The Stratigraphy and Dating of 8th Century Ribe

The Stratigraphy and Dating of 8th Century Rib

Museerne og verdensordenen. Kunstkammerets opståen og grundidé

The Museums and the Order of the Universe It is the aim of this paper to underline the similarities between modern museums and the comprehensive 'Kunstkammers' of former days. There is a tendency to overlook the rationale behind the 'Kunstkammers' and to consider them merely as haphazard collections of curiosities.

Kunstkammers and museums

The value and importance of the exhibition 'Museum Europa' and the accompanying collection of essays published in 'Den Jyske Historiker' lies in the fact that they look at the museum in a new way. Points have been raised which will be fruitful in the discussion of the idea of the museum and its role in the past as well as in the future. Many of the contributors to the essay collection come from fields contiguous to those of the normal museum employee. This introduces new discussions and also a new language, not always, I must confess, easy to read, but always interesting. This paper will try to examine one aspect of this discussion, namely the role of the Kunstkammer, and the way the Kunstkammer has been treated, or rather overlooked as a museum.

Dansk middelalderlertøj med antropomorf dekoration. Et bidrag til den blyglaserede kandes historie

Danish medieval pottery with anthropomorphic decoration. A contribution to the history of the lead-glazed jugThe author has classified the medieval pottery with anthropomorphic decoration found in Denmark. This pottery is not only characteristic, but also relatively fully published, especially the English material, but also that from Sweden, Holland, Belgium and France. It may therefore provide information on the import of, and on the foreign influence on domestic production of the lead-glazed pottery in Denmark and finally on the characteristics of the Danish production.The material, comprising 24 specimens, is divided into two main groups, one with sculptural decoration (Group I) and one with moulded decoration (Group II). This grouping is thought necessary, although it has not been employed in the other literature on the subject. Group I is divided into four sub-categories: a. faces at the rim, b. faces and other parts of the body on the rim and neck, c. faces on the neck, and d. faces on the body and handle. Group II is too small for sub­division.Group I a is very heterogeneous, sharing only the stated criterion. No. 1, which was published by G. C. Dunning in Rotterdam Papers, and no. 2, which was found in the rubbish layers from the pottery at Farum Lillevang in Zealand, are assigned on account of the bright red, finely tempered ware to "local" pottery, not further defined but termed "South Scandinavian pottery". The rim profile of the Farum sherd is not found in the other Farum material, and its presence there can thus merely establish that the Farum potter was aware of anthropomorphic decoration. In this connection (and in connection with Group I c) Dunning's characterization of "Danish" lead-glazed pottery in Rotterdam Papers is discussed. The author is largely in agreement with Dunning, in describing this pottery as technically somewhat primitive, in relation to the other North European pottery, whereas Dunning's perception of the Farum ware as a dominant form of South Scandinavian pottery is considered highly exaggerated. Documentary evidence of potters before the 16th century is not available but the material contains many examples of pottery which is Scandinavian, but apparently foreign to Farum, for example a group of glazed jugs from Lund characterized by a facetted foot, and a group of Zealand jugs with pale-green glaze and a bichrome effect in the decoration -the latter apparently an influence from the pottery of northwest France. Evidence of other potteries is found in an integral find from Svendborg (Funen) of raspberry -and band-decorated, but unglazed sherds, and in a large find of glazed and unglazed pottery with many wasters found outside Skanderborg in Jutland in the summer of 1972. No. I a 3, which was found in Ribe on the west coast of Jutland is on account of the light brown colour and the sandy ware considered to be imported from England. No. 4 is -as far as the author is aware- without parallel, and there is doubt as to whether it is medieval at all. No. 5, likewise from Ribe, has a white body and is green-glazed both inside and out and thus belongs to the group of imported wares which the author of Chateau Gaillard V has considered to be of northwest French origin. None of the sherds in Group I a have been found in a context which provides a basis for dating.All pieces in Group I b are closely related. Some of them have been shown to Dunning, who has referred to them in Rotterdam Papers in his distribution map of Grimston Ware to which there are strong similarities of form, firing and glaze. These and several sherds of the same kind were found in Ribe, whose geographical position makes foreign contact likely. Two of them (no. 2 and 6) have been found in the same stratigraphic context as rouletted "Aardenburg" pottery, sherds of white-fired northwest French jugs, ribbed Rhineland "stoneware" and inside­glazed, red-fired "reartail" pans which are known from Aardenburg from about 1300. On account of the last-named, the sherds of Group I b are dated to the period 1300-1350.The pieces in Group I c are also closely related, all belonging to the type of face-sherds which Dagmar Selling christened "monk faces" and which K. J. Barton in his publication of Swedish glazed earthenware (including those with moulded faces) called "arcaded faces". The similarity between the Danish and the Swedish faces is both sculpturally and ceramically so great, that the writer regards them as products of the same workshop. The type has been found in Scandinavia only, concentrated around the Sound (see distribution map), so there can be no doubt of its Scandinavian origin. The dispersion is, however, considerable, showing that the local pottery was widely traded. It is not known exactly where this type of jug was