In hope we trust or In trust we hope
Band 1 F 11 has an I P Spes panel on both boards. Who was I P and what is a Spes panel? We can be brief about I P, our knowledge about him is limited to next to nothing. His name was probably Jacob Pandelaert, a binder active in Louvain 1520-1555. I P is not to be confused with I B, also active at the same time in Louvain, whose initials are thought to stand for Jacob Bathen. Both men made Spes panel-stamped bindings, and both signed the panels with their initials. That is the extent of our knowledge on I P. Does that bother us? In a way because more information gives better insight, but the fact is that bindings and their panels are seldom signed, therefore I P putting his initials on these panels is a valuable clue for locating bindings made by him.
Seneca, Naturalium quaestionum libri VII. [Colofon: Venetiis: in aedibus Aldi et Andreae Asculani soceri, 1522.] In-8. OTM: Band 1 F 11
As this is a panel binding, we are yet again in the realm of Staffan Fogelmark and his Flemish and Related Panel-Stamped Bindings, an analytical reference work on a select group of late medieval and Renaissance panel stamps, on their flaws and markings and what they reveal. Fogelmark located 175 bindings with I P’s Spes panel alone in private and public libraries all over the world, I B is good for a further 130 items (Fogelmark 1990. n. 277). The Spes panel was clearly a popular binding decoration, more so if one realizes that only part of the bindings made in the 16th century survived four centuries of existence on earth. Goldschmidt, Haebler, Husung, Högberg, Indesteege, Schunke, Theele, Verheyden and many others have written more or less lengthy articles on the Spes panel, all of which contribute toward a fuller picture of the application of this panel. The relevant information in Fogelmark’s monograph is a welcome addition, it is a fascinating read for its caveats and food for thought. Although Fogelmark is a classical scholar not a book historian in the strict sense, his wide historical knowledge of medieval imagery and its underlying meaning is extremely useful when looking into the continuing influence of the Middle Ages on bookbindings made in the first half of the sixteenth century. Fogelmark is currently working on a monograph on the Spes panel alone, looking forward to that.
I P Spes panel
What is a Spes panel
A Spes panel is an image of Spes located in the center of one or both boards of the binding.
The female figure, Spes, represents Christian hope. She confronts the stormy clouds above her head and gazes at the cross partly hidden behind the clouds, supported by the grace of God (Meritum Christi) beside her. She is grounded by faith (Fides) under her feet, and assisted by charity (Charitas) placed next to Fides. At her side are two verses from psalms that express support for those who have faith in the God Almighty. According to the Catholic belief, the trinity of hope, faith and the grace of God together with acts of good deeds, charity, were what man needed to be redeemed. Luther of course did not include deliverance as a result of good deeds in his manifest, in his view only faith in God and his deeds, would save man.
Charitas I P made two versions of the Spes panel, with and without 'Charitas' ,to accommodate the wishes of his customers. The former for the traditional client, adherent of the Catholic Church, the latter for the Lutheran customer who did not believe in the absolving quality of charity. Although Flanders basically was Catholic and traditional, Louvain, its capital, was a center of new thinking with a university well-known for its Greek curriculum and a relative safe haven for the changes in perspective on religion brought on by Lutheranism. Liberal students were probably among the clients for Spes panels without Charitas, and also for I P's other less traditional panels of Lucretia (Band 1 E 6) and Cleopatra, respectively symbols for despair and lust. Spes panels without Charitas were made until c 1542. When Catholic repression took a serious hold under Charles V, the Catholic Church made the addition of Charitas compulsory. All three I P Spes bindings in the Bandenkast include Charitas on the panels. This binding was therefore in all probability made after 1542.
The implication of Meritum Christi is that charity will not save our soul, we will be justified only by faith in and by the acts of God. All I P Spes panels have Meritum Christi, which the Catholic authorities were probably not happy about. Fogelmark suggests that the Protestant variant of this panel, without Charitas, was the first version. When Catholic demand arose for a panel with Charitas, this was added to the mould when it was still soft, without removing Meritum Christi. This supposition is under investigation by Fogelmark.
Back to the Middle Ages
For Spes we have to go further back, to Roman times, when she was already goddess and the symbol of Hope
‘Spes was a power that had to come from the gods, in contrast to divine powers that resided within the individual such as Mens ("Intelligence"), Virtus ("Virtue"), and Fides ("Faith, Fidelity, Trustworthiness”)’
(Fears 1981. p. 744)
A similar train of thought as that of Roman times still present both in the Catholic and Lutheran belief in the first half of the 16th century, when the Spes bindings were made. Hope and faith in God as way of living, symbolised in the image of Spes firmly standing her ground on Fides. The bone of contention Charitas is firmly embedded in the Middle Ages by Thomas Aquinas (1225-1275), with his views on Charitas; it ‘unites us to God’ and is ‘the most excellent of the virtues’.
