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The Freer Canteen
The Freize of Horsemen on the Base
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Lancer and two mounted crossbowmen on the base of the Freer Canteen, Ayyubid Mosul, early 13th century.
Three Lancers on the base of the Freer Canteen, Ayyubid Mosul, early 13th century.
Lancer on an armoured horse on the base of the Freer Canteen, Ayyubid Mosul, early 13th century.
An extract from: Laura T. Schneider, 'The Freer Canteen' Ars Orientalis Vol. 9, Freer Gallery of Art Fiftieth Anniversary Volume (1973), pp. 137-156
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What is the subject of the frieze of horsemen below the band of saints? D. S. Rice has remarked: "a western origin must be suspected for the tournament with hooded horses on the Freer Gallery pilgrim bottle shows a form of sport introduced to the Near East by the Crusaders."27 (In fact only one horse is hooded.) Dimand,
27 "The Seasons and the Labors of the Month in Islamic Art," Ars Orientalis, vol. I, (1954) p. 34.
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however, calls this a "frieze of warriors" and does not mention a tournament.28 He believes that these are Crusaders, and that "the Mohammedans are represented by a single figure wearing a turban and at whom a crusader is aiming with a crossbow."29 This ''Crusader" is the only horseman who turns backward in his saddle to aim his weapon - This thesis, however, does not take into account the fact that another crossbow is being used -and against a rider with no turban and whose horse wears the tapestry-like covering of several other horses shown - in other words, against a fellow Crusader. Thus, the action of the first bowman does not necessarily signify combat with a Muslim.
Further, the fact that this is the only figure in the horseman-frieze to wear a hat, and one which resembles a turban is of itself by no means proof that the personage is a Muslim. A similar hat appears on the head of a saint in the frieze above the horsemen, and another one, also resembling a turban appears on the other side of the canteen, on the Magus to the left in the central medallion.
Is the subject then a tournament or a battle between Muslims and Christians? Dimand has pointed out that "at the Second Lateran Council in 1139 the use of the crossbow was prohibited amongst Christians as a weapon, although its use was allowed against unbelievers. The decision was confirmed by a decree of Innocent III (1198-1216)."30 There is documentation of its use against the infidel, however.31
Among the Muslims, on the other hand, the crossbow was not always used in battle: "the bunduq (a pellet discharged from a crossbow or blowpipe) was mainly used for hunting . . . and, being not a very effective weapon in battle, only rarely against troops."32 This statement applies to the period before the introduction of firearms in the middle of the fourteenth century, and thus to the period during which the Freer Canteen was made. It was extremely difficult to fire a crossbow from horseback, since it was rather unwieldy and required the use both hands.33 The presence of a crossbow, therefore, does not necessarily imply a battle scene.
If warfare were the subject here, two other important components are missing: shields and weapons other than the crossbow, Beginning with the twelfth century, Crusaders in combat were depicted in France on the walls of churches and castles.34 Such subjects undoubtedly existed among Crusaders' mural art in the Holy Land. A wall painting from the period of Philippe-Auguste and Louis VIII (1180-1226) at Artins (Loir-et-Cher), no longer extant, showed a combat between Franks and Muslims.35 The Franks wear round helmets, coats of mail and triangular shields, and carry lances. The Muslims wear conical helmets and carry round shields. Shields
28 Dimand, "Silver Inlaid Bronze Canteen," p. 17
29 Ibid.
30 Ibid., p. 17, n. 1.
31 "Our foot-soldiers came forth from Acre and began to provoke them (the Saracens) with bows and crossbows . . ." Jean Sire de Joinville, The History of St. Louis, trans. from the French text, eds. Natalis de Wailly and Joan Evans (London, New York, Toronto, 1938) pp. 164-166.
32 David Ayalon. Gunpowder and Firearms in the Mamluk Kingdom (London, 1956), p. 59.
33 Ibid., p. 119, n. 95.
34. Cf. P. Deschamps and M. Thibour, La Peinture Murale en France au début de l'époque gothique (Paris, 1963), p. 220
35 Ibid., fig. 16.
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appear to be necessary appurtenances of such combat scenes.
