Friday, May 16, 2014

THE  STORMING  OF  BUDA(PEST) 1686
 by  Charles  Léopold Nicolas Sixte - Duke  of  Lorraine, 
one of the most successful military commanders in European history.

Original research and photography © George W. Randall.
“A  CAVALRY  BATTLE  SCENE” 
BY 17th  CENTURY  FLEMISH  ARTIST,  PAUWELS  CASTEELS

“… the 1686 battle at Buda provided 26 year-old British adventurer Captain Robert Byerley 
with a fine stallion which became known as the Byerley Turk
one of the three foundation stallions of all thoroughbreds in the world to the present day.
Through his great, great grandson Herod, the Byerley Turk produced Diomed,
first winner of the Epsom Derby on 4 May 1780.

Diomed was later exported and became one of the foundation sires of the American turf.”

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BACKGROUND INTRODUCTION -

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Please read notes at end of this post.

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THE STORMING OF BUDA(PEST) 2nd SEPTEMBER 1686 

Until removed the painting was originally displayed half-way up the principal staircase off the Great Hall at Kinloch Castle.


 “A CAVALRY BATTLE SCENE”  
THE  STORMING  OF  BUDA(PEST)  1686 
   by the 17th century Flemish artist, Pauwels  Casteels.

 The “Your Paintings  -  Kinloch Castle” is a website depicting thirty-two oil paintings within Sir George and Lady Bullough’s former Highland home, 
Kinloch Castle on the island of Rum off the west coast of Scotland. 
The site shows all but one of the works of art, the missing image - shown here f
rom photographs in the George W. Randall Archive, is titled,
“A Cavalry Battle Scene” by the 17th century Flemish artist, Pauwels 
(sometimes Pauwel) Casteels (sometimes Casteel or Castelle).


  Born in the late 1600’s Pauwels was the son of Pieter Casteels 
and Elizabeth Bosschaert. Little appears to be known of his life, 
but we do know he initially trained under his father and is recorded 
as being a member of the Belgian Guild of St. Luke, Antwerp, Europe’s 
foremost school for painters and artists at the time and most likely where he developed his great skill in depicting panoramic battle scenes, the chaos of 
which he captures in great detail, particularly his foreground figures 
astride their magnificent steads amidst the frenzy of battle.

The open weave canvas is severely exposed along the lower edge.




The Kinloch Castle painting is a fine example of Casteels’ work as forces 
of the Holy League storm the hilltop town and castle of Buda, (Budapest), 
led by Charles Léopold Nicolas Sixte - Duke of Lorraine, 
one of the most successful military commanders in modern European history.
Lorraine’s attempt in the spring of 1684 with a force of 38,000 to free Buda 
from Turkish rule failed, but on 21 June 1686 he led a second siege,
a ferocious assault “so that nothing could be heard but the roar of bombs and
 cannon (and) nothing seen but fire and smoke.”



The foreground of Casteels’ painting is full of action as cavalry, artillery 
and infantry of the Holy League, a 74,000 strong alliance comprising forces 
of the Holy Roman Empire, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, 
the Venetian Republic, the Tsardom of Russia and mercenaries and adventurers 
from numerous countries including Britain, storm Buda and its hilltop castle. 
Despite having to cross the river Danube the city walls were breached and
 “all means were extended” to make the city surrender without further bloodshed.  This being “ineffectual” at 6 a.m. on  2 September 1686, by sheer force of numbers after a 74 day siege, Lorraine’s forces stormed the fortified city and sacked it. “Enraged against the Turks for their obstinate resistance” 
a merciless slaughter of all Mahometans ensued until the Duke of Lorraine 
put an end to the killing.          
Thus ended Buda’s 143 years under Turkish domination.



 It was customary for the victors to seize “prizes” and the 1686 battle at Buda provided 26 year-old British adventurer, Captain Robert Byerley, 
with a fine stallion which became known as the Byerley Turk, 
one of the three foundation stallions of all thoroughbreds in the world to the present day, the others being the Darley Arabian and the Godolphin Arabian.

Through his great, great grandson Herod, the Byerley Turk produced Diomed, 
first winner of the Epsom Derby on 4 May 1780. 
Diomed was later exported and became one of the foundation sires 
of the American turf.


                          ART CONSERVATOR’S APPRAISAL OF THE PAINTING IN 1996:

The oil on canvas measures 50 x 98 inches (125 x 247 cms.) and is signed
thirty inches in along the bottom edge. As one of twenty-five easel paintings 
its condition was professionally appraised in March 1996 and described as 
“poor, with the paint layer being unstable over a wide area.” 
Severe woodworm infestation was found along the lower edge
and into the canvas frame, the glue lining was weak and brittle 
and the open weave canvas exposed along the lower edge, 
cockling had developed most noticeably at the lower left
and right corners.” The back of the painting was examined and found to be
“extremely dirty with large piles of woodworm dust.”
            