produced and although it is tempting to refer it to the very productive pottery at Farum Lillevang, there is, as mentioned above, no evidence for this in the material from that site. Archaeological dating is not possible in this case either. has a white-fired body with a light green glaze and dark brown patches. It is assigned on account of these features to northwest French -or perhaps Belgian- pottery, but parallels to its peculiar form have not been found in that area. There is though, remarkably close agreement of form between the Danish cup and the so-called "Hochzeitsbecher" from Brno, which is, however, of reduction fired, stonewarelike clay. V. Neduka states that anthropomorphic decoration is unsual in Czech medieval pottery and assumes that is was inspired from northwest Europe. Technically, the "Hochzeitsbecher" is closely related to "Brünner Becher" and is thus definitely a Czech product of the 15th century. The Sandgravvold cup cannot be accurately dated, but the context suggests the latter half of the 14th century.Of the two other pieces, one definitely represents and the other probably so (the horns on the forehead are broken off) a devil's mask. Parallels to this special form or to the position of no. 3 on the handle of the jug have not been found. The ware closely resembles that of Group I c, and is therefore regarded as Scandinavian. The find context provides no foundation for dating in this case either.The first three of Group II's four specimens are so similar that they must be referred to the same workshop. They were found in or near Ribe and could -in accordance with Dunning's characterization- be of local origin on account of the thick walls, bright red body and careless application of the glaze, although large white particles of temper distinguish them from the examples mentioned above. It may be remarked, however, that Dutch and Flemish pottery is made in the same way, and the method of decoration, which consists of pressing the soft wall of the vessel from the inside into a mould, and which is employed in three jugs from Ribe, is also found in the Low Countries. The author has not been able to find face masks in this technique, but refers to the jug with fiddlers and mussel shells from Leeuwarden and to jugs with mussel or raspberry decoration in this technique. Several specimens of the latter type have been found in Ribe, where Netherlands pottery is a frequent occurrence. The three jugs, which cannot be dated from their archaeological context, may be Netherlands import or local manufactures strongly influenced from abroad.No. 4 in this group shows a woman's face, impressed in a lump of clay applied to the vessel wall. Parallels are known from southern Sweden and have been published by Barton who speaks in his description of the "classical" shape of these heads. Dating is not possible in this case either.As will be seen from the above, the Danish material provides no independent contribution to the problem of dating the lead-glazed jug. A table recording the sherd material from a single excavation in Ribe provides some information on the relative chronology, however. The youngest layers are at the top of the table. The white-fired face sherd no. I a 5 was found in layer 6. The most important observations are as follows: "Pingsdorf" pottery of the hard-fired type is represented in layers 14-7 and "Grau-blaue Ware" in layers 11-7 (the sherd in layer 5 being left out of account). "Geriefte Ware" is found from layer 9 but is in the more recent layers not distinguished from unglazed stoneware, which with glazed stoneware is represented from layer 5. With respect to earthenware, sherds of Andenne type are found in layers 10-7, the white-fired green-glazed ware in layers 9-2, the bichrome ware in layers 8-2, sherds of Netherlands (Aardenburg) type in layers 7-3 and sherds of inside-glazed tail-pans in layers 9, 8 and 5. Most remarkable in this connection is perhaps the overlapping of the Pingsdorf ware and the lead-glazed earthenware. Pottery which can be dated with some certainty to the 15th century is not found in the material; layer 1 is garden soil of recent date.Of these anthropomorphically decorated pieces about which one may venture an opinion, 7 are regarded as imports from England, 2 as imports from France, 3 as possible imports from the Low Countries and 10 as locally produced. That the three foreign areas have been able to influence the Scandinavian production of glazed earthenware is not surprising, since they were the most important North European producers of this type of ware. There has hitherto been a tendency in both Denmark and Sweden to regard Scandinavian lead-glazed earthenware as import from England, or at least strongly influenced from there. Both Dunning and Barton reject this idea and point to the close relationship to Dutch and Flemish material. Both the anthropomorphically decorated earthenware and the comparative material discussed above support this view. Connection with the Low Countries can to a certain extent be traced in the face jug from Aarhus and it is evident in three identical jugs from Ribe. It is difficult to demonstrate definite English influence, while French influence seems to be manifest in the above-mentioned group of jugs with bichrome decoration from Zealand. The trade route from the Channel area, via Ribe to the Baltic region, makes Ribe a likely agent of the Netherlands influence. But the anthropomorphic decoration on true South Scandinavian (or Scanian-Zealand) pottery shows ingenuity in choice of subject and form, so that its makers cannot be regarded as mere epigones.Post-ScriptAt the last minute has been added a fragment of a jug (fig. 27) which has been found in the Cistercian monastery Løgumkloster, on the west-coast, south of Ribe. The red-fired ware with its comparatively large content of sand indicates an English origin, and this is strongly corroborated by the "collar side face" (Barton, Anthropomorphic Decoration, 1968, fig. 4.) and by the twisted rod-handle (Rutter, 1961). Both these features suggest North-East England as the place of origin for this fragment.Mogens Bencar

