Monday, April 29, 2013

In the next scene on the cup

In the next scene on the cup, Agnes stands outside the sentry box-like brothel, looking down at the Prefect's son who has been strangled to death by the devil crouched over him; a banderole reads Quo modo cecidisti qui mane oriebaris ("How has thou fallen that risest in the morning", Isaiah 14:12), and the Prefect looks on sadly.[73] SONY VGP-BPS9A/S battery In the following scene Agnes has been moved by the Prefect's grief, and prayed for the son to be restored to life, which an angel has done. The repentant Procopius kneels before her, while she leans down to tell him Vade amplius noli peccare ("Go forth and sin no more"; from John 8:11). However the result of the miracle was that (in William Caxton's translation) "SONY VGP-BPL9 battery the bishops of the idols made a great discord among the people, so that all they cried: Take away this sorceress and witch that turned men's minds and alieneth their wits". The Prefect is now sympathetic to Agnes but fears he will lose his position if he does nothing, so leaves the matter in the hands of another official; the two are seen talking together, SONY VGP-BPS10 battery with words from Luke 23:4 Nihil invenio cause in eam ("I find no cause against her") above. The last scene shows her martyrdom; she was sentenced to be burned but the flames part away from her so that finally the magistrate orders her killed by a spear.[74]Her last words, from Luke 23:46, are In manus tuas domine commendo animam meam ("Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit").SONY VGP-BPL10 battery The scenes continue on the underside of the bowl, starting with Agnes' burial. A pall is being laid over her sarcophagus, whose red enamel has significant losses, which reveal clearly the engraved lines beneath. A tonsured priest with an aspergil for sprinkling holy water and an acolyte with a cross attend, with Emerentiana with halo to the left, and Agnes' mother to the right. SONY VGP-BPS11 battery The banderole above says Ecce quod concupivi iam teneo ("Behold what I have desired I now possess"). In the next scene pagans have arrived to disrupt the burial, and only Emerentiana has stayed, kneeling in prayer as she is pelted with rocks. The inscription reads Veni soror mea mecum in gloria ("Come with me my sister into glory"). SONY VGP-BPL11 battery She dies, and the following scene shows the two martyrs, accompanied by two other unnamed female martyrs (in the source "a great multitude of virgins clad in vestments of gold and silver"),[75] as they appear in a vision to Agnes' friends eight days after her death, as they gather round her sarcophagus, into which Emerentiana's body has also been placed. SONY VGP-BPL12 battery The next scene shows the sarcophagus with Constantina, the daughter of the Emperor Constantine, asleep on top of it, wearing a crown.[76] She has been afflicted with leprosy, and heard of the vision at Agnes' tomb, and come to pray there. The presence at left of a young man on crutches, not in the source, suggests that others are doing the same. SONY VGP-BPS12 battery The sleeping woman beside the tomb is either another such, or an attendant on the princess. As Constantina sleeps, Agnes, holding her lamb, appears to her, saying Si in xpm (Christum) credideris sanaberis ("If you believe in Christ you will be healed", an adaptation of the text in the source).[77] In the final scene, the cured, and baptized, SONY VGP-BPS13 battery Constantina tells her crowned father the story, with the inscription Hec est virgo sapiens una de numero prudencium ("This is a wise virgin, one of the number of the prudent").[73] The inside of the cover has a circular enamel medallion with worked gold borders, showing a half-length Christ making a blessing gesture and holding a chalicewith a host inside. SONY VGP-BPS13Q battery Around him is a sun-like aureole in red. Below the two added cylinders on the stem, the four traditional symbols of the Evangelists run round the sloping foot of the cup, in pairs facing each other, above a green ground area. Lightbown notes this as "another sign of care for naturalistic effect". Each of the cover, main body, and foot of the cup is made of an inner and outer plate, and the enamelled medallions inside the cover and bowl were made separately before attachment. SONY VGP-BPS13/Q battery The enamel areas may have been designed by the goldsmith, or an artist more used to painting on panels or in manuscripts may have produced drawings. A number of names of goldsmiths appear in records of the period, but in contrast to many contemporary manuscripts, the few surviving goldsmith's pieces are not signed or marked and cannot be matched to any names. SONY VGP-BPS13A/Q battery Not a single maker's name is recorded for the more than 3,000 items in precious metal in the inventory mentioned above of the possessions of Berry's brother Anjou.[78] High quality courtly work like the cup is conventionally assigned to Paris in the absence of other stylistic evidence; this is where other documentary sources locate the main concentration of goldsmiths.[79] SONY VGP-BPS13B/Q battery The process for creating the basse-taille enamel areas began by marking the outline of the design and the main internal outlines on the gold with a tool called a "tracer". Then the interior area was worked with chasing tools, hammering and punching rather than cutting, to form a shallow recess to hold the enamel. SONY VGP-BPS13/B battery The more important parts of the design were modelled by varying the depth of the surface to produce different intensities of colour when the translucent enamel was added; the gold under folds of drapery often rises near the surface to create a paler highlight. In many of the recessed areas decoration was added by either engraving or punching which would show through the translucent enamel, SONY VGP-BPS13A/B battery or to facet the background so the reflections change as the viewing angle changes slightly. In these last-mentioned areas cutting tools were used. Most of the background outside the enamelled areas was decorated in the same way. After the enamel was added and fired the surfaces were cleaned up, made good and polished, including removing by scraping any bumps showing through on the reverse of the metal.[80] SONY VGP-BPS13B/B battery The enamel lies flush with the gold surfaces; it was a preparation of finely ground glass paste applied with great care to the prepared recessed areas, and then fired. Different colours of enamel meet each other with a neat boundary, which was achieved by firing one colour with a retaining border of gum tragacanth before adding the next. SONY VGP-BPS13A/S battery The difficulty was increased by the application of tints of a different colour to a base shade of enamel before firing, so that the added colour blends gradually into the background colour around the edges of the tinted area. This is especially used on "flux", or colourless enamel, as in the ground areas, rocks and trees. SONY VGP-BPS13/S battery Flux was also used for flesh areas as on a gold background it darkens slightly when fired to a suitable colour for skin. The rouge clair or "ruby glass" red, used so effectively here, was made by adding tiny particles of copper, silver and gold to the glass; here scientific tests have shown that copper was used. After firing the enamel was polished flush with the surrounding metal. SONY VGP-BPS21A/B battery The technique had been known to the Ancient Romans (see the Lycurgus Cup, also in the British Museum), but was lost at the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century. The added cylinders use opaque enamel,[81] except for the red on the Tudor roses, which is translucent rouge clair, of a similar composition to the original reds.[82] SONY VGP-BPS21B battery Translucent enamel is more fragile than opaque, and medieval survivals in good condition are very rare. Charles VI (3 December 1368 – 21 October 1422), called the Beloved (French: le Bien-Aimé) and the Mad (French: le Fol or le Fou), was a monarch of the House of Valois who ruled as King of France from 1380 to his death. SONY VGP-BPS21 battery Charles VI was only 11 when he inherited the throne in the midst of the Hundred Years' War. The government was entrusted to his four uncles: Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy; John, Duke of Berry; Louis I, Duke of Anjou; and Louis II, Duke of Bourbon. Although the royal age of majority was fixed at 14 (the "age of accountability" under Roman Catholic canon law), the dukes maintained their grip on Charles until he took power at the age of 21. SONY VGP-BPS21/S battery During the rule of his uncles, the financial resources of the kingdom, painstakingly built up by his father Charles V, were squandered for the personal profit of the dukes, whose interests were frequently divergent or even opposing. As royal funds drained, new taxes had to be raised, which caused several revolts. SONY VGP-BPS13AS battery In 1388 Charles VI dismissed his uncles and brought back to power his father's former advisers, who were known as theMarmousets. Political and economic conditions in the kingdom improved significantly as a result, and Charles earned the epithet "the Beloved". But in August 1392 en route to Brittany with his army in the forest of Le Mans, Charles suddenly went mad and slew four knights and almost killed his brother, Louis of Orléans.[1] SONY VGP-BPS13S battery From then on, Charles' bouts of insanity became more frequent and of longer duration. During these attacks, he had delusions, believing he was made of glass or denying he had a wife and children.[1] He could also attack servants or ran until exhaustion, wailing that he was threatened by his enemies. Between crises, there were intervals of months during which Charles was relatively sane.