Upon first look at the tortoiseshell and ivory inlaid wood chest, the piece's magnificent craftsmanship, detail, and expert construction draw one's attention to the beauty that is before them. The precise cuts and fittings of ivory and tortoiseshell in the walnut chest make the onlooker marvel at the time, effort, and experience the artist must obtain to create such a work of art and question who could have commissioned such a project. Yet, despite the careful craftsmanship and detailed inlaid, the special collection file for the tortoiseshell and ivory inlaid wooden chest is slim, leaving many unanswered questions about the journey this beautiful piece of art underwent and how it ended up in Special Collections at the Catholic University of America.
Despite the history of the tortoiseshell and ivory inlaid wood chest appearing to be missing, one clue could help reveal the history from its creation in 1550-1600 to delivery at Catholic University in 1994. That clue is Monseigneur James Magner. Monseigneur Magner spent his life serving the Catholic Church and the Catholic University of America as a priest, director of University Press, Assistant Secretary-Treasurer, and Vice-Rector for Business and Finance. However, perhaps one of his most remarkable contributions to the Catholic University of America, both in service and through gifts that left a lasting legacy imprinted on the University forever, is the donation of historical artifacts to the University upon his death. Furthermore, to understand how the Monseigneur collected such a vast, unique, and impressive collection of worldly works is to know about his love for travel and collection of unique pieces of art and culture. Monseigneur Magner traveled the world, bringing backstories for his students, pictures, works of art, and broad knowledge of the world. A quote for the Monseigneur sums up his desire to share the world with members of the University ideally, “Travel has been among the most rewarding experiences of my life. I have regarded it, not merely as a holiday or change from my regular occupations, but really an opportunity to broaden and deepen my knowledge of the world and its people.” Among the contributions Monseigneur Magner made to the Catholic University of America upon his death is the tortoiseshell and ivory inlaid wood chest that he brought back from his world travels.
Thus, the first piece in the record of the tortoiseshell and ivory inlaid wood chest arriving at Special Collections at the Catholic University of America is the donation from Monseigneur Magner upon his death. A significant aspect of understanding the tortoiseshell and ivory chest is understanding its use and purpose. In the Special Collections file on the wooden chest, one piece of information included is a series of photos documenting the condition and location of the chest in the residence of Monseigneur Magner. The series of photographs highlight how Magner appeared to use the chest. The chest sat under multiple hanging shelves with a compilation of books and decorative artworks such as statues and figurines. The chest sat upon a plush rug against a wall and near what appeared to be a window. The context of the room, surrounded by books, artworks, and other objects, suggests that Monseigneur Magner kept the tortoiseshell and ivory wooden chest in his private study or office. Furthermore, the chest has sixteen drawers allowing for storage of small to medium-sized objects. With the location context and the functionality of the wooden chest, one could assume that Monseigneur Magner used the chest in his study to store essential documents and additional artifacts not on display. Furthermore, considering the global collection donated to the University upon Magner's death and the additional objects visible in the original photographs, Magner most likely used the chest to store small artifacts such as jewelry, figurines, and additional small artifacts collected from his worldly travels.
The current file provides the current location of the tortoiseshell and ivory inlaid chest in the reading room of Special Collections at the Catholic University of America. Additionally, the file offers enough evidence to hypothesize where and how the donor of the chest, Monseigneur Magner, stored and used the chest. Although Monseigneur left meticulous notes and personal papers detailing his travels and many of the objects he left to Special Collections, there is no mention of where, when, or how Monseigneur Magner possessed the wooden chest. This unfortunate lack of detail means roughly 400 years of the chest's journey remain unknown. Yet, there is one more crucial clue in the limited Special Collections file that reveals additional history in the journey of the chest to the Catholic University of America. The tortoiseshell and ivory inlaid wooden chest is of Spanish origin and was built between 1550 and 1600. Therefore, using evidence from the historical period and knowledge of the possible purpose of the chest, an attempt at reconstructing the history of the chest is possible.
The first aspect of trying to rebuild the history of the chest is to evaluate the materials used to build the chest. The chest is made of walnut wood which could suggest a few essential factors about the history of the chest. First, walnut trees are common in every region of Spain, so it could be reasonably implied that the creator of the chest built the wooden chest using locally sourced walnut wood. Furthermore, the walnut wood provides possible additional hints into the creation of the chest. Despite walnut trees being native to every region of Spain, the wood is known for its quality making walnut wood more expensive to work with. Furthermore, walnut trees are tough to take care of properly, and often large walnut trees are hard to find because of the specific climatic conditions and nurture the trees need to survive. These added factors, along with the desire to have a high quality and sound wood, could suggest that the commissioner of the chest was a wealthy individual. Additionally, the material used to inlay the wood indicates that the commissioner had enough wealth to import the tortoiseshell and ivory. While several tortoise species are known to be native to Spain’s coastline, making the tortoiseshell more common to come by, the ivory would have most likely been imported from Africa because of the geographic location. However, it is possible that the ivory could have come from East Asia. Regardless of the origins of the material used to inlay the chest, both the import of tortoiseshell and the ivory would suggest that the commissioner of the work had considerable wealth. Of course, the most wealthy individuals in Spain during the 1500s were royal family members. Spain was at one of its most influential periods in history during the construction of the chest. Spain's borders were global, reaching from Europe to the Americas and beyond, and established a dominant global trade network resulting in vast wealth accumulation. Therefore, it is possible that a member of the Spanish royal family would have the wealth and ability to commission the chest.
