Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Turkish Exotica
FormerlyCuratorialAssistant,Departmentof Prints
W e are all familiar with noted artists from the and then, further ignoring his agreementwith King
past whose reputations have suffered reversals over the Christian,he soughtout hisformerpatronOtt Heinrich,
centuries. Other talented masters even during their ca- who had been reinstatedandwasat his residencein Neu-
reers were ignored, neglected, or misunderstood. Various burg. Lorichs's failure to return to Denmark in I552 as
events, some insignificant, some momentous, such as war, agreed had brought swift retaliation from Christian, who
a woman's fancy, an emperor's whim, good fortune or commanded the city of Flensburg to withhold the funds
ill, have brought about the ruin of promising appren- due Lorichs from his late sister's estate. Lorichs may thus
tices, proteges, and established masters. Looking back have foreseen more promise in returning to his reestab-
through history we find they have vanished and the lished patron than to the angry Danish king.
facts of their later years remain shrouded in speculation. During this period of involvement with the court of
One such unfortunate craftsman was Melchior Lorichs the Holy Roman Empire, Lorichs appears to have suc-
of the Danish town of Flensburg. He was a restless man ceeded in arousing Emperor Ferdinand I's displeasure
of numerous talents whose great aspirations commanded rather than his patronage. Ferdinand ordered him to join
his entire life's energy. Lorichs was born in 1526 or 1527 the entourage of Augier Ghiselin de Busbecq, chief of
of noble parentage. He had the benefit of a good educa- the embassy sent to the court of Sulayman the Magnifi-
tion and an apprenticeship with a goldsmith in Liibeck. cent in I554 to settle a dispute over the control of Sie-
The young artist wasted no time in launching his am- benbiirgen. The purpose of Lorichs's presence on this
bitious career. In I547-1548 he established contact with arduous mission to the Ottoman Empire is unknown,
the court of the Holy Roman Empire at the Diet of but a later letter by Ferdinand I, written in February
Augsburg by entering the employ of the deposed Count 1564, indicated that the suffering and hardship caused
Palatine Ott Heinrich and, oddly, the man given con- Lorichs were results that had been anticipated by the
trol of Ott Heinrich's domain, Otto Truchsess von Wald- Emperor. Busbecq does not enlighten us on this matter,
burg, Bishop of Augsburg. Apparently not satisfied with as he never mentioned the artist in his private corre-
these conquests, Lorichs contrived an agreement early in spondence, which was published in 1589.
I549 with King Christian III of Denmark whereby the During his stay in Turkey, Lorichs developed an en-
king - long acquainted with Lorichs's family - consented during interest in the East and its relationships to Eu-
to support Lorichs for four years of study in Italy. In rope. On his return to Vienna in I559, he immediately
return, Lorichs promised that he would settle in Den- Lorichs
wrotea poem, Liedtvom TiirckenundAntichrist.
mark, but he dallied in Nuremburg for a year before sensed that a perpetual friction between East and West
carrying out the contract. During that year he illustrated was unavoidable, and the Liedt expressed his strong feel-
a broadsheet with a poem by Hans Sachs entitled Sibilla ing that the West must be well informed about the Turks,
Tiburtina. Lorichs extended his Italian sojourn to I553, particularly about their military prowess and equipment.
4II
OPPOSITE PAGE:
414
previously. It consists of 125 woodcuts on 17 leaves; woodcuts reproduced here demonstrate. They show that
it has no title page; and, like the other four, it has no Lorichs's neglected book is significant not only as a testi-
text. The copy in the Albertina in Vienna contains a mony to a forgotten artist's ability but also as a visual
list of subjects, not precisely keyed to the illustrations; record of a culture of major interest to Europe in the
and this was not added by the author but by Tobias sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and still of great
Gundermann for his I646 edition. interest today.
Clues to the meaning of many of the plates are given
by a seventeenth-century author, E. G. Happel, who
used a majority of Lorichs's woodcuts (with monogram NOTES
and date erased) rather than commission new pictures
I would like to thank Mrs. JohnH. Sichel for her kind assis-
for the Turkish portion of his travel book, Thesaurus tance in reviewingmy translationsand interpretingseveral
Exoticorum oder eine mit AussldndischenRaritdten und difficultpassages.