[1] SONY VGP-BPS13B/S battery However, unable to concentrate or make decisions, political power was taken away from him by the princes of the blood, which would cause much chaos and conflict in France. A fierce struggle for power developed between Louis of Orléans, the king's brother, and John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, the son of Philip the Bold. SONY VGP-BPS13B/G battery When John instigated the murder of Louis in November 1407, the conflict degenerated into a civil war between the Armagnacs (supporters of the House of Valois) and the Burgundians. John offered large parts of France to king Henry V of England, who was still at war with the Valois monarchy, in exchange for his support. SONY VGP-BPS14 battery After the assassination of John the Fearless, his son Philip the Good led Charles the Mad to sign the infamous Treaty of Troyes(1420), which recognized Henry V as his legitimate successor on the throne of France and disinherited his own offspring. When Charles VI died, he was succeeded by his son Charles VII, who found the Valois cause in a desperate situation. SONY VGP-BPL14 battery He was born in Paris, the son of King Charles V and Joan of Bourbon. In 1380, at the age of eleven, he was crowned King of France at Reims Cathedral. He married Isabeau of Bavaria in 1385. Until he took complete charge as king in 1388, France was ruled primarily by his uncle, Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. SONY VGP-BPS14/B battery During that time, the power of the royal administration was strengthened and the authority to tax was re-established. The latter policy represented a reversal of the deathbed decision of the king's father Charles V to repeal taxes in response to a tax revolt known as theHarelle. Increased tax revenues were needed to support the self-serving policies of the king's uncles, whose interests were frequently in conflict with those of the crown and with each other. SONY VGP-BPS14/S battery The Battle of Roosebeke (1382), for example, brilliantly won by the royal troops, was prosecuted solely for the benefit of Philip of Burgundy. The treasury surplus carefully accumulated by Charles V was quickly squandered. The dismissal of the king's uncles from the royal administration in 1388 and the restoration to power of the highly-competent advisors of Charles V (known as the Marmousets) SONY VGP-BPS14B battery ushered in a new period of high esteem for the crown that resulted in Charles VI being widely referred to as Charles the Belovedby his subjects. The early successes of the sole rule of Charles VI quickly dissipated as a result of the bouts of psychosis he experienced beginning in his mid-twenties. OnceCharles the Beloved, he became known as Charles the Mad in his later reign. SONY VGP-BPS22 battery Charles's first known episode occurred in 1392 when his friend and advisor, Olivier de Clisson, was the victim of an attempted murder. Although Clisson survived, Charles was determined to punish the would-be assassin, Pierre de Craon, who had taken refuge in Brittany. Contemporaries said Charles appeared to be in a "fever" to begin the campaign and appeared disconnected in his speech. Charles set off with an army on 1 July 1392. SONY VGP-BPS22 battery The progress of the army was slow, which nearly drove Charles into a frenzy of impatience. As the king and his escort were travelling through a forest on a hot August morning, a barefoot leper dressed in rags rushed up to the King's horse and grabbed his bridle. "Ride no further, noble King!" he yelled. SONY VGP-BPS18 battery "Turn back! You are betrayed!" The king's escorts beat the man back, but did not arrest him, and he followed the procession for half an hour, repeating his cries. The company emerged from the forest at noon. A page who was drowsy from the sun dropped the king's lance, which clanged loudly against a steel helmet carried by another page. SONY VGP-BPS22/A battery Charles shuddered, drew his sword and yelled "Forward against the traitors! They wish to deliver me to the enemy!" The king spurred his horse and began swinging his sword at his companions, fighting until one of his chamberlains and a group of soldiers were able to grab him from his mount and lay him on the ground. He lay still and did not react, but fell into a coma. SONY VGP-BPS22A battery The king had killed a knight called "The Bastard of Polignac" and several other men, the number of which varies among contemporary chronicles. The king continued to suffer from periods of mental illness throughout his life. During one attack in 1393, Charles could not remember his name and did not know he was king. SONY Vaio VGC-LB15 battery When his wife came to visit, he asked his servants who she was and ordered them to take care of what she required so that she would leave him alone.[2] During an episode in 1395–96 he claimed he was Saint Georgeand that his coat of arms was a lion with a sword thrust through it.[3] At this time, he recognized all the officers of his household, but did not know his wife or children. SONY Vaio VGC-LJ50B/B battery Sometimes he ran wildly through the corridors of his Parisian residence, the Hôtel Saint-Pol, and to keep him inside, the entrances were walled up. In 1405, he refused to bathe or change his clothes for five months.[4] His later psychotic episodes were not described in detail, perhaps because of the similarity of his behavior and delusions. SONY Vaio VGC-LJ50B/P battery Pope Pius II, who was born in the middle of the reign of Charles VI, wrote in his Commentaries that there were times when Charles thought that he was made of glass, and this caused him to protect himself in various ways so that he would not break.[5] This condition has come to be known as glass delusion. SONY Vaio VGC-LJ50B/W battery On 29 January 1393, a party was held to celebrate the wedding of one of the queen's ladies-in-waiting at the Hôtel Saint-Pol known as the Bal des Ardents (the "Ball of the Burning Men"). At the suggestion of Huguet de Guisay, the king and four other lords[6] dressed up as wild men and danced about. SONY Vaio VGC-LJ50DB/W battery They were dressed "in costumes of linen cloth sewn onto their bodies and soaked in resinous wax or pitch to hold a covering of frazzled hemp, so that they appeared shaggy & hairy from head to foot".[7] At the suggestion of one Yvain de Foix, the king commanded that the torch-bearers were to stand at the side of the room. SONY Vaio VGC-LJ51B/P battery Nonetheless, the king's brother Louis of Valois, Duke of Orléans, who had arrived late, approached with a lighted torch in order to discover the identity of the masqueraders, and he set one of them on fire. There was panic as the fire spread. The Duchess of Berry threw the train of her gown over the king.[8] Several knights who tried to put out the flames were severely burned. SONY Vaio VGC-LJ51B/R battery Four of the wild men perished: Charles de Poiters, son of the Count of Valentinois; Huguet de Guisay; Yvain de Foix; and the Count of Joigny. Another - Jean, son of the Lord of Nantouillet - saved himself by jumping into a dishwater tub.[9] With the king mad, his uncles Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, and John, Duke of Berry, took control of the royal government and dismissed the various advisers and officials Charles had appointed. SONY Vaio VGC-BJ51B/W battery Another contender for power was the king's brother Louis, Duke of Orléans. This was to be the start of a series of major feuds among the princes of royal blood that would cause chaos and conflict in France even beyond Charles' reign. The first major feud was between Philip the Bold and the Duke of Orléans, both of whom tried to fill the power vacuum left by the king's condition. SONY Vaio VGC-LJ51DB/B battery Philip's death in April 1404 did not bring an end to Louis' problems. John the Fearless, the new Duke of Burgundy took over the political aims of his father, and the feud escalated. In 1407, the Duke of Orléans was murdered in the streets of Paris. John did not deny responsibility, claiming that Louis was a tyrant who squandered money. SONY Vaio VGC-LJ52B/N battery Louis' son Charles, the new Duke of Orléans, turned to his father-in-law Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac, for support against John the Fearless. This resulted in the Armagnac-Burgundian Civil War. Charles VI's secretary Pierre Salmon spent much time in discussions with the king while he was suffering from his intermittent psychosis. SONY PCG-8Z2M battery In an effort to find a cure for the king's illness, stabilize the turbulent political situation, and secure his own future, Salmon supervised the production of two distinct versions of the beautifully illuminated guidebooks to good kingship known as Pierre Salmon's Dialogues. Charles VI's reign was marked by the continuing conflict with the English known as the Hundred Years' War. SONY PCG-8Z1M battery An early attempt at peace occurred in 1396 when Charles' daughter, the almost seven-year-old Isabella of Valois, married the 29-year-old Richard II of England. By 1415, however, the feud between the French royal family and the house of Burgundy led to chaos and anarchy throughout France thatHenry V of England was eager to take advantage of. SONY PCG-8Y3M battery Henry led an invasion that culminated in the defeat of the French army at theBattle of Agincourt in October. With the English taking over the country, John the Fearless sought to end the feud with the royal family by negotiating with Charles, the Dauphin of France, the king's heir. They met at the bridge at Montereau on 10 September 1419, but during the meeting, SONY Vaio VGC-LJ52B/P battery John was killed by Tanneguy du Châtel, a follower of the Dauphin. John's successor, Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, threw in his lot with the English. In 1420, King Charles signed the Treaty of Troyes, which recognized Henry of England as his successor, disinherited his son, theDauphin Charles, claiming he was illegitimate, and betrothed his daughter Catherine of Valois to Henry (see English Kings of France). SONY Vaio VGC-LJ52B/W battery Many historians have misinterpreted this treaty and the disinheriting of the Dauphin Charles. The Dauphin sealed his fate, in the eyes of the king, by committing treason: he declared himself regent, usurped royal authority, and refused to obey the king's order to return to Paris.[10] SONY Vaio VGC-LJ52DB/B battery It is important to remember that when the Treaty of Troyes was finalized in May 1420, the Dauphin Charles was only 17 years' old. He was then a weak figure who was easily manipulated by his advisors. Charles VI died in 1422 in Paris and is interred with his wife Isabeau of Bavaria in Saint Denis Basilica. Both their grandson, the one-year-old Henry VI of England, and their son, SONY Vaio VGC-LJ53B/W battery Charles VII, were proclaimed King of France, but it was the latter who became the actual ruler with the support of Joan of Arc. Charles VI appears to have passed on his mental illness to his grandson Henry VI of England, whose inability to govern led England to a civil strife of its own known as the Wars of the Roses. SONY Vaio VGC-LJ54B/W battery John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, KG (20 June 1389 – 14 September 1435) was the third surviving son of King Henry IV of England by Mary de Bohun, and acted as regent of France for his nephew, King Henry VI. After his father's accession to the throne of England as Henry IV, John of Lancaster began to accumulate lands and lucrative offices. SONY Vaio VGC-LJ90HS battery He was knighted on 12 October 1399 at his father's coronation and made a Knight of the Garter by 1402. Between 1403 and 1405 grants of the forfeited lands from the House of Percy and of the alien priory of Ogbourne,Wiltshire, considerably increased his income. He was appointed master of the mews and falcons in 1402, SONY Vaio VGC-LJ90S battery Constable of England in 1403 and Warden of the East March from 1403 to 1414. He was created Earl of Kendal, Earl of Richmond and Duke of Bedford in 1414 by his brother, King Henry V. When Henry V died in 1422, Bedford vied with his younger brother, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, for control of the Kingdom. SONY Vaio VGC-LJ91HS battery Bedford was declared Regent but focused on the ongoing war in France, while during his absence, Gloucester acted as Lord Protector of England. Bedford defeated the French several times, most notably at the Battle of Verneuil, until the arrival of Joan of Arc rallied the opposition. In 1431, Bedford had Joan tried and executed at Rouen, then arranged a coronation for the young Henry VI at Paris. SONY Vaio VGC-LJ91S battery Bedford had been Governor in Normandy between 1422–1432[1][2] where the University of Caen was founded under his auspices. He was an extremely important commissioner of illuminated manuscripts, both from Paris (from the Bedford Masterand his workshop) and England. The three most important surviving manuscripts of his are the Bedford Hours (British Library Ms Add 18850) SONY Vaio VGC-LJ92HS battery and the Salisbury Breviary (Paris BnF Ms Lat. 17294), which were both made in Paris, and theBedford Psalter and Hours of about 1420-23, which is English (BL Ms Add 42131). This last is signed in two places byHerman Scheere. All are lavishly decorated and famous examples of the style of the period. SONY Vaio VGC-LJ92S battery John's first marriage was to Anne, daughter of John the Fearless on 14 June 1423, at Troyes. The couple were happily married, despite being childless. Anne died of the plague in Paris in 1432.