Middelalderlige stenmortere i Danmark

Medieval Danish stone mortars Classification: The Danish medieval stone mortars may be classified according to material, which simultaneously provides a typological classification.Group A: Mortars of calcareous sandstone.AI: Yellowish-white, fine-grained and soft. Can be worked with a knife. (Fig. 1-6).Group B: Mortars of limestone.B I: Light grey limestone of very coarse heterogeneous structure with copious intermixture of snail shells. The chiselled surface has the appearance of a much­stained mirror, roughly like the surface of a piece of root-wood. In fresh breaks it has a greenish tinge. Very hard, and difficult to work with a knife. (Fig. 7-12).B II: Schistous limestone. Grey stone of homogeneous structure. The surface exhibits layers of darker, lenticular particles. More diffuse small white particles are also present. Very soft, and easily worked with a knife.B III: Light greyish-yellow limestone of porous surface and structure, with snail shells. Hard, and difficult to work with a knife.B IV: Light yellowish-grey limestone of fine-grained homogeneous structure. Relatively hard, but can be worked with a knife. (Fig. 13).B V: Whitish-yellow limestone of very porous structure with small snail shells. Softer than Group BI and B III.B VI: Light grey limestone of fine-grained homogeneous structure. Relatively hard, but can be worked with a knife. (Fig. 14).B VII: Dark grey limestone of very fine-grained homogeneous structure with lighter grey layers. At worn spots almost black. Strongly reminiscent of Belgian marble (Namur stone). (Fig. 15).Group C: Mortars of sandstone.C I: Grey homogeneous micaceous sandstone of irregular horizontal cleavage. Hard, but can be worked with a knife. (Fig. 16).Group D: Mortars of soapstone (steatite).DI: Coarse-grained Norwegian steatite. (Fig. 17).Dating. None of the Danish stone mortars have been found in circumstances which permit accurate dating, and they cannot therefore be arranged in a chronological series. They seem, however, to date from the 13th to 15th centuries.Foreign analogues. None of the mortars described above can be of local Danish manufacture. The lime- and sandstone employed is found on both sides of the English Channel -in England, northern France and the Netherlands- where these rocks are so common that a more accurate placing is not possible on a geological basis. Steatite is of Norwegian origin.Stone mortars have been dealt with by G. C. Dunning in two publications (23 and 24). He recognizes three stones used in their manufacture - 1 Purbeck marble, 2 Burr stone and 3 Caen stone.Purbeck marble comes from a quarry on the Isle of Purbeck off the Dorsetshire coast of southern England. It is a grey stone containing fossils of the freshwater snail Viviparus. It was used prolifically in the Middle Ages from the 12th century onwards in church building, pillars and capitals, and in sculpture.Dunning remarks that the shape of the mortars seems to depend on the character of the stone. Purbeck marble mortars have a basin with straight or slightly curved sides and the edge may be plain with a flat top, or slightly thickened with circumferential grooves. They normally have four knobs at regular intervals around the rim and ribs often curve from knob to knob. Pierced lugs are foreign to the porous nature of the Purbeck marble, which is more suited to handle-like ribs or solid lugs. Dunning mentions five specimens with pierced lugs in this material, however, and sees this -with a few specimens on square bases- as the result of influence from mortars fashioned in Caen stone. The surface is either pecked or chiselled.Burr stone is described as a yellow limestone with fossil shells. It is related to Purbeck marble but softer; the shapes are also normally softer. The sides of the bowl are more strongly curved. The rim is thickened with bevelled edges. The ribs and knobs are as in the Purbeck