A suggestion by the author to fund restoration was rejected ... 





After being professionally wrapped why was it unwrapped
and placed against the north wall of the high humidity ballroom in 2012?

The exterior of the wall against which it was placed  can be seen right ?


WHY? WHY? WHY?  Where is it now ?







References:  

Field of Mars – London 1801  
Kinloch Castle Library   
The Saturday Review – Vol. LXII – 1886
George W. Randall Archive
              
WHERE IS THIS ₤20,000* + PAINTING NOW?
* Official valuation in 1996.


Images: © George W. Randall Archive  

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SUMO WRESTLERS
Original research and photography © George W. Randall.



























During his world travels Sir George Bullough collected numerous items from the countries he visited many of which remain displayed in his Highland home.
This well modelled late 19th century study of two Sumo wrestlers,
(somewhat “lean” by today’s standards), is one of many pieces from Japan.

 The figures, with real hair, stand 23 inches high and comprise painted plaster over
a very light body shell. Displayed in the Library it is regrettably badly damaged
and held together with string. The model is realistic in every detail,
the facial expressions capturing the very moment of victory and defeat.

























followed by 

MODEL OF SUMO WRESTLERS
JAPANESE IVORY EAGLE

Original research and photography © George W. Randall.


     


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       **   *                    *   **       
       
LIFE-SIZE IVORY EAGLE
Original research and photography © George W. Randall.


In 1957, shortly after acquisition, Nature Conservancy requested a
 staff member from the National Museum of Scotland to come across to 
Kinloch Castle to evaluate the contents. 
Their conclusion recommended the removal of a number 
of the more valuable / vulnerable pieces, amongst which the 
Ivory Eagle is one of only two subsequently ever put on public display, 
the other being a 56 inch high Japanese crafted bronze of a jungle cock 
standing on a tree stump covered with prunus blossoms and buds.

   The body, plumage and beak of the eagle are executed entirely in ivory, 
the head and a large part of the neck carved from a solid piece. 
Outstretched the neck is thrust forward and gazes to the left. 
The plumage is carved with each feather clearly defined, 
some of the smaller feathers 
being in groups of two or three, but the larger feathers are worked individually each being fixed to the hollow body. The left wing is stretched wide, 
the right being partially folded and raised; the fourteen tail feathers are spread open. The claws comprise dark wood and the black eyes glass.

   Two toes of each foot, the right being longer than the left, are made rom a 
single piece of ivory with the two lateral toes jointed on.
The eight talons are detachable each fitting into a numbered socket. 
In the base of each foot projecting 
metal rods secured the eagle to its three foot high hardwood tree trunk 
base giving an eye ball to eye ball experience. 
    Originally the eagle stood in the Great Hall at Kinloch Castle.

   The bird, possibly a representation of Steller's Sea Eagle 
(Haliaeetus pelagicusthat lives in coastal areas of Korea, Japan, 
and Russia’s Far East, is life size being, 52 inches from tip of beak to tip of tail, height 30 inches, and width of its partially outstretched wings 53 inches.

   Regrettably when the eagle was removed from the castle to the museum 
in 1958 the base was left behind. 
I was informed by a long time Rum resident and former 
employee of the Bulloughs' that the base was carved from the trunk of 
bog oak unearthed during construction of the castle.

The eagle's head is carved from solid ivory.

 In 2011 I questioned the leaving of the base at the Castle with the National Museum’s Senior Curator (Japan), thereby dividing an historically valuable artifact, her reply stated:

“The Museum decided not to acquire the base in 1958
 as it was not original to the piece. 
In such a case I would not consider it to be “dividing an artifact” … 
as the base could not be considered an integral part of the work, … 
also (there was) a very significant problem of woodworm.”

This reply begs the question why did Sir George not buy the dedicated base at the time?

Prior to the National Museum's refurbishment, the eagle was displayed 
on a six foot  high plinth in the Ivy Wu Gallery for Chinese, Japanese and Korean Art.
Correctly displayed on its base it would be eye ball to eye ball with the viewer. 

The attached description read:

“Eagle of carved ivory, originally one of a pair, rumoured to have been given to the Japanese Emperor by an Indian Prince. It was, however, made in Japan and given to the Museum in 1958 from the collections at Kinloch Castle on the island of Rum.  19th century.”

Photographed in 2012.  Woodworm infestation is now rampant. It was never treated.
The artist responsible for this outstanding work remains unknown and the Eagle is no longer on display in the Edinburgh Museum.

The story behind the eagle and its acquisition by 
George Bullough, like so much connected with the Castle, 
is shrouded in conjecture and myth.

