Artikelen

• De bewaring van cultuur in heden en verleden

  The hereafter following is abstract of a lecture delivered on the occasion of the installation of the Council for the Administration of Culture at the Hague on the 15th of March 1990. Both past and history indicate that which preceded the present. The past is the whole of facts or events and material things known to us from earlier times. Its extent grows continually.

  History however points to the incessant change in our collective and individual existence. We all have a past. That is that which we remember of closed events, thoughts, emotions and concrete affairs. Our own history shows us the continuous changes of our circumstances and reactions to these changes. How often commentators use the word 'historical'! The release of Mandela is historical. Or the union of both Germanies is an historical event.

  Thus an event is 'historical' when she substantially changes the situation. The word dramatizes the described situation. Historical always has a favourable connotation because the historical event is considered beneficial to progress. This Council for the Administration of Culture and his predecessors emphasize the past rather than history.

  Of course archives, museums and protection of monuments primary must preserve the material like a reservoir we and our descendants can draw upon. Their terms of reference as preservation of culture, cultural heritage, protection of culture and administration of culture however have been formulated by the 19th century. There is the remarkable phenomenon that the 19th century used the past to cherish national consciousness but destroyed so much of her cultural heritage at the same time. This dehistorization was borrowed from the thought of progress, which pre-eminently is a historical notion.

  Emphasis on the preservation of the past not of necessity is contrary to the positive quality of progress which does not destroy arbitrarily but wants to promote happiness. For the historical view is being fed by the need of criticism on traditional ideas and situations.

  Nowadays the relation between the past and its guardian has changed. During the 19th century study and expertise could restore and reconstruct events and objects into their original form again. Knowledge of the Zeitgeist of a certain era convinced researchers of their accomplishments. The past was a concrete object. Surely one could speak of the cultural heritage as tangible reality.

  Nowadays we do not possess this trust anymore realizing our knowledge of the past cannot be a reconstruction. She always is intellectually formed, a construction. Of course researchers can determine many historical data but these have to be arranged and ordered. History is a book which is rewritten again and again.

  In consequence of present-day views the task of administration is even more difficult. For the administration of culture not only means preservation. Our cultural heritage has to be chosen and interpreted. Tradition influences. But every community is tree to determine which objects she wants to preserve as her cultural heritage. Because community constantly changes also decisions change in the course of time. Highly qualified institutions and councils decide on what has to be considered 'our cultural heritage' on a certain moment in history. This activity is essential because without a past a community people want to live in looses her coherence.

  The hereafter following is abstract of a lecture delivered on the occasion of the installation of the Council for the Administration of Culture at the Hague on the 15th of March 1990. Both past and history indicate that which preceded the present. The past is the whole of facts or events and material things known to us from earlier times. Its extent grows continually.

  History however points to the incessant change in our collective and individual existence. We all have a past. That is that which we remember of closed events, thoughts, emotions and concrete affairs. Our own history shows us the continuous changes of our circumstances and reactions to these changes. How often commentators use the word 'historical'! The release of Mandela is historical. Or the union of both Germanies is an historical event.

  Thus an event is 'historical' when she substantially changes the situation. The word dramatizes the described situation. Historical always has a favourable...

  The hereafter following is abstract of a lecture delivered on the occasion of the installation of the Council for the Administration of Culture at the Hague on the 15th of March 1990. Both past and history indicate that which preceded the present. The past is the whole of facts or events and...

  E.H. Kossmann

  11-13

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• Waar archeologie en geschiedenis elkaar overlappen; historisch-archeologisch onderzoek van de Hoornse traankokerij Smeerenburg op Spitsbergen

  Striving after l'histoire totale, which describes all expressions of human life historians make use of representations (iconography) and inventories. The object itself however is studied by archaeologists and historians of art most of the social historians mainly considering the object an illustration. Still the historian's method strongly resembles the archaeologist's. The archaeologist studies artefacts to comprehend daily life in the past as well as the social stratification of a certain period. Both sciences could serve one another, history relating material archaeological data to 'historical reality' created by means of written accounts.

  The project in Smeerenburg which has been executed by the Arctic Centre of the State University of Groningen proved that archaeological research can enrich and even correct historical research. No inhabitation took place before and after Smeerenburg. Archaeological and historical data could be confronted because written and iconographical sources on this settlement were available as well.