types, but pierced lugs are unknown.Caen stone is described as a fine white limestone, quarried outside Caen in Nordmandy. It was also used as building material in the Middle Ages and was widely exported. The forms are characteristic: square base; bowl with curved sides; large, facetted, pierced lugs; and on the rim, which is flat and unprofiled, facetted knobs with V-shaped pouring channels. Judging by the illustrations, the surface is channelled or zig-zag chiselled in horizontal bands. Eight specimens are known from England and can be dated by context to the end of the 13th century, but is is remarked that Caen mortars have been found in the castle at Caen »in contexts of later date, which probably shows that the mortars continued to be made for several centuries« (29).Two of the groups in the Danish material, the largest ones A I and B I, may be assigned without difficulty to the foreign groupings.Within group A I, Dunning has identified one mortar as being of Caen stone, and the main forms of the group make such an assignation perfectly natural, although there are variations (no. 3 and 4) which depart from the shape of the typical Caen mortar.Group B I mortars are undoubtedly of Purbeck marble. There are also many morphological features corresponding to those of the published Purbeck mortars, although only one of these is identical with Danish mortars (Dunning fig. 74 no. 1). The pierced lugs found in six of the Danish mortars may support Dunning's claim that Purbeck mortars were developed under the influence of the Caen mortars.To the soapstone mortar there are two parallels in the museum at Trondheim (33).The agreement between material and detail indicates that each group derives from one particular quarry or at least one particular region.All the stone mortars found in Denmark have been imported. Of a total of 25 specimens, nine come from Normandy (or from northern France), seven from the Isle of Purbeck in southern England, one further specimen possibly from England, and one from Norway. Of the remaining seven, one possibly derives from Belgium, whilst the remainder can merely be placed in the regions bordering the English Channel.Danish distribution. As far as the Danish distribution is concerned, 21 specimens have been found in Ribe, one at Søborg on northern Zealand, one on Sprogø, and one on Stagsevold near Vejle, whilst there is no provenance for the remaining one.Conclusion. This distribution is another strong indication of the position of Ribe as the most important Danish trading centre on the North Sea in the Middle Ages. In this respect, the artefacts come to the assistance of the written sources. I have previously published a survey of the import of North Sea pottery into Denmark in the early Middle Ages, and could in this commodity too demonstrate the dominance of Ribe over the rest of Denmark (36). England played a remarkably minor role in the pottery trade with Denmark, and northern France and Belgium a surprisingly important role, but the parallelity in the testimony of the two groups of finds is otherwise considerable.A warning was given in the above-mentioned publication, against putting too much reliance on the dominance of Ribe in pottery finds, because it would be easy to draw conclusions ex silentio. It is true that none of this pottery has been found in Copenhagen, and archaeological excavations in Århus, Viborg, Odense, Ålborg, Svendborg and Kalundborg have only yielded a few specimens, but too few of our medieval towns have been studied to date, and the interest in a mere collection of material on building sites has been too small for final conclusions to be drawn. Mortars or mere fragments of mortars will be more likely to find their way into the museums than pottery, and although they represent a much smaller body of material, they are therefore a better indicator of trading routes and Danish commercial contacts in the Middle Ages.Mogens Bencar