[3] John's second marriage was to Jacquetta of Luxembourg.[4] In addition, out of wedlock he had a daughter named Mary Plantagenet, SONY Vaio VGC-LJ94HS battery who married Pierre de Montferrand (d. 1454), son of the lord of Langoiran, Soudan de la Trau, and had issue; and a son, Richard. SONY Vaio VGC-LJ94S battery As a son of the sovereign, John bore the arms of the kingdom, differenced by a label of five points per pale ermine and France.[6] In the Bedford Book of Hours [7] these arms are shown supported by an eagle collared with a crown and a sable yale all on a gold field sewn with gold uprooted tree-stumps. SONY Vaio VGN-CR120E/W battery It is possible that the yale was painted in silver which has tarnished black. The shield is surrounded with a pair of banners gules which reverse in argent with the motto repeated four times: A vous entier (To you / yours entire[ly]). This may be a pun on the German Tier, i.e., beast, or on (English) tears —or 'tiers' of meaning, including tierce, SONY Vaio VGN-CR120E/R battery referring to himself as third in line to his father's throne and by now rightful king but for the baby Henry VI. The Hours were supposedly produced as a courtship present from John to his wife, Anne, daughter of John the Fearless of Burgundy. There is a Queen's Arms public house sign from Birmingham [8] which uses these supporters reversed SONY Vaio VGN-CR120E/P battery and with an argent yale uncollared on a shield showing the English royal arms at left and to the right six divisions representing Lorraine. John's second wife, Jacquetta of Luxembourg, cousin to the Emperor (the King of Hungary), was mother to Elizabeth Woodville who may be this queen. Elizabeth Woodville's right to inherit these armorial supporters would seem dubious if they belong to her mother's first husband or to his first wife. SONY Vaio VGN-CR120E/L battery Alternatively, though equally incorrect, the arms may be her mother's used in a flattering conceit. The Treaty of London, signed on 18 August O.S. (28 August N.S.) 1604,[1][2][3] concluded the nineteen-year Anglo-Spanish War. The negotiations took place at Somerset House in London and are sometimes known as the Somerset House Conference. SONY Vaio VGN-CR120E battery After the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603, her successor James I, quickly sought to end the long and draining conflict. James was an idealistic practitioner of Christian peace and unity, and also the son and successor to Mary, Queen of Scots, whose execution had been a proximate cause of the conflict. SONY Vaio VGN-CR120 battery Philip III of Spain, who also had inherited the war from his predecessor, Philip II, and whose treasuries had also been drained, warmly welcomed the offer and ordered the commencement of the difficult negotiations that followed. The Anglo-Spanish War had been a complex and fluctuating conflict which also had connections with the Dutch Revolt, SONY Vaio VGN-CR11H/B battery the French Wars of Religion, and the Nine Years' War in Ireland. The treaty restored the status quo ante bellum.[4][5] This amounted to an acknowledgement by Spain that its hopes of restoring Roman Catholicism in England were at an end. Spain was compelled to recognise the Protestant monarchy in England. SONY Vaio VGN-CR116E battery In return, England ended its financial and military support for the Dutch rebellion, ongoing since the Treaty of Nonsuch (1585).[6] According to historian Kenneth R. Andrews, while the treaty secured the maritime lanes for the Spanish treasure fleet, English privateering had already devastated the Spanish private merchant marine.[4] SONY Vaio VGN-CR116 battery Following the signing of the treaty, England and Spain remained at peace until 1625. The Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, or Très Riches Heures, is possibly the best example of French Gothic manuscript illumination surviving to the present day. The Très Riches Heures is a book of prayers to be said atcanonical hours created for John, Duke of Berry, by the Limbourg brothers between 1412 and 1416. SONY Vaio VGN-CR115E battery Unfinished at the death of the three painters and their sponsor in 1416, the manuscript was further embellished by an anonymous painter in the 1440s, who many art historians believe to be Barthélemy d'Eyck. In 1485-1486, it was completed to its present state by the painter Jean Colombe between 1485 and 1489 on behalf of the Duke of Savoy. SONY Vaio VGN-CR115 battery Acquired by the Duc d'Aumale in 1856, it currently resides in the Musée Condé, Chantilly, France. A total of 206 vellum leaves 30 cm in height by 21.5 cm in width, the manuscript contains 66 large miniatures and 65 small. The design of the book, long and complex has undergone many changes and reversals. SONY Vaio VGN-CR110EW battery For its sets, miniatures, but also calligraphy, initials and decorations margins, it has been the work of many artists, but determining their precise number and identity remains a hypothesis. Performed largely by artists from the Netherlands, using pigments, these rarest paintings are strongly influenced by Italian art and antiquities. SONY Vaio VGN-CR110 battery After three centuries in obscurity, the Très Riches Heures quickly gained a great reputation in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, despite having only rare public exposure. These miniatures helped to shape an ideal image of the Middle Ages in the collective imagination. Sony PCG-71213M battery This is particularly the case of images of the calendar, the most common, representing both rural scenes and aristocratic elements of remarkable medieval architecture. Sony PCG-61211M battery The inventory drawn up after Berry’s death indicated that “Pol” and his brothers had created the Très Riches Heures; many historians agree this must refer toPaul de Limbourg and his two brothers, Jean and Herman. The three artists had originally worked under the supervision of Berry’s brother, Philippe de Hardi, on the Bible Moralisée and had came to Berry after Hardi’s death. Sony PCG-71311M battery As of 1411, the Limbourgs were permanent members of Berry’s household (Cazelles and Rathofer 1988). It is also suspected that another book of hours, the Belle Heures, completed between 1408 and 1409, can also be attributed to the brothers. It is suggested that the Limbourg contribution to the Très Riches Heures was completed between 1412 and 1416. Sony PCG-71212M battery Documentation from 1416 was found indicating that Jean, followed by Paul and Herman, had died. Jean de Berry died later that year (Cazelles and Rathofer 1988). Folio 75 of the Très Riches Heures includes Duke Charles I of Savoy and his wife. The two were married in 1485 and the Duke died in 1489, implying that it was not one of the original folios. Sony PCG-71313M battery The second painter is Jean Colombe, who was paid 25 gold pieces by the Duke to complete certain canonical hours. There are other settle differences between the miniatures created by the Limbourgs and Colombe. Colombe chose to set large miniatures in frames of marble and gold columns. Sony VAIO PCG-31111M battery His faces are less delicate, with more pronounced features. He also used a very intense blue paint that is seen in the landscape of some miniatures. Colombe is noted as working in his own unique style without imitating that of the Limbourgs (Cazelles and Rathofer 1988). The intermediate painter is assumed to have worked on the manuscript sometime between 1416 and 1485. Sony VAIO PCG-31112M battery Evidence in the dress and details of costume suggests that the Limbourgs did not paint some calendar miniatures. Figures in the miniatures for January, April, May, and August are dressed in styles from 1420. The figures strolling in October are dressed in a sober fashion indicative of mid-fifteenth century. Sony VAIO PCG-31113M battery It is known that the gatherings fell into hands of King Charles VII after Limbourg’s death, and it is assumed that the intermediate painter is associated with his court (Cazelles and Rathofer 1988). A Breviary consists of a number of prayers and readings in a short form. The book of hours is a form of breviary where the prayers are intended for recital at the canonical hours of the liturgical day. Sony VAIO PCG-31114M battery Canonical hours refer to the division of day and night for the purpose of prayers. The regular rhythm of reading led to the term “book of hours” (Cazelles and Rathofer 1988). The book of hours consists of prayers and devotional exercises, freely arranged into primary, secondary and supplementary texts. Other than the calendar at the beginning, the order is random and can be customized for the recipient or region. Sony VAIO PCG-31111V battery The hours of the virgin are the most important, and therefore subject to the most lavish illustration. The Très Riches Heures is rare in that it includes several miracles performed before the commencement of the passion (Cazelles and Rathofer 1988). The Très Riches Heures is possibly the best example of French Gothic illumination surviving in present day. Sony VAIO PCG-31112V battery The original folios were created during the “Golden Age” of the book of hours in Europe, which took place from 1350–1480. The Limbourg brothers had artistic freedom but worked within a framework of the religious didactic manuscript. Several artistic innovations by the Limbourg brothers can be noticed in the Très Riches Heures. Sony VAIO PCG-31113V battery In the October miniature, the study of light was momentous for Western painting (Cazelles and Rathofer 1988). People were shown reflected in the