Charitas Tarot card c 1470, attributed to Mantegna or Ferrara School. Copper engraving
Provenance
Bound by ‘I P’ attributed to Jacob Pandelaert, active in Louvain 1520-1555
Marcus Fugger (1529-1597)
U.P = Ulco Proost (1885-1966)
University of Amsterdam. Bought at Veilinghuis J.L. Beijers, Utrecht. 7/8-11-1967 for Hfl. 1.700 plus buyer's premium
Marcus Fugger manuscript ownership on the title page of Band 1 F 11
Marcus Fugger was the first owner of this binding. As the Spes bindings were made in Louvain, and Fugger was a student there around 1546,at 17 years of age, he most probably bought it, or had it made, during that time. The printing date of the work bound in Band 1 F 11 is 1522. Had it been lying on the shelf for 24 years, or did Fugger have it rebound in a Spes binding? The Karl & Faber sales catalogue of 1933, lists nine other Spes bindings from the Fugger library. More on Fugger’s book collection at Band 1 H 18 (3).
Ulco Proost was the final owner of this binding before it was bought by the University of Amsterdam at the Beyers sale in 1967. Proost had an impressive book collection. The University was a happy buyer at the auction, seven of the many works they bought found their way into the Bandenkast. More on Ulco Proost at one of the following bindings.
OTM: Band 1 C 22
OTM: Band 1 F 11
OTM: Band 1 F 12
OTM: Band 1 H 16
OTM: Band 1 H 18 (1-3)
OTM: Band 2 D 14
OTM: Band 3 B 3
Bindings by I P (attr. to Jacob Pandelaert) at the University of Amsterdam
Lucretia bindings
OTM: Band 1 E 6 (2)
OTM: O 60-351
Spes bindings
OTM: Band 1 F 11
OTM: Band 1 H 19
OTM: Band 3 C 16
OTM: OK 63-4873
OTM: O 62-2068
OTM: OF 63-479/80/81
Sales and catalogues Band 1 F 11
Bibliophile Kostbarkeiten aus der Bibliothek des Augsburger Patriziers Marcus Fugger (II.Teil) und Beiträge aus anderen Bibliotheken. Karl & Faber Antiquariaat: München, Auction VIII 6./7. November 1933. No. 327. Sold for DM 85.
The Fine Library of a Well-Known Amsterdam Collector [Ulco Proost]. Book Auction Sale November 7 and 8, 1967. Utrecht: J.L. Beijers, 1967. No. 1609. Est.price Hfl. 450-500. Sold for Hfl. 1700 plus 16% buyer's premium.
Bibliography
OTM: Band 1 F 11 at the University of Amsterdam
Binding description Band 1 F 11 at bandenkast.blogspot.com
Thomas Aquinas on charity. CatholicTheology.info
Frederick A. Bearman, Nati H. Krivatsy and J. Franklin Mowery, Fine and Historic Bookbindings from the Folger Shakespeare Library. Washington D.C.: The Folger Shakespeare Library, 1992. 4:9.
Charitas tarot card image. https://skd-online-collection.skd.museum/Details/Index/925224
Paul Culot (ed.), Quatre siècles de reliure en Belgique 1500-1900. Préface de Michel Wittock. Bruxelles: Eric Speeckaert, 1988. No. 8, 9, 12.
J. Rufus Fears, "The Theology of Victory at Rome: Approaches and Problem," Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt II.17.2 (1981). p. 744.
Staffan Fogelmark, Flemish and Related Panel-Stamped Bindings. Evidence and Principles. New York: Bibliographical Society of America, 1990. p.157-169 and notes.
Marcus Fugger see Band 1 H 18 (3).
E.Ph. Goldschmidt, Gothic and Renaissance Bookbindings. London: Ernest Benn Ltd., 1928. No's 179, 180, 181.
Paul Högberg, 'Reliures de Louvain a Upsal'. In: De Gulden Passer. Jaargang 5. Antwerpen: De Nederlandsche Boekhandel, 1927. p. 3-9. See Fogelmark 1990, p.161 fn 343 on Högberg.
Luc Indesteege, '...en een Spes Band, door Marcus Fugger te Leuven in 1546 besteld, na vier eeuwen terug in de stad waar hij ontstond.' In: De Gulden Passer. 33e Jaargang. Antwerpen: De Nederlandsche Boekhandel, 1955. p. 27-35.
Joseph Theele, 'Die Spes-Platte der Meiser IB und IP. Ein Beitrag zur Beziehung zwischen Graphik un Einbandkunst'. In: Jahrbuch der Einbandkunst. Hrsg. von Hans Loubier und Erhard Klette. Erster Jahrgang. 1927. Leipzig: Verlag für Einbandkunst, 1927. p. 122-128.
P. Verheyden, 'La reliure en Brabant'. In: J. Willems (ed.), Le livre, l'estampe, l'édition en Brabant du XVe au XIXe siècles. (Bruxelles): Gembloux, 1935. Mémorial de l'Exposition d'Art Ancien à Bruxelles. p.176-181.
W.H. James Weale, Bookbindings and Rubbings of Bindings in the National Art Library South Kensington Museum. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1898. No. 434.
[Pam van Holthe]