Yet, a possible connection between previous owners might mean the chest did not come from a commission directly for the royal family. Perhaps the religious connection between Spain in the 1500s and Monseigneur Magner in the 1900s provided Magner with special access or connection to purchase the chest on one of his trips abroad. The Spain king of 1519, Charles I, would significantly expand the power of the Spanish empire by becoming the Holy Roman emperor, uniting the already mighty Spain with the control and influence of the Holy Roman Empire. His son, Phillip II, would eventually take command of the empire after his Fathers death in 1556. Phillip II would expand the Spanish empire to its greatest reach and wealthiest period. However, the key to establishing the importance of history in the creation of the chest is that Spain aligned itself with the Holy Roman Empire, and perhaps the chest was commissioned and kept by the religious order. If the chest was produced by the Holy Roman Empire religious order in Spain, it could be that Magner was shown the piece by the Catholic order while visiting Spain and was able to purchase the chest. The connection between the historical relationship of Spain and the Catholic church and Magner seems evident enough to suggest this might be how Magner came into possession of the chest.
There are also significant aspects of the chest that relate to the development of the global Renaissance and Renaissance art that could help determine the influence of design, production, and original purpose of the chest.
The first aspect of the chest connection to Renaissance history is the Moorish design of the inlay materials in the chest. Moorish design, in a nutshell, is essentially a variation of Islamic design and architecture. The patterns and symmetry of the inlaid tortoiseshell and ivory imitate the different motifs commonly found in Islamic art, such as the unique patterns on the chest. The Moorish design and motifs provide two large clues when attempting to highlight the importance of the Renaissance and the chest. The first is the imitation of a form of Islamic art that highlights the network of culture and trade that grew during the Renaissance. The chest’s construction happened during the Spanish inquisition, which means that the Moors in Spain were driven out of Spain in an attempt by the Catholic Church to establish dominance and consolidate power. While it is almost certain that the Moors have left an impression on the architecture and art in Spain, it could be hypothesized that the inspiration for the artist of the wooden chest was through exposure to the trade network created during the Renaissance. One clue for this theory in creating the design for the chest is the importation of Ivory. The craftsman would most likely have been exposed to Moorish and Islamic designs in the same marketplace where the ivory came from and attempted to imitate the designs. If true, this aspect in the creation and design of the chest highlights the expansion of trade and culture between the Global East and West during the Renaissance. Additionally, the artist and commissioner of the chest would most likely be Catholic and would know that the birth of their religion came from the same location as the Islamic art they view in the marketplace. Therefore, if a member of the religious order in Spain commissioned the work, perhaps they requested the chest’s designs replicate those of the Holy Land, which was producing Islamic style art. Larry Feinberg, Suzanne McCullagh, and Christina Nielsen suggest this theory of the Global West imitating styles from the East because of the apparent connection between Christianity and the art coming from the Holy Land. Religious orders, Courts, and Commissioners viewed the art, objects, and architecture produced in the Near East as the same that would have surrounded Christ in his lifetime. Despite the historical inaccuracies, society in the European Renaissance attempted to recreate and imitate much of the works produced in the Near East as a way to connect with the Holy Land. Thus, the commissioner and artist might have attempted to create the chest with Islamic motifs and designs to reflect the art in the Holy Land and bring a chest like one from the Holy Land into their estate.
The second aspect of the network created during the Renaissance that might help uncover the original purpose of the chest is the collection of items from the New World and the Northern influence of displaying the items in a Wunderkammer. It is possible that the chest was built to house and display items collected and brought back from the New World. As previously mentioned, during the chest’s construction, Spain became a Global powerhouse with explorations into the New World and beyond. It could rightly be surmised that items were brought back from areas in the New World to satisfy the curiosity of the newly discovered continent. The network of trade and exploration was unique and new for Europe during the Renaissance, and those with wealth wished to collect as many items as possible to attempt to understand the New World. One possible use for the chest would be to be part of a Wunderkammer, translated from German as a cabinet for curiosities. The Wunderkammer served in many estates as a way to display exotic objects, materials, jewelry, and other unique items that came from the expanding network of trade and expansion during the Renaissance. Following the influences of the northern parts of Europe and adopting the practice of wunderkammers, much like the Italian courts, the Spanish owners of the chest may have used the chest as part of their Wunderkammer. Spain had already conquered large portions of South and North America by the chest's creation. Assuming that the chest owners were wealthy members of the religious order or royal court, they would have needed a place to store the items brought to Spain and could have used the chest to do so. The chest was most likely incorporated into the Wunderkammer by the religious order to hold the smaller global artifacts owned by the order and was surrounded by the larger display of objects. Perhaps the chest’s addition to the Wunderkammer also influenced the incorporation of the tortoiseshell and ivory inlays. Both the tortoiseshell and ivory serve as decorative elements to the chest, but the recognition of two materials in the piece adds to the global appeal of the chest. By seeing the materials inlaid amongst the wood, individuals would possibly recognize the piece as worldly itself and as a fitting part of the Wunderkammer.
Despite the slim file about the production, history, and incorporation of the chest into the Special Collections at the Catholic University of America, using knowledge of the Global Renaissance, such as trends, historical developments, and influence, as well as the known life of the well-traveled Monseigneur Magner, a hypothesis about the creation and journey of the chest is possible. Although unknown, the journey of the tortoiseshell and ivory inlaid chest is likely as beautiful as the physical appearance.
By: Trevor Phelps