water, the earliest representation of this type of reflection known thus far. Miniature scenes had new informality, with no strong framing forms at the edges. This allowed for continuity beyond the frame of view to be vividly defined. Sony VAIO PCG-31114V battery The Limbourgs developed a more naturalistic mode of representation and developed portraiture of people and surroundings. It is interesting to note that religious figures do not inhabit free open space and courtiers are framed by vegetation. This is reminiscent of a more classical representation (Longnon, Cazelles and Meiss 1969). Sony VAIO PCG-GRS100 battery Scholarly text exists by Manion that offers a stylistic analysis of the psalters specifically. The psalters offer a systematic program of illuminations corresponding to the individual psalms. These images are linked together, but are not in the numerical order of the psalter. This emphasizes the idea of the abbreviated psalter, where each psalm is illustrated once (Manion 1995). Sony VAIO PCG-41111M battery The miniatures are not modeled on any specific visual or literary precedence when compared with other fourteenth century psalters. The manuscript offers a literal interpretation of the words and lacks a selection of more personal prayers. This emphasizes the didactic use of the book of hours (Manion 1995). Sony VAIO PCG-41112M battery Silver-gilt or gilded/gilt silver, sometimes known in American English by the French term vermeil, is silver gilded withgold. Most large objects made in goldsmithing that appear to be gold are actually silver-gilt; for example most sporting trophies, medals (such as "gold medals" in all Olympic Games after 1912[1]), and many crown jewels. Sony VAIO PCG-41111V battery Apart from being much cheaper than gold, large silver-gilt objects are also much lighter if required to be lifted, and stronger. Compared to plain silver, for delicate objects like the Nef (illustrated), or those with much intricate detail like monstrances, gilding greatly reduced the need for cleaning and polishing, and so reduced the risk of damage to them. Sony VAIO PCG-NV100 battery The "gold" threads used inembroidered goldwork are normally also silver-gilt. Silver-gilt objects have been made since ancient times across Eurasia, using a variety of gilding techniques, and a distinctive depletion gilding technique was developed by theIncas in Pre-Columbian South America. Sony VAIO PCG-V505 battery "Overlaying" or folding or hammering on gold foil or gold leaf is mentioned in Homer's Odyssey (Bk vi, 232),[2] and fire-gilding withmercury dates to at least the 4th century BC, and was the most common method until theEarly Modern period at least, though dangerous for the workers,[3] as has been known for centuries: Sony VAIO PCG-Z1A battery Hang him; a gilder that hath his brains perished with quicksilver is not more cold in the liver —The White DevilJohn Webster, 1612 Today electroplating is the most commonly used method. Keum-boo is a special Korean technique of silver-gilding, using depletion gilding. In China gilt-bronze, also known as ormolu, was more common. Sony VAIO PCG-3C1M battery In America the French term vermeil was sometimes used from the mid-19th century, but "silver-gilt" remains the usual term in English and is preferred in academic usage, except for describing American modern jewellery ("vermeil" has a legal definition in the USA). Silver objects could be gilded at any point, not just when first made, and items regularly handled, such as sets fordressing-tables or tableware, Sony VAIO PCG-3F1M battery often needed regilding after a few years, as the gold began to wear off. In 18th century London two different silversmiths charged 3 shillings per ounce of silver for an initial gilding, and 1 shilling and 9 pence per ounce for regilding.[6] Often only the interior of cups was gilded, perhaps from concern at the chemical compounds used to clean tarnish from silver. Sony VAIO PCG-3H1M battery Fully silver-gilt items are visually indistinguishable from gold, and were no doubt often thought to be solid gold. When theEnglish Commonwealth sold the Crown Jewels of England after the execution of Charles I they were disappointed in the medieval "Queen Edith's Crowne, formerly thought to be of massy gold, Sony VAIO PCG-3J1M battery but upon trial found to be of silver gilt", which was valued at only £16, compared to £1,110 for the "imperial crowne".[7] The English Gothic Revival architect, Sir George Gilbert Scott was concerned by the morality of this. Gilding of the interior only he accepted, but with all-over gilding "we ... reach the actual boundary of truth and falsehood; Sony VAIO PCG-8141M battery and I am convinced that if we adopt this custom we overstep it.... why make our gift look more costly than it is? We increase its beauty, but it is at the sacrifice of truth."[8] Indeed, some Early Medieval silver-gilt Celtic brooches had compartments, apparently for small lead weights to aid such deception. SONY PCG-7113M battery The Mérode Cup is a medieval silver-gilt cup decorated with finely engraved birds, fruit and vine leaves made in France inBurgundy in about 1400 and named for the ancient Belgian family of Mérode, to whom it once belonged. The cup is made of silver-gilt and is decorated with finely engraved birds, fruit and vine leaves. SONY PCG-7112M battery In the sides, cover and base are panels of the fragile and exquisite translucent enamel known as plique-à-jour, a difficult enamelling technique which involves firing the glass into cells and removing the backing to create an effect like stained glass. When the cup is placed on a shaft of light it appears to be set with miniature stained glass windows. SONY PCG-8Z3M battery Pieces decorated with this sort of enamel are known from inventories of people such as the great fourteenth century patron John, Duke of Berry, brother of kingCharles V of France. This cup, however, is the only one to survive from this period. Sony VAIO PCG-8161M battery, Sony VAIO PCG-3C2M battery, SONY PCG-7122M battery

Royal Gold Cup

http://www.all-keyboard.com/,http://www.keyboards-shop.com/,http://www.laptop-fan-shop.com/,http://www.laptopkeyboard-shop.com/ The Royal Gold Cup or Saint Agnes Cup is a solid gold covered cup lavishly decorated with enamel and pearls. It was made for the French royal family at the end of the 14th century, and later belonged to several English monarchs before spending nearly 300 years in Spain. SONY PCGA-BP1N battery It has been in the British Museum since 1892, where it is normally on display in Room 40, and is generally agreed to be the outstanding surviving example of late medieval French plate. It has been described as "the one surviving royal magnificence of the International Gothic age";[1]and according to Thomas Hoving, former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, SONY PCG-5G2L battery "of all the princely jewels and gold that have come down to us, this is the most spectacular—and that includes the great royal treasures."[2] The cup is made of solid gold, stands 23.6 cm (9.25 inches) high with a diameter of 17.8 cm (6.94 inches) at its widest point,[3] and weighs 1.935 kg (4.26 lb).[4] SONY PCG-5G3L battery It has a cover that lifts off, but the triangular stand on which it once stood is now lost. The stem of the cup has twice been extended by the addition of cylindrical bands, so that it was originally much shorter,[5] giving the overall shape "a typically robust and stocky elegance."[6] The original decorated knop or finial on the cover has been lost, and a moulding decorated with 36 pearls has been removed from the outer edge of the cover; SONY PCG-F305 battery a strip of gold with jagged edges can be seen where it was attached. Presumably it matched the one still in place round the foot of the cup.[7] The gold surfaces are decorated with scenes in basse-taille enamel with translucent colours that reflect light from the gold beneath; many areas of gold both underneath the enamel and in the background have engraved andpointillé decoration worked in the gold. SONY PCG-5J1L battery In particular the decoration features large areas of translucent red, which have survived in excellent condition. This colour, known as rouge clair, was the most difficult to achieve technically, and highly prized for this and the brilliance of the colour when it was done successfully.[8] Scenes from the life of Saint Agnes run round the top of the cover and the sloping underside of the main body. SONY PCG-5J2L battery Thesymbols of the Four Evangelists run round the foot of the cup, and there are enamel medallions at the centre of the inside of both the cup and the cover. The lower of the two added bands contains enamel Tudor roses on adiapered pointillé background; this was apparently added under Henry VIII. SONY PCG-5K2L battery The upper band has an engraved inscription filled in with black enamel, with a barrier of laurel branches in green to mark off the end of the inscription from its beginning.[9] The cup came to the British Museum with a custom-made hexagonal case of leather on a wood frame, with iron lock, handles and mounts. SONY PCG-5G2M battery This was either made at the same time or soon after the cup, and has incised and stamped foliate decoration and a blackletter inscription:YHE.SUS.O.MARYA.O.MARYA YHE SUS. There is no firm evidence as to the date and circumstances of the creation of the cup. It is first clearly documented in an inventory from 1391 of the valuables belonging to Charles VI of France (reigned 1380–1422), surviving in two copies in the Bibliothèque nationale de France.[11] SONY PCG-5L1L battery This lists: A hanap of gold, all its cover well and richly enamelled on the outside with the life of Madame St Agnes; and the cresting of the foot is garnished with 26 pearls, and the crown around the cover with 36 pearls; and the finial of the said cover (is) garnished with four sapphires, three balas rubies and fifteen pearls. SONY PCG-6S2L battery And it weighs 9 marcs 3 ounces of gold. and the said hanap rests on a stand of gold in the form of a tripod, and in the middle of the tripod is represented Our Lady in a sun on a ground of clear red, and the three feet of the tripod are formed by three winged dragons. The said hanap and cover were given to the king by monseigneur the duc de Berry on his journey into Touraine in the year 91. SONY PCG-6S3L battery John, Duke of Berry (1340–1416) was Charles VI's uncle and a powerful figure in the kingdom, as well as the most famous and extravagant collector and commissioner of art of his day. He is still best known for commissioning theTrès Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, the famous International Gothic illuminated manuscript, and also commissioned the Holy Thorn Reliquary, now in the British Museum.[13] SONY PCG-6V1L battery The young king Charles had been forced to remove his uncle from governorships after the latter's rapacious conduct had led to unrest, and the meeting in 1391 marked their reconciliation after a period of bad relations.