Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana. Supplementum - 01.06.2000, Qupperneq 119

SUMMARY CHAP. V
animals in Paradise as in Brynjólfur's represen-
tation (fig 134), Abraham meeting Melchizedek
(Gen 14, 18-20) (fig 117), Samson Fighting the
Lion (the middle figurative zone in fig 121,
p 85), King David with his Harp (fig 122, p 84),
a king who may be Solomon, and Solomon on
the Lion Throne (figs 125,129).
The subjects from the New Testament include
the Annunciation (fig 138, left) the Nativity (fig
138, right), the Wedding at Cana (fig 150),
Christ on the Cross with Mary and John (fig
136), the Throne of Grace (fig 137), the
Resurrection and Pietá (fig 137 and p 155 in the
catalogue), and Christ as the Saviour of the
World (fig 144).
None of the drinking homs in the group have
any Last Judgement scenes, but the Soul in the
Jaws of Hell depicted as a man in the jaws of a
dragon may have occurred on some of the miss-
ing horn tips. A horn with its tip intact has a
similar motif (fig 102) with a plastic carving of
a man (in Renaissance costume) sitting between
two beasts which he is gripping by the throat. A
couple of other drinking horns terminate in
heads (figs 106 & 137), though no clear religious
significance can be drawn from them.
One horn contains three of the evangelist
symbols (figs 112-115) and another has an
Agnus Dei wreathed in clouds (fig 134).
It is interesting to see how the saints from
Catholic times were replaced not only by
Biblical heroes and heroines, but also by lead-
ing figures from the first millennium of
Christianity. On one horn Constantine the
Great, Charlemagne and King Olaf sit en-
throned in separate circles (figs 99-101). King
Olaf also appears in one of the circles on another
horn (fig 123) together with David and
Solomon, and on yet another he is shown stand-
ing while King Solomon is given place of
honour (fig 131).
Secular scenes also occur, such as deer-hunt-
ing in the forest (fig 124). It is difficult to con-
nect a bearded Renaissance gentleman (fig 104)
with any story, but a man and woman elegant-
ly dressed in Spanish Renaissance costume
greet each other with a tankard and a drinking
horn (fig 132), while paradoxically a monstrous
winged dragon inhabits the neighbouring field
(fig 133).
Mythical beasts appear to be just as popular
as they were in the Middle Ages (see figs
99-101, 105, 119, 125-127). One horn even has
them as its main subject (figs 93-97).
As on the medieval drinking horns, it is book
illustrations in particular that provide parallels
and models for the figurative scenes on the
post-medieval horns, but the illustrations are
now mainly taken from printed books.
A copperplate engraving in the Piscator Bible
(fig 118) offers an explanation for a mysterious
scene on one of the horns (fig 117), showing
Abraham's meeting with Melchizedek as related
in Gen. 14, 18-20. The engravings in this bible
were widely copied in European art.
One should also mention that the pictures of
King Solomon on his Lion Throne (figs 125,129)
have parallels in the early printed editions of
the Bible: the Luther Bible (1534), Christian III's
Bible (1550), the Guðbrandsbiblía (1584) and
Frederik II's Bible (1589). None of these could
have been the direct models for the scenes on
the drinking horns, but we find many similari-
ties with the woodcuts in the Guðbrandsbiblía
in particular (fig 130).
It has been possible to identify the rather un-
clear scenes on one of the horns (figs 137-138)
as we know how contemporary artists usually
depicted the subject-matter. These must be the
Annunciation, the Nativity, the Throne of
Grace, the Resurrection and Pietá.
The Wedding at Cana (fig 150) deviates great-
ly from the same motif by Brynjólfur Jónsson
(figs 68-70), but it is presumably much later.
To what extent the Salvator Mundi, Christ as
the Saviour of the World (fig 144), is based on
some model is not easy to say. The presentation
is most unusual and could almost be a child's
drawing. The head is shown in profile without
a halo. The figure is surrounded by a running
vine-scroll and the cross on the globe is decorat-
ed with flowers.
Seven horns without separate figurative
zones (in addition to Brynjólfur Jónsson's al-
ready described) nevertheless contain figures,
but they are incorporated in the foliage like a
continuation of the Romanesque inhabited
vine-scrolls. Most of the figures are four-legged
animals, probably intended to portray lions
(e.g. figs 91, 92, 108, 109-110, 147). Sometimes
human figures occur, like the infant carried by a
lion (fig 90) or a man walking through spiral
scrolls (figs 145-146).
As on the medieval horns the decoration on
the later horns is used in two ways: as a frame-
work for figurative scenes or individual figures,
and as pure decoration in its own fields (with or
without interwoven figures). Horns with archi-
tectural motifs as a framework are relatively -i
few (figs 93-97, 125, 129). The city-gate with _LUC)