GeschichtenWohlverseheneSchatzkammerFiirstellendDie The amendedI575 title page of Lorichs'ssourcebook reads:
AsiatischenAfricanischenund AmericanischenNationes . .. Wolgerissene und geschnitteneFigurenin Kupfferund Holtz
[An exotic thesaurusor a complete treasury of curiosities durchden kunstreichen und weitberiimbten MelcherLorchfur
and history from the foreign lands of Asia, Africa, and die Mahler, Bildthawerund Kunstliebenden an Tag gegeben
Anno i619. It impliesthat he intended to includeengravings
America] (Hamburg, Thomas von Wiering, i688). De- as well as woodcuts.
spite unexplained differences with Lorichs that Happel
alluded to in his introduction and an interim of more JostAmman'ssourcebook, Enchiridion Artispingendi,fingendi
& sculpendi:In quod Thesaurusnouus& ingens,variarum fig-
than one hundred years since Lorichs's Turkish adven- urarum,virori mulierum,infantum& animalium,in usum
tures, Happel did not shrink from using the woodcuts adolescentiacupida adeoq omnium artis huius amantiumest
to illustrate his commentary. One is tempted to surmise congestus(Frankfurt,1578), is also in the MetropolitanMu-
that in most cases the prints determined his selection seum. The ElishaWhittelseyFund, 49.10.
of topic. The travel book by Nicholasde Nicolay is called Les quatre
Much of Happel's narrative seems to have been drawn premierslivresdes navigationset peregrinations orientales. . .
(Lyons, 1568). The ElishaWhittelseyFund, 57.521.
directly from another chronicle about the East, Der
Some of those who paid tribute to Lorichsare listed here:
TiirkischeSchauplatz, issued three years earlier by Hap-
SigmundFeyerabend,the publisher,in I564 composedan
pel's publisher. The anonymous author of this work- encomiumon Lorichsthat he later printedas a dedicationto
most likely Happel himself-cites the Voyages en Tur- Hans Bocksburger'sNeuweBiblischeFiguren.... In I577 he
quie, en Perse et aux Indes (Paris, i677) by the famous dedicatedanotherof his publications,TiirkischeChronica,to
traveler, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, as one of his principal Lorichs.
sources, thereby identifying for us one of the ultimate Conrad Leicht wrote a poem in I567 praisingLorichs's
sources for the Turkish section of the ThesaurusExoti- Liedtvom Tuircken und Antichrist.
corum. In his introduction Happel justified and defended PhilippeGalle dedicatedto Lorichshis first edition (1574)
of twenty-fourengravingsof fountainsafter Hans Vredeman
his extensive borrowing from other authors, but he failed de Vries.
to mention Der TiirkischeSchauplatz on which he had Hubert GoltziusincludedverselaudingLorichsby Adolph
depended so heavily. Mekerch, Louis Carrion,and Andre du Pape in his book
The captions for the following illustrations from the Siciliaet Magna Graecia(Bruges,1576).
The dimensions(height x width in inches) of the woodcuts
Metropolitan Museum's copy of Lorichs's Turkish book
illustratedhere are as follows:
are partially derived from Happel's ideas and interpre-
Rider, 8' x 68; Janissary,9/ x 5516;saquatz,816 x 5s6;
tations. His observations are inclined to be inaccurate
camel, 8S4 x 51X6;coffins,8 x 5 116; cemetery, 8s x 516;
but are a fascinating revelation of a European's view harpy,9s x 6'; aerialview of mosque, o1 x I4Y2.
of the East. Lorichs, too, gives a European's view of For informationabout the simurgh,see Eva Baer, Sphinxes
Turkey, but he conscientiously tried to provide a com- and Harpiesin MedievalIslamicArt (Jerusalem,IsraelOrien-
plete and accurate portrayal of what he observed, as the tal Society, I965).