  Historical facts: To defy the English at the whale-fishery in the waters of Spitsbergen merchants from different Dutch ports founded the North Company (1614-1642) thus forming a chamber-syndicate of enterprises. Try-houses were built to boil the whale's blubber to train-oil. The settlement Smeerenburg on Amsterdam Island consisted of several of these try-houses. After the discovery of Jan Mayen (1614) the centre of gravity of Dutch whale-fishery soon moved to this island.

  After a difficult, less lucrative period from 1625 to 1630 the North Company declined quickly. From 1642 on whale-fishery was taken over by small-scaled shipping companies. Although the Dutch hunted whales in the waters of Spitsbergen till deep into the 18th century the try-houses were left around 1600 because of the increase of ice years, which radically shortened the labour season.

  According to a printed map the try-house of the Chamber of Hoorn (1625) was situated on the western side of Smeerenburg. Written sources suggest decreasing employment after 1642. An iconographical source offers a representation of the try-house with double round brick ovens, wooden chimneys and four simple wooden houses, two of these buildings having a storehouse.

  From 1625 on the Chamber of Hoorn sent one or two ships to the north every year hereby closely cooperating with the Chamber of Enkhuizen. About 40 men worked in the Spitsbergen try-houses. Lists of the cargo during the journey and an inventory of one of the try-houses inform us on the men's properties.

  Archaeological facts: Archaeological research defined the try-houses as a network of islands on the coast of Spitsbergen, which have been colonized by whalers who brought their own socio-historical environment. One could identify two phases of inhabitation at the try-house of the Chamber of Hoorn. Iconography confirms this development to semi-permanent wooden settlement but archaeological findings also indicate intensive usage up to 1650.

  The excavated house has been constructed in the Dutch way although in course of time the building was adapted to Arctic circumstances. Archaeologists could trace the technical development of the Dutch method of working up of the whale at the beginning of the 17th century, which method previously had been influenced by the Basques.

  Remainders of houses point at the presence of about 200 inhabitants on Smeerenburg, which is at variance with the supposed number from written sources. On the other hand written sources allow refined dating of artefacts. Many Dutch objects were found, while findings of iron objects indicate the presence of a blacksmith in the try-house archaeological research thus adding to written sources.

  Apart from data on nourishment a large quantity of shaped whalebone was found for the first time pointing to experiments with this new material in the try-house of the Chamber of Hoorn. Thus archaeological research provided for more insight into the enterprise's development and daily life in an Arctic station of whale-fishery. The confrontation of written and material sources resulted in correction of the 'historical reality' modify both the importance of the North Company to the total economy of the Republic and the Company's activities in the waters of Spitsbergen.

  Striving after l'histoire totale, which describes all expressions of human life historians make use of representations (iconography) and inventories. The object itself however is studied by archaeologists and historians of art most of the social historians mainly considering the object an illustration. Still the historian's method strongly resembles the archaeologist's. The archaeologist studies artefacts to comprehend daily life in the past as well as the social stratification of a certain period. Both sciences could serve one another, history relating material archaeological data to 'historical reality' created by means of written accounts.

  The project in Smeerenburg which has been executed by the Arctic Centre of the State University of Groningen proved that archaeological research can enrich and even correct historical research. No inhabitation took place before and after Smeerenburg. Archaeological and historical data could be confronted because written and...

  Striving after l'histoire totale, which describes all expressions of human life historians make use of representations (iconography) and inventories. The object itself however is studied by archaeologists and historians of art most of the social historians mainly considering the...

  Louwrens Hacquebord

  14-21

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• De bijzetting van Karel van Egmond; wetenswaardigheden over het graf en de stoffelijke resten van hertog Karel van Gelre (1467-1538)

  Very little is known on the cause of death and the funeral of Duke Karel van Gelre or Karel van Egmond according to his family name. The restoration of the Church of Eusebius in 1963 meant preservation and restoration of his tomb and vault. Sources with respect to his interment have been actualized. To prevent difficulties the Duke's death on the 30th of June 1538 had been kept a secret. With the exception of the town of Arnhem Van Egmond was no longer popular to the subjects of the Dutch region Gelderland.