[14] Lavish gifts among the Valois court circle were routine,[15]and on this occasion Berry had special reason to be generous. SONY PCG-6W1L battery The cup appears in another inventory of Charles V in 1400,[16] and then is not recorded until it appears as the property of another royal uncle, and collector, John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford (1389–1435), son of Henry IV, who was briefly Regent of both France and England for his infant nephew Henry VI. SONY PCG-7111L battery How he acquired the cup is not known, but he would have received many gifts from Charles VI, and had both lent the king money and bought from him things such as the library of thePalais du Louvre,[17] in the uneasy period when Charles had made peace with the English and made Henry V his heir. SONY PCG-71511M battery After the death of his brother Henry V, Bedford struggled to stem the resurgent French resistance, which was energised by Joan of Arc. He died in Normandy in 1435, leaving Henry VI as his heir.[18] The cup is more briefly described as the first item in a list of valuables received from Bedford's estate prepared for Henry VI's minister Cardinal Henry Beaufort, SONY PCG-6W3L battery but the tripod is not mentioned, some of the jewels are missing, and the subject is misidentified as the life of Saint Suzanna not Saint Agnes. For some reason it does not appear in a royal inventory of 1441;[19] Jenny Stratford suggests that this was because Beaufort still had it at this point.[20] Another possibility is that it had been pawned, SONY PCG-7113L battery as it was in 1449 and again in 1451, on both occasions to finance England's increasingly unsuccessful efforts to hold on to French territory;[21] The cup first appears in the records of the new Tudor dynasty under Henry VIII in 1521. By now the cover had lost the finial "garnished with four sapphires, SONY PCG-7133L battery three balas rubies and fifteen pearls" described in Charles VI's inventory and had a new one of gold in the form of a closed, or "imperial" crown. This matches a propaganda drive at this time by Henry to assert England as an "empire", a contemporary sense meaning a state recognising no superior, though the Great Seal of England had already used a closed crown since 1471.[22] SONY PCG-7Z2L battery Other uses had probably been found for the jewels of the old finial; it is assumed that the lower band with the Tudor roses was added in Henry's reign,[23] as part of a programme of adding Tudor badges to possessions inherited from earlier dynasties, which covered tapestries, illuminated manuscripts and buildings such as King's College Chapel inCambridge.[24] SONY PCG-8Y1L battery The cup is described in inventories in 1532 and after Henry's death in 1547, and then under Elizabeth I it was inventoried in 1574 and 1596. When James I succeeded to the English throne in 1603, one of his first priorities was to end the Anglo-Spanish War, which had been dragging on since 1585. A Spanish delegation arrived for the Somerset House Conference, which concluded with a treaty signed in 1604. SONY PCG-8Y2L battery The leader of the Habsburg diplomats was Juan Fernández de Velasco, 5th Duke of Frías and Constable of Castile. The upper extension to the stem of the cup has a Latin inscription that translates as: This cup of solid gold, a relic of the sacred treasure of England and a memorial to the peace made between the kings, the Constable Juan de Velasco, returning thence after successfully accomplishing his mission, presented as an offering to Christ the Peacemaker. SONY PCG-8Z2L battery The gift of "some 70 items of silver and gold plate" by James to the Constable, of which the cup was the most notable item, is documented on both the English and Spanish sides;[27] the Constable wrote an account of his mission on his return, which mentions the gift from James. The Constable had previously presented both James and the queen with elaborate cups, among other valuable gifts.[28] SONY PCG-8Z1L battery According to Pauline Croft, "With his usual over-generosity the king gave the departing envoys around half the large gold vessels from the royal possessions he had inherited from Elizabeth. The Constable himself received a stupendous gift of plate, including possibly the most venerable item in the collection, known as "the Royal Gold Cup of the Kings of France and England."[29] SONY PCG-7112L battery In 1610 the Constable gave the cup to a convent in Medina de Pomar, near Burgos, as the inscription describes.[30]His deed of gift survives, and records that the gift was on condition that the cup was never alienated by the convent. A marginal note on the deed, in the Constable's own handwriting, SONY PCG-6W2L battery records that he had obtained the permission of the Archbishop of Toledo for the cup to be used as a ciborium, or container for consecrated hosts. By this period a rule of the church normally forbade the use of vessels decorated on their inner surface as ciboria. The cup stayed in the convent until 1882 when the nuns were short of funds and wanted to sell it. SONY PCG-5K1L battery It was at some point during this period that the pearl border to the cover and the Tudor finial were removed.[16] The nuns decided they would get a better price in Paris than in Spain, and the cup was entrusted to Simon Campo, a priest, who took it to Paris and approached several leading dealers and collectors. SONY PCG-5J4M battery There had been a spate of forgeries of medieval objects, and the Parisians were suspicious, until one, Baron Jerome Pichon, researched the second added cylinder and was sufficiently convinced that this was the cup documented in 1604 to make a rather low offer, which was accepted. In the course of his researches the baron had contacted the current Duke of Frías, SONY PCG-7181M battery who had supplied useful information, and then initially congratulated the buyer on his purchase. However, on looking further into the matter the duke realized that the sale was contrary to the 1610 deed of gift he had discovered in the family archives, and sued in the French courts to recover the cup.[32] The duke eventually lost his case in 1891,[33] enabling a further sale that had been set up by Baron Pichon to proceed. SONY PCG-5P4L battery This was to the leading firm of Messrs. Wertheimer of Bond Street in London,[31][34] where the cup was seen by Augustus Wollaston Franks, who had been Keeper of British and Mediaeval Antiquities and Ethnography at the British Museum since 1866, and was president of the Society of Antiquaries. Samson Wertheimer agreed "with much public spirit" to sell the cup to the British Museum for the £8,000 (£ 650,000 in 2013) it had cost the firm.[31] SONY PCGA-BP1U battery Franks was worried by the new American collectors such asJ. P. Morgan, and in 1891 wrote to Sir Henry Tate, of Tate Gallery fame: "A very wonderful gold cup has appeared returned to this country after an absence of 287 years, and I am anxious to see it placed in the National Museum and not removed to America."[35] SONY PCGA-BP2E battery He tried to get wealthy individuals to subscribe £500 (£ 40,000 in 2013) each, but even with a grant of £2,000 from HM Treasury could not raise the price. He was forced to put up £5,000 of his own money temporarily while he continued to try to get smaller amounts from others, and succeeded in 1892 when the Treasury agreed to contribute the final £830; SONY PCGA-BP2EA battery "to Franks this was his greatest acquisition, and the one of which he was most proud."[36] Apart from the Treasury, the £500 contributors were Franks and Wertheimer, the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, Charles Drury Edward Fortnum, the Duke of Northumberland, Lord Savile, Lord Iveagh and the Earl of Crawford.[37] In 1901 Morgan succeeded in buying the Lindau Gospels in London, which the museum had also wanted. SONY PCGA-BP2NX battery Much the most prominent decoration on the cup is the cycle of scenes from the life of Saint Agnes, which is rarely depicted in such detail in art. However, there was one outstanding devotee of the saint in the period: King Charles V of France, Berry's older brother and Charles VI's father. Charles V was born in 1338 on Saint Agnes' feast day, SONY PCGA-BP2NY battery January 21, and is recorded as owning at least 13 works of art featuring her, including a different gold cup enamelled with scenes from her life (both are recorded in the 1391 inventory).[39] Until recent decades the generally accepted hypothesis was that Berry ordered the cup as a present for his brother in 1380, to be ready for his birthday in January 1381. SONY PCGA-BP2V battery When the king died in September 1380, Berry had retained it for a decade before presenting it to Charles VI.[40] However in 1978 Ronald Lightbown, Keeper of Metalwork at the V&A Museum, rejected this theory on stylistic grounds, considering that the cup must have been created only shortly before it appeared in Charles VI's inventory in 1391.[41] SONY PCGA-BP3T battery He says that "in 1380 figure-style was a softly undulating, flowing style, with slender elongated figures and much use of serpentine or curving folds in the drapery, and with trailing dresses ending in sinuous Gothic hem-lines"[42] —a style that can be seen in the miniature of the coronation of Charles VI in 1380 illustrated above. SONY PCGA-BP4V battery In contrast, Lightbown says "the figures on the cup are broad, some might even be called stocky, with soft drapery of cylindrical form, or of smooth, tight outlines. The folds are tubular and the hems of the robes are straight with no waving, trailing outlines. The style in fact is the 'Italianate' manner which developed in France as a result of contact with 'trecento' art, and not the purely Northern Gothic International manner."[42] SONY PCGA-BP51 battery This view was rejected in 1981 by Neil Stratford, former Keeper of Medieval and Later Antiquities at the British Museum, who pointed to a number of manuscript illuminations in a similar style that date from earlier than 1390.[43] John Cherry, another former Keeper of the medieval collections at the British Museum, still presents the older dating in a work of 2010,[44] and the British Museum website dates the cup to "about 1370–1380".[45] SONY PCG-6W1M battery Another traditional assumption, based on the language of the inventories and shared by almost all writers, was that the cup was a piece of secular plate, for use at table, or display on a buffet beside it.[46] The buffet of the period was more like a modern Welsh dresser or shop display unit, with receding shelves for displaying on important occasions all the plate of the household that was not in use.[47] SONY PCG-6S4M battery Neil Stratford suggests that the cup was only used to drink from on special occasions, including St Agnes' feast day,[48] while Lightbown remarks that at over four pounds in weight the cup is much too heavy to drink from conveniently.