4I5
This rider enjoys the comfortsof an inge-
I_ ffi rainhat
\ f,A,
--nious ^ fashionedwith pleatsto accom-
modate any size or shapeof turban.He also
wearsa special,long, rainproofridingcoat to
-"protectthe fine garmentsbeneath.
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y
ul ll )l m
~ ~
Is--M
-S--=-IY
-
Turkish burialhabits had changedonly slightly since
The camel commandedmuch attentionin travelliter- the sixteenth century, so Happel could easily explain
atureof the sixteenthandseventeenthcenturies.Happel Lorichs'sillustrations.The firstpicture,alreadymarked
dutifullyobligedhis readers'curiositywith lengthy dis- by Lorichsfor discussion,displayscoffinsdesignedto dis-
cussionsof theirstrength,endurance,and longevity.We tinguishthe identity of the occupants.The one marked
learnthat the camelworebellsand his driverplayedthe A bearsthe decedent'sturbanand is intendedfor a male
cymbalsand sangin orderto keep the music-lovingani- familyhead. B is drapedin the garmentsand headdress
malin goodspiritsandlessmindfulof hisfatigue.Happel of a wife or young woman;her braidswere alsocustom-
selected this creaturefrom Lorichs'swoodcutsto illus- arily hung on the coffin.C is for an old wife or widow,
trate an event he claimsto have observedin Constanti- D for a child, and E for a pauper.WealthyTurksspared
nople. A largecrowdsurroundeda camel that had just nothingin preparingelaboratetombs,whichthey thought
servedon a pilgrimageto Meccacarryingthe Koranon wouldcreatea goodimpressionin the afterlife.The desti-
its back.The crowdkissedit, pluckedout its hairs(to tute, on the other hand,were laid upon a plankby the
be prizedas relics),and wiped the sweatfrom its body. roadsidewith face exposedso that some passerbymight
Finallythe beastwasslain,and the flesh,whichwascon- recognizethe corpseand bury it.
sideredholy becauseof the camel'stask in the pilgrim- No burialsite was safe from the ravagesof the wild,
age, was devouredon the spot by the crowd. grave-robbingjackal. Coffins,even for the poor, were
This ceremonyis similarto the sacrificeof a camelin sunk deep, and huge stoneswere rolled over them for
Meccadescribedby AdamOleariusin the I669 English protectionagainstthe predator.
versionof his VoyagesandTravells.... Olearius'slengthy In the foregroundof this graveyardstandsa tomb-
discussionof this event was probablyHappel'sactual stone surmountedby a carvedreplicaof the late Turk's
sourceof information,althoughhe says that he himself turban.The varioussizesand contoursof turbansdesig-
witnessedthe beast'sunhappyend. nated the wearers'rankor socialposition.
419
One is startled to find among the numerous
pagesof detailedcostumesand buildingsa picture
of a monstrousyet statuesqueharpy.This fantastic
beastwas traditionalin Muslim iconographybut
ordinarilyappearedonly as part of a decorative
motif on ceramics,metalware,and textiles.An un-
usualpiece in the Museum'scollection,illustrated
at the left, is a notableexceptionto the restrained
decorativeuse of the harpy.This kind of imposing
ceramicharpy from Rayy, Persia,would seem a
likely sourceof inspiration,but sucha figureis not
knownto have beenmadeor usedin Turkey. One
can only speculateas to what inspiredLorichs's
"portrait."He may haveprobedinto the complex,
intermingledtalessurroundingthe Islamicharpy,
but it is alsopossiblethat he was interestedin the
harpy or siren of Greek tradition-he may have
admiredisolated,ornamentalsirenfigureson pot-
teryfromthe formerGreekcoloniesin AsiaMinor.