  Already during his life the Duke had been succeeded by Willem van Kleef. His embalmed intestines were carried to the cloister of Monnikenhuizen and the heart to the Church of the Franciscan friars at Arnhem. On the request of the citizens of Arnhem after a solemn funeral the rest of Van Egmond's body was buried in a vault below the main choir of the Church of Eusebius. His Early Renaissance tomb (1540), which had been removed to the southern ambulatory, is one of Holland's finest examples.

  After the demolition of the Church of the Franciscan friars in 1805 the embalmed heart in a leaden box was placed at the mortal remains in the vault of the Church of Eusebius. Opening Karel van Gelre's burial chamber one found two mouldered wooden coffins one of these containing a shock of sandy hair. The skull possessed an almost triangular bone to which at the time superstitious attached the force of curing epilepsy.

  At the restoration of the tomb in 1911 the burial chamber has been opened again. The leaden box in one of the coffins turned out to be stolen by desecrators. Together with the box containing the Duke's embalmed heart the remaining bones stored in a small leaden box were placed into the cellar again. At the 1963 restoration the mortal remains of Karel van Gelre were reburied, provided with a leaden case and charter mentioning all of the tomb's openings. From that moment on the burial chamber could be visited.

  Very little is known on the cause of death and the funeral of Duke Karel van Gelre or Karel van Egmond according to his family name. The restoration of the Church of Eusebius in 1963 meant preservation and restoration of his tomb and vault. Sources with respect to his interment have been actualized. To prevent difficulties the Duke's death on the 30th of June 1538 had been kept a secret. With the exception of the town of Arnhem Van Egmond was no longer popular to the subjects of the Dutch region Gelderland.

  Already during his life the Duke had been succeeded by Willem van Kleef. His embalmed intestines were carried to the cloister of Monnikenhuizen and the heart to the Church of the Franciscan friars at Arnhem. On the request of the citizens of Arnhem after a solemn funeral the rest of Van Egmond's body was buried in a vault below the main choir of the Church of Eusebius. His Early Renaissance tomb (1540), which had been removed to the southern ambulatory, is one of...

  Very little is known on the cause of death and the funeral of Duke Karel van Gelre or Karel van Egmond according to his family name. The restoration of the Church of Eusebius in 1963 meant preservation and restoration of his tomb and vault. Sources with respect to his interment have been...

  H.J.F. Franssen

  22-25

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• 'The Authentic Garden', verslag van het symposium gehouden naar aanleiding van het 400-jarig bestaan van de Leidse Hortus Botanicus

  Centuries old gardens, witnesses of sometimes millennia old cultures threaten to vanish all over the world. Since the still remaining gardens gradually meet with appreciation, further research has to be executed to preserve and restore them in a responsible way. Recognition of the garden's authentic parts hereby is essential. Mixing of cultures, decay and injudicious restoration changed many of these gardens into a distorted shadow of the past.

  Approaching the art of gardens from different scientific angles the symposium had to reveal artistic and botanical exchanges by different cultures. One of the central themes was the restoration of the Hortus of Clusius at Leiden which has been created in 1593 by the cosmopolite Carolus Clusius, a typical representative of late Renaissance humanistic Europe. Through Clusius scientific contacts many new species like the tulip, the hyacinth and the narcissus were imported from Turkey by way of complex trade routes.

  A definitive botanical nomenclature only was laid down in 1753 in Linnaeus' Systema Natura. Clusius' descriptions of the structure of plants however are almost poetic, considering the plant a reflection of God's creation and universal harmony. Many of his discoveries were beautifully rendered by the painter Jacques de Gheyn ll, which water-colours formed a wonderful source at the Hortus' restoration. Only one third of the plants present at that time was of medical nature so Clusius' garden probably was Europe's first Hortus Botanicus. Species from distant countries unfit to resist the northern climate were sheltered in the Ambulacrum on the southern side of the Hortus, which harboured a varied collection of naturalia, ethnographica and historical objects as well. This ‘Theatrum Sapientiae' served both science and education showing riches from a continually extending world.

