The "Luck of Edenhall", Egypt or Syria (Ayyubid or Mamluk)
13th century; the case: English or French, 14th century,
enameled and gilded glass; leather case,
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London Purchased with the assistance of the Pilgrim Trust, the National Art Collections Fund, the Goldsmiths' Company, the Salters' Company, the Drapers' Company and the Merchant Taylors' Company
|
~Artistic
Exchange
(Continued)
Objects from one culture often acquired new
meaning when exported to another. An example
is the enameled glass beaker known as the "Luck
of Edenhall," which was made in Egypt
or Syria in the thirteenth century. By the fourteenth
century, the vessel was in Europe and spent most
of its life at Edenhall, a house in northern
England, where it was used as a chalice in the
Christian liturgy. Later on, its origin was forgotten
and the chalice became the subject of a legend.
It was said to be a magic object that had been
left at a well by fairies feasting, one of whom
cried: "If this cup should break or fall, farewell
the luck of Edenhall." The
house was demolished in 1926, yet the fragile
glass vessel survives. The international pattern
of commerce sometimes fostered similar tastes
in disparate lands. Ottoman velvets can be indistinguishable
from Florentine or Venetian textiles; sinuous,
arabesque patterns recur on inlaid metalwork
produced in Egypt, Syria, and Italy; and some
carved ivories are variously attributed to southern
Italy or Fatimid Egypt. The wealth of artistic
interaction between the Islamic Middle East and
Europe was such that some works cannot be easily
assigned to one culture and instead reflect a
shared aesthetic.
|