A group of polychrome wooden panels discovered in 2018 under the floorboards of a house in Toledo is going on display at the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid. They were found during the construction of a hotel that was planned to go up several buildings in Bajada del Pozo Amargo street next to Toledo Cathedral. They were removed from their original location at the top of the walls of a square hall and reused as raw carpentry material in the sub-floor of the house.
The panels date from the 13th and 14th centuries and depict courtly scenes of women, kings and knights, allegories of war, hunting and wisdom, alongside images of books and philosophers. Court scenes include: a royal, bearded man wearing a crown and a purple cloak with elements of a castle in the background. Two crowned figures, one bearded, one young, flanked by women in headdresses; A man wearing a purple robe with ermine trim is supported by courtiers wearing gloves and tunics.
Many of the people depicted in the panels have been identified thanks to inscriptions and heraldry, among them: Jofré de Loaysa, royal notary, historian, diplomat, Archdeacon of Toledo, Gonzalo Pétrez, Archbishop of Toledo from 1280 to 1298, owner of the largest collection.
The representation of cavalry in battle is the most complex surviving scene. It depicts men armed for battle on horseback. They are carrying banners and horses are harnessed. Another panel shows an array of weapons and armor: helmets, axes, maces, chain mail gloves, graves, arm guards, shields, swords. The scene has gore and blood, suggesting that it is a reference to real events.
Philosophy and science are present on many panels. One shows Plato and Aristotle being nursed by Sophia, the goddess of wisdom, surrounded by books. Another panel features what looks like a library containing codes. Astronomy is depicted in two tables, one with the word carved into the arch of the library. Another depicts a starry sky on the table.
During this period, Spain was ruled by Ferdinand III the Saint, Alfonso X the Wise, and Sancho IV of the Castilian dynasty, and Toledo was the cultural and administrative center of the expanding Central Monarchy. Art, philosophy and science flourished there, especially under Alfonso X, and the iconography of the panels is reminiscent of the illuminations in the Cantegas de Santa Maria codices commissioned by Alfonso.
Now part of the collection of the Santa Cruz Museum in Toledo, the panels have traveled to Madrid where they cover the City: Toledo exhibit, a thematic centerpiece of the medieval court images. Other pieces from the royal court during the transition from the 13th to the 14th century are on display alongside the panels, including rare surviving wooden elements such as carved beams from the long-gone Toledo palace of the Duke of Arjuna and an entire section of the decorated coffered ceiling from the royal court of King Córdoba.