  During the symposium also the reconstruction of other Renaissance garden complexes was treated like the terraced gardens to the north and south of the Viennese Neugebaüde by Maximiliaan II (ca. 1568). Unlike Western gardens the Islamic gardens are turned inwards and rich in refreshing water thus forming an oasis in the midst of the noisy outside world. Walled in by an arcade they consist of a square court with a tile-floor and a basin or pavilion in the centre.

  Originally these gardens were meant to reflect paradise, which the Koran describes as a garden. Thorough bio-historical research to trace the origins of the plantation of Spanish-Arabic gardens is very urgent. During the Middle Ages many Arabic and classic writings on botany and medico-pharmacology were spread all over the world by way of Christian Spain. Arabic literature on botany went to Andalusian libraries and was taken to the north by migrating Jewish scientists.

  The immense spreading of the Islamic art of gardens was connected with centuries old cultures, which partly assimilated the culture of their predecessors such as the Abbasidian dynasty (7th till 12th century). Persian influences turned the famous monastic gardens of the Abbasidian empire into extensive palace gardens with several inner courts, ingenious irrigation systems and a harbour on the bank of most of these gardens.

  The third day of the symposium was dedicated to the memory of the German physician and botanist Philipp von Siebold (1796-1866), who entered the service of the Dutch East-lndian army. After his settlement at Leiden (1829) his collection of Japanese plants, animals and ethnographica was sheltered in the State Herbarium. All his life Von Siebold endeavoured to improve Japanese-Dutch contact.

  The Japanese garden partly forms an assimilation of Chinese ideas on the art of gardens, which tradition is grounded on a tradition of 4000 years. Most important characteristic of the Chinese art is the consciousness of the human unity with nature, borrowed from the principle of ‘Tao', the unity of all things. Water and rocks being the most important ingredients man added bridges and pavilions to these gardens, which present themselves to the walker like organic structures.

  Most gardens of the late Ming-dynasty (1368-1644) belonged to the aristocracy and to imperial circles. Apart from being a medium to show richness and status these Ming gardens were mainly social spaces where the honoured literati held elegant assembles. At the end of the Ming period a new social class of merchants arose which needed manuals on social and cultural education. Ji Cheng's Yuan Ye (1630) is the first manual on the art of gardens.

  Assimilating many Chinese influences the Japanese art of gardens especially developed in the Heian period (9th till 12th century). One of these elements is the 'winding water-path' just as the island in the traditional Japanese garden, the 'Shima' symbolically housing lost unspoiled nature. Although derived from the Chinese tradition the 2000 years old Korean art of gardens differs from the Chinese leaving the extant order of nature as untouched as possible.

  The asymmetrical design of these gardens is open and directed towards the surrounding landscape. Characteristic is the partition into a front-, inner- and back-garden with terrace cultivation against a mountain slope thus forming a background to the rest while rocks are used for colourful pavilions and the connection of the different elements.

  Thus the symposium on the world's gardens before 1600 pointed out that the collections of Horti Botanici urgently need to be studied at the reconstruction and restoration of historical gardens. For real comprehension one has to examine all of the cultural and scientific as well as economical and social circumstances always considering these gardens came into being in the track of very old cultures which continually affected one another. To recognize authenticity one has to travel far back in history.

  Centuries old gardens, witnesses of sometimes millennia old cultures threaten to vanish all over the world. Since the still remaining gardens gradually meet with appreciation, further research has to be executed to preserve and restore them in a responsible way. Recognition of the garden's authentic parts hereby is essential. Mixing of cultures, decay and injudicious restoration changed many of these gardens into a distorted shadow of the past.

  Approaching the art of gardens from different scientific angles the symposium had to reveal artistic and botanical exchanges by different cultures. One of the central themes was the restoration of the Hortus of Clusius at Leiden which has been created in 1593 by the cosmopolite Carolus Clusius, a typical representative of late Renaissance humanistic Europe. Through Clusius scientific contacts many new species like the tulip, the hyacinth and the narcissus were imported from Turkey by way of complex trade routes.

  A...

  Centuries old gardens, witnesses of sometimes millennia old cultures threaten to vanish all over the world. Since the still remaining gardens gradually meet with appreciation, further research has to be executed to preserve and restore them in a responsible way. Recognition of the garden's...

  Corinne J. Sieger

  2-10

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