[6] However John Cherry, noting the exclusively religious subjects depicted (including that on the lost tripod stand) considers that the cup may have been intended as a ciborium from the start.[49] SONY PCGA-BP51A battery It might have been used either to accompany in its carrying case the duke on his tours of his many castles and palaces, or perhaps for his foundation of the Saint Chapelleat his capital of Bourges, intended to rival the king's Sainte-Chapelle in Paris and his brother's foundation at Champmol in Dijon.[50] SONY PCG-5J1M battery The four sons of King John II of France—Charles V, Louis I, Duke of Anjou (1339–1384), Berry and Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404)—all spent huge sums on works in gold and silver, as well as on other works of art. Although it is Berry who is especially remembered as a patron, partly because he specialized in illuminated manuscripts which have little value in their materials, SONY PCGA-BP52 battery it was his brother Louis of Anjou who was the "most passionately interested in the goldsmith's art";[51] he had over 3,000 pieces of plate at one point. These included wholly secular pieces with sculptures in enamel that can only be imagined by comparison: in terms of technique to the handful of reliquaries, like the British Museum's Holy Thorn Reliquary, SONY PCG-7Z1L battery that have survived from the period, and in terms of subject matter to tapestries and illuminations.[52] However in 1381 Anjou melted down almost all his plate to finance a war to pursue his claim to theKingdom of Naples. According to the sculptor and goldsmith Lorenzo Ghiberti, writing seventy years later, one of Anjou's goldsmiths, called Gusmin and "a most skillful sculptor, SONY PCGA-BP52A battery of great talent", was so affected by the destruction of his life's work that he joined an eremetic monastic order and lived out his days in silence.[53] The Royal Gold Cup was "probably not exceptional as to size or decoration" in this milieu; once "but one member of a class, it now stands alone". An inventory of Charles V records 25 gold cups weighing between five and fifteen marcs; SONY PCGA-BP71 battery this is slightly over nine without its stand.[54] Smaller gold cups are recorded in sets of a dozen, of which Charles V had three. The largest items were the great table ornaments, in the shape of ships, called nefs, of which Charles V had five, the heaviest weighing over 53 marcs.[55] Berry died in 1416 with no male heir, and deeply in debt. SONY PCGA-BP71A battery Those of his works in precious metal and jewels that had not already gone to his creditors were mostly seized by the English when they took Paris in July 1417.[56] This was the first of a number of periods that saw the large-scale destruction of goldsmiths' work that the cup escaped, but thousands of other pieces did not, a survival that Brigitte Buettner finds "almost miraculous".[57] SONY VGP-BPL1 battery In particular, the move to Spain in 1604 enabled it to avoid the dispersal and destruction of the English Crown Jewels and royal collection of plate under the English Commonwealth. As a secular piece the cup would be an almost unique survival at this level of quality, "the one representative left to us of medieval secular plate in its most sumptuous development".[58] SONY VGP-BPL2 battery Although French plate in silver and gold was made in great quantities, and at a high level of quality, "French silver made prior to the early 19th century is probably scarcer than that of any other European country."[59] The cost of even very skilled labour was low compared to that of the materials, and in the absence of any reliable way of either depositing or investing money, SONY PCG-5K2M battery it was turned into lavish objects, in the knowledge that it might well need to be sold or melted down to finance some future project. If it survived long enough to become old-fashioned it was likely to be melted down and remodelled in a new style.[60] There are only four other known survivals, secular or religious, of basse taille enamel on gold, one the smallSalting Reliquary, also in the British Museum, and none as fine as the cup.[61] SONY PCG-5K1M battery The "King John Cup" in King's Lynn, of ca. 1340, silver-gilt with transparent enamel, is the best example of basse-taille work probably made in England; the metalwork expert Herbert Maryon describes this and the Royal Gold Cup as the "two examples of outstanding merit, unsurpassed in any collection."[62] SONY VGP-BPL4 battery However it is unclear if most of the enamel at King's Lynn is original.[63] The closest comparison to the Royal Gold Cup is perhaps the silver-gilt Mérode Cup of about 1400, which is the only surviving medieval example of plique á jour enamel, a difficult technique which creates a see-through effect like stained glass.[64] SONY VGP-BPL5A battery A silver-gilt cup in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam of before 1376 has no enamels or gems, and a different shape, but offers an interesting comparison as it has a tripod stand with winged grotesques as legs, a short stem, and the cover has both an elaborate finial and a raised decorated strip around the rim, so that all the altered aspects of the Royal Gold Cup are present. SONY VGP-BPS2 battery The cycle of scenes from the life of Saint Agnes, and that of her foster-sister Saint Emerentiana, follows the traditional story of Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine; the most popular compilation of hagiographies of the age, whose wording corresponds to some of the inscriptions in banderoles or scrolls that explain the scenes. SONY VGP-BPS3 battery Other texts are quotations from the Latin Vulgate Bible, mostly derived from the liturgy for St Agnes' feast day,[66] and it has been suggested that the two rings of pearls also reflect the language of the chants for these services.[48] It seems likely that clerical advice was taken, at least over the texts used in the inscriptions.[6] SONY PCG-5L2M battery It is tempting to relate the depiction of the story, with its "distinct and vivid tableaux, well suited to adaptation for performance" to medieval drama, often a source for iconography, but the fragmentary records mention no dramas on the life of St Agnes that are close in time or place to the origin of the cup.[67] SONY PCG-5J5M battery Agnes and her sister were virgins of Rome in the time of the Emperor Constantine, though all figures are shown in contemporary 14th-century dress.[68] The story begins on the inside of the bowl, which has a round medallion showing St Agnes kneeling before a bearded figure, representing her teacher, wearing a chaperon. SONY VGP-BPS4 battery She holds a book inscribed Miserere mei Deus sancte ("Have pity on me, Holy God"), while a banderole says In corde meo abscondi eloquia tua ut non peccem tibi ("Thy words have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee". Psalms 119:11).[69] The top of the cover continues the story up to Agnes' martyrdom in five scenes, SONY VGP-BPS5 battery shown with a continuous groundline from which small rocks rise up to demarcate the scenes; on the base trees perform this function. Sunrays radiate from the centre of the cover above all the scenes; the red enamel which once filled these is nearly all lost. In the first scene the two girls are returning from school, Agnes accompanied by her punning attribute,[70] SONY VGP-BPS5A battery a lambwith a cruciform halo, and carrying a martyr's palm. They are accosted by Procopius, the young son of the Prefect of Rome, who has fallen in love with Agnes and shows her an open casket of jewels to persuade her to marry him. The inside of the casket is white, the only colour of opaque enamel in the original work, SONY VGP-BPS8 battery used only for a few highlights like the tiny area of the host held by Christ on the inside of the cover.[71] Agnes rejects him, with the words Illi sum desponsata cui angeli serviunt ("I am betrothed to him who the angels serve") in a banderole above. In the Caxton her rejection is unequivocal and not polite, and she points out that her heavenly fiancé has promised her much better jewels.[72] SONY PCG-8Y2M battery The Prefect stands behind his son, and in the next scene has sentenced her to serve in a brothel for being a Christian who refuses to sacrifice to the goddess Vesta. Caxton's Legend fills in the intervening action: The scenes continue on the underside of the bowl, starting with Agnes' burial. A pall is being laid over her sarcophagus, whose red enamel has significant losses, SONY PCG-7Z1M battery which reveal clearly the engraved lines beneath. A tonsured priest with an aspergil for sprinkling holy water and an acolyte with a cross attend, with Emerentiana with halo to the left, and Agnes' mother to the right. The banderole above says Ecce quod concupivi iam teneo ("Behold what I have desired I now possess"). SONY PCG-6W2M battery In the next scene pagans have arrived to disrupt the burial, and only Emerentiana has stayed, kneeling in prayer as she is pelted with rocks. The inscription reads Veni soror mea mecum in gloria ("Come with me my sister into glory"). She dies, and the following scene shows the two martyrs, accompanied by two other unnamed female martyrs (in the source "a great multitude of virgins clad in vestments of gold and silver"),[75] SONY VGP-BPS8A battery as they appear in a vision to Agnes' friends eight days after her death, as they gather round her sarcophagus, into which Emerentiana's body has also been placed. The next scene shows the sarcophagus with Constantina, the daughter of the Emperor Constantine, asleep on top of it, wearing a crown.[76] She has been afflicted with leprosy, and heard of the vision at Agnes' tomb, and come to pray there. SONY VGP-BPL8 battery The presence at left of a young man on crutches, not in the source, suggests that others are doing the same. The sleeping woman beside the tomb is either another such, or an attendant on the princess. As Constantina sleeps, Agnes, holding her lamb, appears to her, saying Si in xpm (Christum) credideris sanaberis ("If you believe in Christ you will be healed", an adaptation of the text in the source).[77] SONY VGP-BPS9 battery In the final scene, the cured, and baptized, Constantina tells her crowned father the story, with the inscription Hec est virgo sapiens una de numero prudencium ("This is a wise virgin, one of the number of the prudent").[73] The inside of the cover has a circular enamel medallion with worked gold borders, showing a half-length Christ making a blessing gesture and holding a chalicewith a host inside. SONY VGP-BPS9/S battery Around him is a sun-like aureole in red. Below the two added cylinders on the stem, the four traditional symbols of the Evangelists run round the sloping foot of the cup, in pairs facing each other, above a green ground area. Lightbown notes this as "another sign of care for naturalistic effect".SONY VGP-BPS9A battery Then made she of the bordel her oratory, ... All they that entered made honour and reverence to the great clearness that they saw about St. Agnes, and came out more devout and more clean than they entered. At last came the son of the provost with a great company for to accomplish his foul desires and lusts. SONY VGP-BPS9A/B battery And when he saw his fellows come out and issue all abashed, he mocked them and called them cowards. And then he, all araged, entered for to accomplish his evil will. And when he came to the clearness, he advanced him for to take the virgin, and anon the devil took him by the throat and strangled him that he fell down dead.[72] SONY VGP-BPS9/B battery

