Arms of Victor Amadeus I Duke Savoy Window 1635

December 7, 2020

Lot 8

Arms of Victor Amadeus I Duke Savoy Window 1635

Estimate: $5,000 - $10,000

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Description

Arms of Victor Amadeus I (Victor Amadee I), Duke of Savoy Leaded Stained Glass Window Panel, circa 1635. The work appears to be the single extant armorial panel that Victor Amadeus I donated to the Hofkirche (Chapel of the Ducal Castle) in Lucerne, rebuilt after the fire of 1633. [Virginia Raguin Consult] Note: This early 17th C. panel has been inspected and identified by Virginia Raguin, Professor of Humanities Emeritus, College of Holy Cross and member of the International Corpus Vitrearum, a non-profit international organization dedicated to the study of stained glass before 1700. Historical Note: The work appears to be the single extant panel donated by Victor Amadeus I (1587-1637), the Duke of Savoy to the Hofkirche (Chapel of the Ducal Castle) in Lucerne, rebuilt after the fire of 1633. The gift was likely to commemorate the Treaty of Cherasco, 1631. Amadeus I, son of Charles Emmanuel I, inherited the Dukedom after his father's death in 1630 when the French were occupying Savoy. By an alliance with France (his wife was a daughter to King Henry IV), Victor Amadeus I managed to recover Savoy and obtain one-third of Montferrat by the Treaty of Cherasco. The Hofkirche still exists, rededicated to St. Leodegar. It was an important institution during the 16th and 17th centuries. During the time of the Reformation, Lucerne was a prominent city for the Swiss Catholic cantons. The papal nuncio, resident in Lucerne, used the church as his cathedral. During his reign (1630- 1637), Victor Amadeus I successfully renewed the alliance with the Catholic Swiss cantons that had previously been made in 1577 by Duke Emanuel Philibert. In autumn 1634, the Duke invited delegates of the seven Catholic cantons to Turin, where the alliance was sealed. Furthermore, by this alliance the cantons renounced their claims of any debts owed by the Duke. The precedent for such a donation can be found in Victor Amadeus I's predecessors. The shield in the panel is encircled by the collar of the chivalric order of la Nunziata (Annunciation) founded by count Amadee VI of Savoy around 1362 ; the collar is made of lacs d'amour (true love knots) associated with the device FERT (Fortitudo Eius Rhodia Tenuit) to commemorate the defense of Rhodes by Amadee V in 1315. Source: A special thank you to Members of the International Corpus Vitrearum for France and for Switzerland, including Dr. Francoise Gatouillet, Dr. Rolf Hasler, and Professor Virginia Chieffo Raguin. (RIJO2516)(WT) Dimensions: 34 1/2" x 20 1/2" Property From the Estate of Richard I Johnson (1925-2020), Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Mr. Johnson's extensive collection of Renaissance and Baroque themed antiques, fine art and stained glass was purchased, mostly in the mid 20th Century, from great Boston area estate collections inspired by the taste of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

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