Niels Thamsens lutherfromme kakkelovne: - et sluttet fund af monokrome og polykrome reformations-kakler

Forfatterne tager i denne artikel et gammelt fund fra 1969 frem til fornyet gennemgang og tolkning. Vedrenoveringen af det gamle Ribe-bindingsværkshus, Sønderportsgade 1 fra ca. 1600 blev der under gulveti den smalle midtergang fundet et brandlag, der blandt andet indeholdt store skår af højst usædvanlige,grønne og flerfarvede (polykrome) ovnkakler. Brandlaget lå direkte på lergulvet fra den tidligere bygning,der ud fra arkivalierne har tilhørt den velstående kræmmer Niels Thamsen i anden halvdel af 1500-tallet.En datering af kaklerne ved hjælp af deres grafiske forlæg viser, at huset ikke som nabohuset kan haveværet offer for den store brandkatastrofe 1580, men sikkert først er gået op i flammer ved en mindrebrand 10-15 år senere, hvorpå det efter udjævning af brandtomten meget hurtigt er blevet genopført.En første sortering af kaklerne viser, at de repræsenterer tre, måske fem forskellige kakkelovne: enprisbillig, hjemlig produceret pottekakkelovn og to eller tre andre, der alle bl.a. på grund af glasurerne –især de flerfarvede – må betragtes som importvarer. De stammer sandsynligvis fra Nordhessen eller Südniedersachsen.Kakkelproduktion og glasurmetoder i Danmark og udlandet omtales, og der gives et budpå de tre ovnes konstruktion.Kaklernes ikonografiske indhold analyseres og afslører Niels Thamsen som en yderst from mand.Ovnenes billeder fører på ægte luthersk vis De ti Bud og de vigtigste lignelser og begreber i den kristeligebørnelærdom direkte ind i stuen til daglig brug. Til en af de grønglaserede og en af de polykrome ovnefindes paralleller fra midten af århundredet i Sydtyskland og Østrig, de såkaldte “reformationsovne”.Derimod er konstruktionen af kaklerne til den anden polykrome ovn overordentlig usædvanlig og findesikke beskrevet i den arkæologiske litteratur. Det gælder såvel den besynderlige udformning af bagsidernesindmuringsanordning, rumpen, som forsidernes originalt komponerede dekoration. De øverste rammedelemed bærspisende papegøjer og de kunstnerisk fremragende billedfelter med luthersk agitation erlånt fra kendte og ukendte kakkelserier og her sammenkomponeret med naivt udført bladværk og relieffer.Alt sløres af hastigt og upræcist påført tin- og blyglasur med påfølgende bemaling. Et tekstfelt nederstdaterer patricen, prototypen: “ANNO+Lii+” (1552). Frederik II’s våbenskjold på en hjørnekakkel viseren mulig tilknytning for Niels Thamsen til Riberhus. Nogle grønglaserede kakler visende mandens ogkvindens livsaldre, skåret efter et stik af Jost Amman fra 1580’erne, kan have indgået som reservedele vedomsætning af en ovn. De virker daterende som fundets “slutmønt”