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Near New Caledonia, up until the practice was banned

Near New Caledonia, up until the practice was banned, fishermen and commercial vessels used to dredge the sea floor for megalodon teeth. In Oceania and America, shark teeth were commonly used for tools, especially on weapons such as clubs and daggers, but also as blades to carve wood and as tools for food preparation. Sony Vaio VGN-FZ31ZR Battery For example, various weapons edged with shark teeth were used by the Native Hawaiians (see example here[6]), who called them leiomano.[7] Some types were reserved for royalty.[8] TheGuaitaca (Weittaka) of coastal Brazil tipped their arrows with shark teeth.[9] The remains of shark tooth-edged weapons, as well as chert replicas of shark teeth, have been found in the Cahokia mounds of the upper Mississippi River valley, more than 1,000 km (620 mi) from the ocean.[10] Sony Vaio VGN-FZ31SR Battery It is reported that the rongorongo tablets of Easter Island were first shaped and then inscribed using a hafted shark tooth. The lateral line is a system of sense organs found in aquatic vertebrates, chiefly fish, used to detect movement and vibration in the surrounding water. Sony Vaio VGN-FZ31ER Battery The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelial cells, known ashair cells, which respond to displacement caused by motion, movement and transduce these signals into electrical impulses via excitatory synapses. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31E/S Battery Lateral lines serve an important role in schooling behavior, predation, and orientation. For example, fish can use their lateral line system to follow the vortices produced by fleeing prey. They are usually visible as faint lines running lengthwise down each side, from the vicinity of the gill coversto the base of the tail. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31ER/S Battery In some species, the receptive organs of the lateral line have been modified to function as electroreceptors, which are organs used to detect electrical impulses, and as such these systems remain closely linked. Most amphibian larvae and some fully aquatic adult amphibians possess mechanosensitive systems comparable to the lateral line. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31J/S Battery The lateral line system allows the detection of movement and vibrations in the water surrounding an animal, providing spatial awareness and the ability to navigate in space. This plays an essential role in orientation, predatory behavior, and social schooling. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31MR/S Battery In a 2001 study, researchers demonstrated that the lateral line system was necessary to detect vibrations made by prey and to orient towards the source to begin predatory action.[2] Fish were able to detect movement, produced either by prey or a vibrating metal sphere, and orient themselves toward the source before proceeding to make a predatory strike at it. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31S/S Battery This behavior persisted even in blinded fish, but was greatly diminished when lateral line function was inhibited by CoCl2application. This cobalt chloride treatment results in the release of cobalt ions, disrupting ionic transport and preventing signal transduction in the lateral lines.[3] Further trials utilizing either a gentamicin dip or external scraping of the lateral lines,Sony Vaio VGN-NR31SR/S Battery to disrupt canal and superficial receptors respectively, demonstrated that these behaviors were dependent specifically on mechanoreceptors located within the canals of the lateral line.[2] The role mechanoreception plays in schooling behavior was demonstrated in a 1976 study by Pitcher, et al. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31Z/S Battery A school ofPollachius virens was established in a tank and individual fish were removed and subjected to different procedures before their ability to rejoin the school was observed. Fish that were experimentally blinded were able to reintegrate into the school, while fish with severed lateral lines were unable to reintegrate themselves. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31Z/T Battery Therefore, reliance on functional mechanoreception, not vision, is essential for schooling behavior. The major unit of functionality of the lateral line is the neuromast. The neuromast is a mechanoreceptive organ which allows the sensing of mechanical changes in water. There are two main varieties of neuromasts located in animals, canal neuromasts and superficial or freestanding neuromasts. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31ZR/S Battery Superficial neuromasts are located externally on the surface of the body, while canal neuromasts are located along the lateral lines in subdermal, fluid filled canals. Each neuromast consists of receptive hair cells whose tips are covered by a flexible and jellylike cupula. Hair cells typically possess both glutamatergic afferent connections andefferent connections using acetylcholine.[5] Sony Vaio VGN-NR38E/S Battery The receptive hair cells are modified epithelial cells and typically possess bundles of 40-50 microvilli "hairs" which function as the mechanoreceptors.[6] These bundles are organized in rough "staircases" of hairs of increasing length order.[7] This use of mechanosensitive hairs is homologous to the functioning of hair cells in the auditory and vestibular systems, indicating a close link between these systems.[8] Sony Vaio VGN-NR38M/S Battery Hair cells utilize a system of transduction that uses rate coding in order to transmit the directionality of a stimulus. Hair cells of the lateral line system produce a constant, tonic rate of firing. As mechanical motion is transmitted through water to the neuromast, the cupula bends and is displaced. Sony Vaio VGN-NR38S/S Battery Varying in magnitude with the strength of the stimulus, shearing movement and deflection of the hairs is produced, either toward the longest hair or away from it. This results in a shift in the cell’s ionic permeability, resulting from changes to open ion channels caused by the deflection of the hairs. Sony Vaio VGN-NR38Z/S Battery Deflection towards the longest hair results in depolarization of the hair cell, increased neurotransmitter release at the excitatory afferent synapse, and a higher rate of signal transduction. Deflection towards the shorter hair has the opposite effect,hyperpolarizing the hair cell and producing a decreased rate of neurotransmitter release.[8] Sony Vaio VGN-NR38Z/T Battery These electrical impulses are then transmitted along afferent lateral neurons to the brain. While both varieties of neuromasts utilize this method of transduction, the specialized organization of superficial and canal neuromasts allow them differentmechanoreceptive capacities. Located at the surface of an animal’s skin, superficial organs are exposed more directly to the external environment. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31E/S Battery Though they these organs possess the standard "staircase" shaped hair bundles, overall the organization of the bundles within the organs is seemingly haphazard, incorporating various shapes and sizes of microvilli within bundles. This suggests a wide range of detection, potentially indicating a function of broad detection to determine the presence and magnitude of deflection caused by motion in the surrounding water.[7] Sony VPCW11S1E/P Battery In contrast, the structure of canal organs allow canal neuromasts to be organized into a network system that allows more sophisticated mechanoreception, such as the detection of pressure differentials. As current moves across the pores of a canal, a pressure differential is created over the pores. Sony VPCW11S1E/P Battery As pressure on one pore exceeds that of another pore, the differential pushes down on the canal and causes flow in the canal fluid. This moves the cupula of the hair cells in the canal, resulting in a directional deflection of the hairs corresponding to the direction of the flow.[9] This method allows the translation of pressure information into directional deflections which can be received and transduced by hair cells. Sony VPCW11S1E/T Battery The mechanoreceptive hair cells of the lateral line structure are integrated into more complex circuits through their afferent and efferent connections. The synapses that directly participate in the transduction of mechanical information are excitatory afferent connections that utilize glutamate.[10] Sony VPCW11S1E/W Battery However, a variety of different neuromast and afferent connections are possible, resulting in variation in mechanoreceptive properties. For instance, a series of experiments on the superficial neuromasts of Porichthys notatus revealed that neuromasts can exhibit a receptive specificity for particular frequencies of stimulation.[11] Sony VPCW12S1E/P Battery Using an immobilized fish to prevent extraneous stimulation, a metal ball was vibrated at different frequencies. Utilizing single cell measurements with a microelectrode, responses were recorded and used to construct tuning curves, which revealed frequency preferences and two main afferent nerve types. Sony VPCW12S1E/T Battery One variety is attuned to collect mechanoreceptive information about acceleration, responding to stimulation frequencies between 30–200 Hz. The other type is sensitive to velocity information and is most receptive to stimulation below <30 Hz. This suggests a more intricate model of reception than was previously considered.[11] Sony VAIO VGN-NR21E/S Battery The efferent synapses to hair cells are inhibitory and utilize acetylcholine. They are crucial participants in a corollary discharge system designed to limit self-generated interference.[12] When a fish moves, it creates disturbances in the water that could be detected by the lateral line system, potentially interfering with the detection of other biologically relevant signals. Sony VAIO VGN-NR21J/S Battery To prevent this, an afferent signal is sent to the hair cell upon motor action, resulting in inhibition which counteracts the excitation resulting from reception of the self-generated stimulation. This allows the fish to retain perception of motion stimuli without interference created by its own movements. After signals transduced from the hair cells are transmitted along lateral neurons, they eventually reach the brain. Sony VAIO VGN-NR21S/S Battery Visualization methods have revealed that the area where these signals most often terminate is the medial octavolateralis nucleus (MON).