interior de la argolla hay dos formas acorazonadas, una encima de la otra, apuntando hacia una cabeza de dragón lobuna que sirve de espigón para el giro de la argolla. Dos terminales cúbicos marcan el final de la argolla a uno y otro lado de la cabeza de dragón. La placa trasera es una cruz flordelisada de formas ampliadas mediante cintas planas de perfiles curvos con líneas incisas. Mientras que los elementos mudéjares de la argolla apuntan a una fecha anterior a 1600 (Anne Sawyer Durand dató la pieza en 1470-1530), las robustas formas de la placa anuncian el barroco. Los pares de manijas altas (para que pudiera asirlas un jinete desde su caballo) en grandes puertas exteriores adoptarían la misma forma, aunque dos aldabas monumentales de este tipo sin duda añadirían distinción a la entrada de una mansión nobiliaria. Durand cita obras comparables vinculadas a Toledo. MB
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
DURAND 1938 Anne Sawyer Durand, “Ironwork,” in The Hispanic Society of America Handbook: Museum and Library Collections. New York: The Hispanic Society of America, 1938, pp. 226-27
CODDING ( ED. ) 2017 Mitchell A. Codding (ed.), Tesoros de la Hispanic Society: Visiones del mundo hispánico. Madrid, New York: Museo Nacional del Prado, The Hispanic Society of America, 2017, p. 151, no. 49
CODDING ( ED. ) 2018a [Spanish edition] Mitchell A. Codding (ed.), Tesoros de la Hispanic Society of America. Mexico City, New York: Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, The Hispanic Society of America, 2018, p. 139, no. 49
CODDING ( ED. ) 2018b [English edition] Mitchell A. Codding (ed.), Visions of the Hispanic World: Treasures from The Hispanic Society Museum & Library. New York: The Hispanic Society of America, 2018, no. 49
Accession Number: R73
In Collection(s)