Aside from the crossbows, the objects carried by riders in the canteen's equestrian frieze are probably lances decorated with banners, or they may be simply pennants (they are not weapons). Decorated lancers appear in the "Schefer" Hariri manuscript of 1237 in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.36 We learn that "on special parades the khāssakiyya used to adorn them with streamers (Shatfāt) as often as not made of colored silk . . . (and that) another kind, used by Crusaders as well, is known as qantāriyya."37
Is there some conclusion to be drawn from the use of decorated lances and banners on the canteen's horsemen frieze? According to the fourteenth-century historian Ibn Khaldūn, "flags have been the insignia of war since the creation of the world. The nations have always displayed them on battlefields and during raids. This was also the case in the time of the Prophet and that of the caliphs who succeeded him"38 Banners and flags, along with the beating of drums and the blowing of trumpets and horns, were aspects of ālah or the "outfit," one of the emblems of royal authority.39 The practice was taken from the Persians and Byzantines, the purpose being that "the great number of flags, their manifold colors, and their length, are intended to cause fright, nothing more. (Fright) produces greater aggressiveness in the soul."40 In this way, banners were symbolic of, and important to battle. But they were not actual weapons and were used in related functions as well. Ibn Khaldūn continues that Abbasid and Fatimid caliphs "would often grant permission to display their flags to officials such as the master of a border region or the commander of an army," and that "such officials . . . setting out on a mission or going from the house of the caliph or from their own houses to their offices, were accompanied by a cavalcade of people carrying flags and the attributes of the 'outfit' (ālah). The only distinction between the cavalcade of an official and that of the caliph was the number of flags, or the use of a particular color for the caliph's flag."41
Since banners outnumber the only weapons, crossbows, on the Freer Canteen, the subject does not appear to be an actual battle. The occasion is more likely a ceremonial one. The pomp and circumstance of military display are shown here. Indeed, Islamic equestrian art reached a pinnacle in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, particularly in the western Islamic world, and was therefore an especially pertinent artistic theme.42
On the canteen, certain aspects of the horsemen composition - such as the rider turning in his saddle to aim at another horseman - may be attributed to aesthetic considerations and not to an act of war. The horsemen are most likely taking part in a parade before battle, an official mission or tournament, or a hunt.
36 Richard Ettinghausen, Arab Painting (Skira, 1963), illustrations pp. 118 and 119. They are called tus.
37 Mayer, Mamluk Costume, p. 46.
38 Ibn Khaldūn The Muqaddimah, trans. from the Arabic by Franz Rosenthal (New York, 1958), vol 2, p. 50.
39 Ibid., p. 48.
40 Ibid., pp. 49-50.
41 Ibid., p. 50.
42 Cf. Encyclopedia of Islam, "Furusiyya" (equestrian knowledge). Jousting for example, was an accepted sport of the time. Tournaments, sometimes including Saracen chiefs, were often held in the spring at the foot of Mt. Carmel in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Cf. William Miller, Essays of the Latin Orient (1921; Reprint ed., Amsterdam, 1964) p.530.
Referenced as figure 287 in The military technology of classical Islam by D Nicolle
287. Inlaid metal flask, early 13th century AD, Jazīrah, Freer Gallery of Art no. 41.10, Washington (Elg).
Vol 1, p90-91 By the 12th century the Muslim qunṭārīyah was clearly regarded as a relatively short and heavy cavalry weapon made of beech, fir or other woods, though not of bamboo. It was used by both Saracens and Franks in the Middle East.29 Its blade, ʿarāḍ was broad and acorn-shaped30 and may have been designed for both thrusting and lateral cutting strokes. Such blades were occasionally very large indeed. Here it might be worth noting that four lance blades, recovered from the 11th century Islamic shipwreck in the Aegean, were also quite large, being some thirty centimetres in length, excluding their sockets.31 These and smaller versions appear in many pictorial sources (Figs. 3, 15, 26, 130, 156, 185, 243, 267, 268, 287, 290, 292, 300, 303, 323, 336, 385, 392, 394, 429, 447, 497, 498, 504, 507, 510, 514, 418, 521, 531, 540, 542, 543, 544, 545H, 547 and 609).
29. Al Tarṣūṣī, op. cit., p. 113; Usāmah ibn Munqidh, op. cit., pp. 38-39 and 74-75; ʿImād al Dīn, op. cit., pp, 16 and 191.
30. Al Tarṣūṣī, loc. cit.
31. Bass, "A Medieval Islamic Merchant Venture," p. 92.
Vol 2, p454 Elsewhere such horse-archers appear to use crossbows, as in early 14th century Granada, or lances. Those equipped with the latter weapon often ride heavily caparisoned or barded horses (Fig. 287).