In somedetails- suchas the headdressandpeacock
tail- Lorichs'sharpyresemblesthe Anqa,Murgh-
i-adamz,andBahriof Easternorigin.The knotting
of the long tressesis not typicalof the Muslimor
Greek motifs. We do not know in what context
Lorichsintendedhis harpy,but Happelofferedan
explanation,whichhe saidwastakenfromthe Ko-
ran.While on his famousNight Journey(Mi'raj),
tIarpy from Rayy, Persia. Late xiI-early XIlI
century.Luster-paintedpottery, height 2514 Muhammadwas taken by the angel Gabriel to
inches.Bequestof Cora TimkenBurnett,57.51.1 Paradisewhere he saw many angelsin grotesque
shapes.One of thesewas of such great size that it
touched the sky with its head and the depths of
the seawith its feet. The bodywasthat of a rooster
and the headwas like a young woman's.God had
commandedthat this beast should periodically
summonthe roosterson earth,who in turnwould
arouseother earthlybeaststo praiseGod.
Happel's extension of Muhammad'sMi'raj is
only partiallycorrect.It does not appearin the
Koran.Furthermore,traditionalsourceshold that
the angel was a white cock and none of the four
elaborationsof this legend in the Hayatal-Haya-
wan of al-Damirimentionsa humanhead.
7'
(7z<
~ ~ ~ ~ -~
Lorichsdigressedfrom his steady output of usefulsketchesto renderthis peculiarbird's-eye
view of a walledmosquesurroundedby sanctuariesand mausoleums.It appearsto be a con-
glomeraterepresentation of MeccaandMedina,but Lorichs'ssourceis a mystery,particularly
since such a subjectis unknownin Islamicart. Happelinadvertentlyclaimedthat this picture
wasinspiredby paintingsof this themethat werefoundin mosques,andhe sayssuchpaintings
were the only exceptionto the Muslim traditionexpressedin the Hadith forbiddingrepre-
sentationalart.
The referencemarksindicatethat Lorichshad plannedto describethe majorbuildings.As
no manuscriptby his hand now remains,however,we do not know if the descriptionsgiven
by Happelwere the productof his own knowledgeor if he had seen a manuscriptby Lorichs.
Happel realizedthat he was discussinga hypotheticalcity, and he tells us that the Turks
called this idealizedwalledarea"Meham"becauseit lookedlike Mecca.
Happel said that the rectangularstructure,covered by systematicallydrapedcloths and
surroundedby a colonnade,was the tomb of "the false prophetMuhammadas it is seen in
Mecca." Happel knew, however, that Muhammadwas buriedin Medina, for he identified
the buildinglabeledG as the "church"in Medinawhere Muhammaddied. At the time of
Lorichs'ssketch (after I555), the tomb, whosewoodendome had been rebuilt,coveredwith
lead, and paintedgreen in I266, would not have appearedat all like the buildingidentified
by Happel as the tomb. Rather, this rectangularbuildingbearsa resemblanceto the Kaaba
in Mecca,which was alsodrapedand encircledby an arcade.
Happelidentifiedother buildingsas the memorialsor tombsof variousfiguresnot only of
the Muslimhierarchyand the Old Testamentbut alsoof suchpillarsof the Christianchurch
as John the Baptist and the discipleJohn!The tent pitched in the left foregroundis that of
Abraham,and the surroundinghills are identifiedas the spots where Christ prayedon the
Mount of Olives and from which he ascendedinto Heaven. The Gothic churchwith four
spiressymbolizesthe Churchof Rome.
Accordingto Happel, the Turks believed that the large white tower in the middle fore-
groundwas the site to whichChristwouldreturnto reignfor forty yearsbeforethe end of the
world. Informationthat might elucidate this notion is scarce.The Koran states only that
Christwill appearat the Judgmentas a reminderof the final hour. Christ'ssecond coming
was briefly mentioned by Imam al-Bukhari,a ninth-centurytraditionalist.A thirteenth-
century commentatoron the Koran,al-Baidawi,says that Christwill presidefor forty years
over an entirely Islamiccommunity,and at the end of this period he will die for the first
time (a conceptconvenientto the Muslimdenialof Christ'simmortality).The Muslimswill
bury him at Medinaat the feet of Muhammadin the vacant spot reservedfor him. While
the detailsof these Muslimaccountsof this idea differ,it is clear that Happel'sstory is not
without precedent.One might surmisethat Happel emphasizedthe Muslim belief in this
event in an effort to appeaseChristiandisdaintowardthe Turks, whose hostile aggression
Christianshad experiencedfor severalcenturies.
422
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