One story says the eagle was a gift to Sir George Bullough from a grateful 
Emperor Meiji of Japan for brokering the peace agreement between his 
country and the Czar of Russia to end the Russo-Japanese War, 
8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905, and signed on Sir George’s yacht, Rhouma. 
In reality the Japanese were undisputed victors, the Czar being the 
belligerent forced to negotiate peace terms. 
U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt mediated the agreement, known as the 
Treaty of Portsmouth, signed on 5 September 1905 at the 
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine, U.S.A.

The Ivory Eagle was in fact exhibited at the Fourth National Industrial Exhibition 
held at Okazaki Park, Kyoto, Japan, from the 1st April to 31st July, 1895, 
at the end of which items were sold by auction. George Bullough was in Kyoto 
at the time as part of his three-year long world tour; 
he later recalled in a published interview how he outbid the Emperor’s representative and obtained “the gem of the exhibition.”


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SOME BACKGROUND TO THE ACQUISITION OF THE ISLAND OF RUM 
ON 28 FEBRUARY 1957
(what would have been Sir George Bullough’s 87th birthday.)

The purchase of the 26,400 acre Isle of Rum by the
Conservative Government in 1957 for £23,000 included Kinloch Castle.
The Minute of Sale Agreement states:

“The Nature Conservancy agreed that it would unless prevented 
from doing so by circumstances over which it had no control use
 the said Island for the purpose of a nature reserve in perpetuity 
                and maintain Kinloch Castle ... so far as may be practical                              
 to do so in the circumstances and that ... 
Dame Monica Lilly Bullough made a gift ... to the said
 Nature Conservancy as a Memorial to her late husband 
the said Sir George Bullough, Baronet, 
of the whole furniture, carpets, curtains and pictures ...   …”

The signed Minute continued: “The said Nature Conservancy 
confirm their acceptance of the said Gift to them which shall 
be known as “The Sir George Bullough Memorial.” 

Lack of timely maintenance has resulted in much
internal damage as in this bedroom in the Manager's Quarters.

The castle is built of red sandstone from the island of Arran,
a strata layer technically described as having 
“limited resistance to salt damage” and consequently unsuitable 
for structures close by the sea. But it is by the sea, on a raised beach 
only yards above and from the island’s only sea loch, Loch Scresort. 
Take into account  the natural porosity of sandstone, the deteriorating 
exterior pointing of the building, aged roof slates, gutters lined with 
degrading lead, a very high rainfall, the proximity of trees, 
(their leaves blocking rhones and fall pipes due to inadequate maintenance),
 poor roof design including a deep valley gutter dividing the south wing, 
it was inevitable water would ingress the structure and eventually the very building.  In recent years major funding has been obtained and many 
hundreds of thousands of pounds spent on making the roof watertight 
for which S.N.H. are to be commended.
  However there remains much still to do!


Courtyard wall of Ballroom and Butler's Pantry (left) exhibit degree of damp exacerbated
by blocked and overflowing gutters and down pipes.
It was against this wall in the ballroom the Cavalry Battle Scene 
was photographed in 2012. 

Today the island is under the care of Scottish Natural Heritage, (S.N.H.), successors to Nature conservancy, an agency funded by the Scottish Government in Edinburgh through its Grant-in-Aid (GiA), 
with a 2014/15 budget of £53 million.
Regrettably S.N.H. and its predecessor have never been specifically funded
for the care / maintenance of Kinloch Castle built 1897-1900 as a late Victorian
hunting lodge for twenty-seven year old George Bullough, later Sir George, Bt.,
 and included in the purchase of the island for the Nation
fully furnished in all its pre-1914 elegance.

However, it must be borne in mind, despite all these apparent shortcomings and failures, had circumstances been different the castle’s contents could well have been removed and dispersed years ago, the building demolished and the unique Edwardian treasure house we see today lost forever.

But Kinloch Castle complete with contents is still there, all is not lost … yet!

It requires the iron will of public awareness 
and the inevitable funds
to save this priceless resource for future generations!

The view from the Tower highlights the poor roof design.
Although visitors can no longer stay in the Castle, 
the forty bed hostel closed and the kitchen facilities removed 
by Scottish Natural Heritage in 2012 no doubt to make re-starting catering 
much more expensive ... ... ...

The Rum Community Trust, (made-up of resident islanders),
have  built new visitor accommodation.
 Bed and breakfast is available in some homes.

A campsite by the foreshore offers not only a magnificent view but essential amenities;
the island also has a well provisioned licensed store with post office.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Isle of Rum Community Trust

Farmhouse Bothy, Isle of Rum, Inverness-shire PH43 4RR, United Kingdom
Telephone outside U.K. +44 1687 462 404
in U.K. 01687 462 404
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DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN


REVIEWED BY THE AUTHOR 7 MAY 2024.

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1 comment:

  1. Chapeau. Thanks for the wonderful description. Regards, Thijs

    ReplyDelete