Title

Capital from the Abbey of Santa María de Lebanza, Palencia: Christ in Majesty Exhibiting His Wounds

Generic classification

Object

Date

Century

Cultural context / style

Dimensions

Material

Technique

Iconography / Theme

Provenance

Current location

Inventory Number in Current Collection

Inscriptions / Marks

PETRUS CARO PRIOR [F]ECIT ISTA (m) ECLESIA (m) ET DOMUS ET CLAUSTRA OM (ni) A QUE AB E(o) FU[N]DAT[A] E(ra) MCCXXIII

Object history

The sale and export of this capital to the Fogg Museum, Harvard Art Museums, along with another depicting the scene of the Three Marys at the Tomb, was facilitated by the American architect and art dealer Arthur Byne, who acted as an intermediary between the museum and the seller, Antonio Agustín (information provided to us years ago by Sarah G. Kianovsky, curator of the Fogg Art Museum, to whom we reiterate our gratitude) (Martínez Ruiz, 2008). Mildred Stapley Byne, a scholar of Spanish art and wife of the aforementioned American architect, published her work precisely in 1926, the year both capitals entered the Fogg Museum: Sculpture on Spanish Capital: A Series of Carved Models from the 6th to the 16th Century with a Brief Study;thebook featured a foreword by Harvard University professor and leading specialist in Romanesque sculpture, Arthur Kingsley Porter (Stapley Byne, 1926). The truth is that the sale and export of these capitals not only coincided in time with the publication of Stapley Byne’s work but also with the fieldwork conducted in Spain by Arthur Kingsley Porter, who shortly thereafter published his book: *Spanish Romanesque Sculpture*, in which these capitals are mentioned; they ended up becoming part of the museum at the very institution where he taught: Harvard University. Not everything is a coincidence. 

The decline of Lebanza Abbey began in the 19th century, first with the French occupation and the War of Independence, as in 1808 the center was looted by Napoleonic troops. The second disastrous moment in the abbey’s history occurred following the ecclesiastical secularization of 1863, when the building was put up for public auction and purchased by private individuals. One of its last owners, Antonio Agustín Costa, transformed Santa María de Lebanza into a tourist inn in 1929, while, as previously mentioned, he proceeded to sell off certain valuable elements of the building, such as the Romanesque capitals in question. It returned to the Church in 1943 when the Diocese of Palencia acquired the abbey to use it as a minor seminary, a function it ceased to fulfill in 1959 following the seminary’s relocation to Carrión de los Condes. The capitals likely came from the triumphal arch of the church, the only surviving part of the late Romanesque building, which was replaced by the 18th-century Neoclassical structure that stands today (Lebanza. Románico digital. Fundación Santa María la Real).

These capitals likely belonged to the church’s transept, which was built by Rodrigo Gustios, thanks to the indulgences granted by Bishop Raimundo of Palencia. They were probably located on the arch providing access to the main chapel. Both capitals would have topped a pair of attached columns. However, they had to be moved to a new location during the abbey’s renovation. This can be seen in the photograph taken by Aurelio de Colmenares y Orgaz, Count of Polentinos, preserved at the Spanish Institute of Cultural Heritage (DCP-A-0265), in which this capital is visible in the Abbey of Lebanza prior to its sale and export.

A. Kingsley Porter himself highlighted the value of this acquisition for the Fogg Museum, not only for the aesthetic qualities and antiquity of the pieces, but also for preserving the inscriptions relating to the time of their creation (Porter, 1927). Elías Tormo echoed the news reported by Porter regarding the arrival of these capitals at the American institution: "A. Kingsley Porter, the distinguished specialist in Spanish Romanesque art, states the following in the latest issue of Fogg Museum Notes: The Fogg Museum has recently acquired, through a donation from friends of the Museum, two capitals of singular interest for the history of Romanesque sculpture in Spain. They come from the Abbey of Santa María de Alabanza, near the village of Labranza de Pisuerga, in the district of Cervera, province of Palencia […] What makes these capitals particularly interesting is the inscription carved in strange Gothic characters on the abaci...". Tormo himself noted: "It is not a stretch to predict that they will be the cornerstone of the study of a most interesting chapter in art history […] Being dated, they teach us not only about sculpture but also about epigraphy from the year 1185." (Tormo, 1928). The truth is that both the news of the Fogg Museum’s acquisition published by Kingsley Porter and its echo in Spain, disseminated by Elías Tormo, emphasized that the works had been “donated by friends of the museum”; thus, the sale by the owner of Lebanza, the acquisition by Arthur Byne, the efforts made by Paul J. Sachs to ensure the institution acquired the works, or the role of advisor and mediator played by Kingsley Porter in the transaction, were all downplayed. 

Description

On the front of the capital, Christ in Majesty is depicted, showing the palms of his hands, bearing the wounds of the Passion. He is surrounded by the symbols of the four evangelists, who support the mandorla. The side panels show four bearded figures standing and holding the instruments of the Passion. Both García Guinea and Seidel interpreted these figures as apostles.  

Locations

• pre. 1926

  church

  Abbey of Santa María de Lebanza, Lebanza (Spain)

• 1926

  dealer/antiquarian

  Arthur Byne and Mildred Stapley Byne, Madrid (Spain) *

• 1926 - present

  museum

  Fogg Museum, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge [Massachusetts] (United States)