M. P. text

A museum of Spanish blacksmithing

in Navarre

 
n In the course of the 7^th Symposium on European forging in Arthous (France), a few dozen of us were lucky to discover Chilida-leku. On this occasion, I had the privilege, thanks to Arnaud Duny-Petre, an enthusiast about blacksmithing, to make a second trip to Spain to discover a private collection. We arrived in Navarre, about 90 kilometres south of Pamplona, in a community of 8,000 souls.The steeples of two baroque churches dominate the historic city center and the bright sunshine illuminates the ocher lining of its small brick palaces.The personalised facades, adorned wiith door nails, wrought balconies, window bars, doorknockers... all kept in place; also spectacular stone coats of arms carved in high reliefs. J.A.S. has chosen one of these private mansions to install his treasure, over four floors, the collection is placed on 177 panels in total with a scarlet background and sometimes blue.J.A.S., initiated at a very young age by his antiquarian maternal grandfather, has joined with determination numerous pieces he has been collecting for over sixty years. My astonishment was immense by contemplating the deployment of 4,500 objects gathered in one place. Such objects, presented in status or removed from their natural setting, give us a synthesized version of the ancient Spanish forging during the Roman, Gothic, Plateresque and Baroque ages, influenced by oriental shapes for 8 centuries.

Subjected to fashion, the bars, window- bumpers, doors, balconies and braces, nails, hinges, latches, chains, locks, coffers, cabinets, doorknobs, doorknockers, bolts... took part in the closing of buildings to protect the individual and his properties.

8000 nails with decorative wrought heads, conical, chiseled, faceted or prominent, cross iron plates of all shapes; some flat, engraved, others curved in teton, poly-lobed, florid, in one or several floors. This multitude of nails remind us of the vital role they played in the structure of the gate; at the junction of cross tables (in the assembly of the wood), sympathized the wood and the more or less worked iron ( hinges, strap hinges and motives); they served as a deterrent shield (see the Cathedral of Girona). Every rolled eye of the impressive handles (braces) that supported the things of a balcony with floral headpieces.

Numerous locks with bumps and sculpted plates, filigreed, cut, pierced, treated so that they keep their keys. Other keys have lost their locks, other locks have lost their keys.

Three hundred balusters of square and rectangular sections, which belonged to gates, front of balconies or pulpits. In the form of little columns composed of capital, stems, bellies and necks, consoles with turned, engraved and drilled trunk.The complex modeling and sometimes executed at various levels is just an excuse for the decoration on top of artichoke, sometimes simple and sometimes double, confronting the diversity of the bars.I think I'm living a dream, all the blacksmithing (photographed over several journeys along Spain) whose acme is located in the sixteenth century. They are the large gates and doors of civilian buildings such as the town-hall of the city of Granada, religious buildings such as those in Ávila, Baeza, Berlanga de Duero, Ampurias Castle, Cordoba, Girona, Jaca, León, Lugo, Palencia and so on. Balconies in Burgos and Leon. Defense of windows (window latches) in Alcala de Henares, Leon, Tremp, in high concentration in Catalonia, hammers, locks, bolts, hinges, which are the evidence of a great control of the matter.

The pieces are preserved on their whole integrity : a large square-sectioned iron bar has a small door, movable equipment with its original iron fittings, interesting coffers, desks (movable secretaires) equipped with a special system to block the door in open position. The  door, knobs, knockers, are legion, mounted on carved sheet (or plate), the non-figurative or figurative handle, zoomorphic (a lion crowned or not, a bovid, a bird with outstretched wings, a snake), anthropomorphic ( a leg, an arm ...), vegetal decoration, geometric, take the form of a ring, loops, pendants, frog legs. They are articulated with grooved bolts which are fantastically worked.

This museum also hosts tools (hammers, scales, animal branding irons, anvils) and objects that surrounded the home (grates, andirons, tongs), important bellows, torch stands (lights, candlesticks, lamps), cutting instruments (knives, scissors, swords), by combining aesthetics and functionality in the spirit of the arts and traditions .

The two located in Catalonia, the Public Museum Cau Ferrat in Sitges and the Episcopal Museum in Vic, present the antique Spanish blacksmithing in quantity. J.A.S.'s collection is much richer than those of Sitges and Vic together.

There is some similarity between the approach of J.A.S. and Chillida´s. The two have established a museum in the framework they have chosen, and based on their experience, they have organized and staged them. The first has collected a myriad of antique Spanish irons of unknown authors, from all the origins, distributed to over eight centuries. The second has arranged his own work, sculptures, studies and designs on its own way.

J.A.S. is heart broken when he thinks about separating from his collection, the work of a lifetime. The blacksmithing is not his only point of interest. If you want more information, you can contact to: Eric Quentin (IFRAM).

Michèle Pellet