[13] It is likely that the MON plays an important role in the processing and integrating mechanoreceptive information.[13] This has been supported through other experiments, such as the use of Golgi staining and microscopy by New & Coombs to demonstrate the presence of distinct cell layers within the MON. Sony VAIO VGN-NR21S/T Battery Distinct layers of basilar and non-basilar crest cells were identified within the deep MON. Drawing a comparison to similar cells in the closely related etectrosensory lateral line lobe of electric fish, it seems to suggest possible computational pathways of the MON. The MON is likely involved in the integration of sophisticated excitatory and inhibitory parallel circuits in order to interpret mechanoreceptive information. Sony VAIO VGN-NR11Z/T Batteryshark attack is an attack on a human by a shark. Every year around 100 shark attacks are reported worldwide. Seventeen fatalities are recorded as having being caused by shark attacks in 2011, out of 118 recorded attacks.[1]Despite their relative rarity, many people fear shark attacks after occasional serial attacks, such as the Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916, Sony VAIO VGN-NR11Z/S Battery and horror fiction and films such as the Jaws series. Almost all shark experts consider that the danger presented by sharks has been exaggerated. The creator of the Jaws phenomenon, Peter Benchley, attempted to dispel the myth of sharks being man-eating monsters in the years before his death. According to the International Shark Attack File (ISAF), between 1580 and 2011 there were 2,463 confirmed unprovoked shark attacks around the world, of which 471 were fatal.[2] Sony VAIO VGN-NR11S/S Battery Although Australia is ranked the second highest in terms of global shark attacks with 877 attacks, it is ranked the highest in terms of shark fatalities, with 217 fatalities.[3][4][5]Australia had the most shark attacks in 2008, with 48 attacks Australia wide; 11 of these were fatal. The highest death rate occurred in Queensland with the total of 6 fatal attacks.[6] Sony VAIO VGN-NR11M/S Battery In 2000, there were 79 shark attacks reported worldwide, 11 of them fatal.[7] In 2005 and 2006 this number decreased to 61 and 62 respectively, while the number of fatalities dropped to only four per year.[7] Of these attacks, the majority occurred in theUnited States (53 in 2000, 40 in 2005, and 39 in 2006).[8] Sony VAIO VGN-SR11M Battery The New York Times reported in July 2008 that there had been only one fatal attack in the previous year.[9] On average, there are 16 shark attacks per year in the United States with one fatality every two years.[10] Despite these reports, however, the actual number of fatal shark attacks worldwide remains uncertain. Sony VAIO VGN-SR11MR Battery For the majority of Third World coastal nations, there exists no method of reporting suspected shark attacks; therefore, losses and fatalities at near-shore or sea there often remain unsolved or unpublicized.Australia has the highest amount of fatal shark attacks in the world with Western Australiarecently becoming the deadliest place in the world for shark attacks.[5] Sony VAIO VGN-SR19VN Battery Less than one in every three million scuba dives in Western Australia result in a fatal shark attack.[12]Australia and South Africa's fatality rate for shark attacks is approximately 30 percent. The United States has the highest reported amount of shark attacks but has the lowest fatality rate with around 4 percent of those attacked dying. Sony VPCCW1S1R Battery The United States has had a total of 1,085 attacks (44 fatal) during the past 342 years (1670–2012).[13] According to the ISAF, the states in the U.S. where the most attacks have occurred in are Florida,Hawaii, California, Texas, and the Carolinas, though attacks have occurred in almost every coastal state.[13] South Africa has a high number of shark attacks along with a high fatality rate of 27 percent.[14] Sony VPCCW1S1T Battery The location with the most recorded shark attacks is New Smyrna Beach, Florida.[15] First world nations such as the United States, Australia, both high income countries, and to some extent South Africa, an upper middle income country, facilitate more thorough documentation of shark attacks on humans than poorer coastal countries. Sony VPCCW1S1T/R Battery The Florida Museum of Natural History compares these statistics with the much higher rate of deaths from other, less feared causes. For example, an average of more than 38 people die annually from lightning strikes in coastal states, while less than 1 person per year is killed by a shark.[16][17] In comparison, 100 million sharks are killed every year by humans. Sony VPCCW1S1T/W Battery Even considering only people who go to beaches, a person's chance of getting attacked by a shark in the United States is 1 in 11.5 million, and a person's chance of getting killed by a shark is less than 1 in 264.1 million.[21][22] In the United States, the annual number of people who drown is 3,306, whereas the annual number of shark fatalities is 1. Sony VPCCW1Z4E Battery Contrary to popular belief, only a few sharks are dangerous to humans. Out of more than 360 shark species, only three are responsible for two-digit number of fatal unprovoked attacks on humans: the great white, tiger andbull;[24] however, the oceanic whitetip has probably killed many more castaways, not recorded in the statistics.[25] Sony VPCCW12EN/BU Battery These sharks, being large, powerful predators, may sometimes attack and kill people; however, they have all been filmed in open water by unprotected divers.[26][27] The 2010 French film Oceans shows footage of humans swimming next to sharks deep in the ocean. It is possible that the sharks are able to sense the presence of unnatural elements on or about the divers, Sony VAIO VGN-FW139E Battery such as polyurethane diving suits and air tanks, which may lead them to accept temporary outsiders as more of a curiosity than prey. Uncostumed humans, however, such as those surfboarding, light snorkeling, or swimming, present a much greater area of open meaty flesh to carnivorous shark predators. Sony VAIO VGN-FW139N Battery In addition, the presence of even small traces of blood, recent minor abrasions, cuts, scrapes, or bruises, may convince sharks to attack a human in their environment. Some sharks such as the hammerhead sharkseek out prey through electroreception, sensing the electric fields that are generated by all animals due to the activity of their nerves and muscles. Sony VAIO VGN-FW140E Battery Most of the oceanic whitetip shark's attacks have not been recorded,[25]unlike the other three species mentioned above. Famed oceanographic researcher Jacques Cousteau described the oceanic whitetip as "the most dangerous of all sharks".[28] Modern-day statistics show the oceanic whitetip shark as being seldom involved in unprovoked attacks. Sony VAIO VGN-FW145E Battery However, there have been a number of attacks involving this species, particularly during World War I and World War II. The oceanic whitetip lives in the open sea and rarely shows up near coasts, where most recorded incidents occur. During the world wars, many ship and aircraft disasters happened in the open ocean, and due to its former abundance, the oceanic whitetip was often the first species on site when such a disaster happened. Sony VAIO VGN-FW160E Battery Infamous examples of oceanic whitetip attacks include the sinking of the Nova Scotia, a British steamship carrying 1,000 people, that was sunk on 28 November 1942 near South Africa by a German submarine in World War II. Only 192 people survived, with many deaths attributed to the oceanic whitetip shark.[29] Sony VAIO VGN-FW180E Battery The same species is probably responsible for many of the of the 60–80 or more shark casualties following the torpedoing of the USS Indianapolis on 30 July 1945.[30] Tiger sharks may also have been involved. Sony VAIO VPCS11X9E Battery In addition to the four species responsible for a significant number of fatal attacks on humans, a number of other species have attacked humans without being provoked, Sony VAIO VGN-FW190E Battery and have on extremely rare occasions been responsible for a human death. This group includes the shortfin mako, hammerhead, Galapagos, gray reef, blacktip reef, lemon, silky, and blue sharks.[24] These sharks are also large, powerful predators which can be provoked simply by being in the water at the wrong time and place, but they are normally considered less dangerous to humans than the previous group. Sony VAIO VPCS11B7E Battery A few other shark species do attack people every year, producing wounds that can potentially kill, but this occurs either specifically because they have been provoked, or through mistaken identity due to water conditions or the like. In the evening of 16 March 2009, a new addition was made to the list of sharks known to attack human beings. Sony VAIO VPCS11M1E/W Battery In a painful but not directly life-threatening incident, a long-distance swimmer crossing the Alenuihaha Channel between the islands of Hawai‘i and Maui was attacked by acookiecutter shark. The 2 bites, delivered about 15 seconds apart, were not immediately life-threatening.[31] A great white shark is believed to be responsible for an attack on a swimmer at Muriwai Beach in Auckland, New Zealand in February 2013. Sony VAIO VPCS11M9R/B Battery It was the first confirmed shark attack fatality in the country since 1976. Shark attack indices use different criteria to determine if an attack was "provoked" or "unprovoked." When considered from the shark's point of view, attacks on humans who are perceived as a threat to the shark or a competitor to its food source are all "provoked" attacks. Sony VAIO VPCS11V9E/B Battery Neither the International Shark Attack File (ISAF) nor the Global Shark Attack File (GSAF) accord casualties of air/sea disasters "provoked" or "unprovoked" status; these incidents are considered to be a separate category.ostmortem scavenging of human remains (typically drowning victims) are also not accorded "provoked" or "unprovoked" status. Sony VAIO VPCS12A7E Battery The GSAF categorizes scavenging bites on humans as "questionable incidents." Provoked attacks occur when a human touches a shark, pokes it, teases it, spears, hooks, or nets it, or otherwise aggravates/provokes it in a certain manner. Sony VAIO VPCS11V9E Battery Incidents that occur outside of a shark's natural habitat, e.g., aquariums and research holding-pens, are considered provoked, as are all incidents involving captured sharks. Sony VAIO VPCS12A7R Battery Sometimes humans inadvertently "provoke" an attack, such as when a surfer accidentally hits a shark with a surf board. Sony VAIO VPCS12B7E Battery,Sony VAIO VPCS12C5E Battery,Sony VAIO VPCS12D7E Battery