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MUSEU DOS BISCAINHOS
�
MUSEU DOS BISCAINHOS
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contentsCREDITS
title
Museu dos Biscainhos. Guide
editorial coordination
Museu dos BiscainhosTeresa de Almeida d’EçaInstituto dos Museus e da Conservação / Divisão de Documentação e Divulgação (Institute of Museums and Conservation / Documentation and Communication Unit)Clara Mineiro
conception and texts
Teresa de Almeida d’Eça
CollaborationMargarida Sotto-Mayor Moreira
TranslationPer Christopher Foster – CRS Translations
photography
Instituto dos Museus e da Conservação / Divisão de Documentação Fotográfica(Institute of Museums and Conservation / Photographic Documentation Unit)Coordinated byVitória MesquitaJosé PessoaPhotographerJosé Pessoa assisted by Carlos PomboArquivo de imagem do Museu dos Biscainhos (Museu dos Biscainhos Photographic Archive)PhotographersLuis Ferreira AlvesMiguel LouroJoão Paulo SottomayorJorge Barros
graphic design
Studio Andrew Howard
pre-printing, printing and finishing
Gráfica Maiadouro
publisher
© Instituto dos Museus e da ConservaçãoPalácio Nacional da Ajuda, Ala Sul, 4º Andar��40-0�� LISBONwww.ipmuseus.pt
�st EditionLisbon, July �007
paper
Gardapat �50 grModigliani Insize �45 gr
fonts
Benton SansGizaFFScala
print run
�000 Exemplares
isbn
97�–776–��8–�
legal deposit
��0 907/05
museu dos biscainhos
Rua dos Biscainhos, 4700-4�5 BRAGATel: �5� �0 46 50Fax: �5� �0 46 58E-mail: mbiscainhos@ipmuseus.ptInternet: www.ipmuseus.pt
acknowledgements
The Museu dos Biscainhos would like to thank the following for their permission to re-produce the images contained in this Guide:Arquivo Distrital de Braga / Universidade do MinhoBiblioteca Nacional da Ajuda / Instituto Por-tuguês do Património Arquitectónico Biblioteca de Arte da Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian.
Introduction 6
The Museum, History and Collectionss �0
MUSEUM ToUR
Lobby and Staircase �8
Entrance Hall �4
Great Hall �8
Oratory �6
Dais Room 4�
Music and Games Room 48
Office 54
Dining Room 58
Cloister 64
Private Chambers 68
Slave and Servants’ Quarters 7�
Stables 76
Kitchen 80
Gardens 86
Notes 96
Bibliography 98
MUSEU DOS BISCAINHOS
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MUSEU DOS BISCAINHOS
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The Museu dos Biscainhos is housed
in a distinguished property that
consists of a building and its gardens
constructed and enlarged during the
�7th and �8th centuries – making it a
significant testimony to the Baroque
period – and improved during the first
half of the �9th. It therefore allows us a
continued and synthesizing insight into
the society and culture of the era for
the whole period in question.
From the middle of the nineteen
eighties, the museum opted to place
the chief emphasis of its museological
work on researching and disseminating
information about daily life during the
ancien régime, an era of remarkable
importance for Portuguese history.
This decision stemmed from a
considered assessment of several factors:
• the relevant importance of the
Baroque period for the Minho region
and in particular for the city of Braga,
the site of notable growth due to
archiepiscopal power, in terms of a
desired interrelationship between the
museum and its surroundings;
introduction
LEFT
Casa dos Biscainhos.Ink and wash drawing on paper. From Mappa das Ruas de Braga (Map of the Streets of Braga). 1750. Arquivo Distrital de Braga.
• the preservation of the original
structure of the palace and gardens
and the characterisation of this
heritage, which extends artistically
from the Baroque to the neoclassical
and Empire;
• consistency in the articulation of
the above points with the museum’s
collections, namely, decorative arts,
painting, sculpture and engravings
dating from the centuries in question.
The current contents of the museum
are presented as an examination of the
�7th to early �9th centuries as reflected
in the inner world and domestic privacy
of a seigneurial house.
Within the scope of the museum’s
overall objective, the present guide
provides a contextualized tour through
the tastes, traditions, emotions, art,
thought and life of Portuguese society
during the period under analysis.
Museu dos Biscainhos, �004.
Teresa de Almeida d’Eça
FoLLoWING PAGE
MAPPA/(D)A/CIDADE/DE/BRAGA PRI/MAS. Circa 1755. André Ribeiro Soares da Silva (attrib.). IPPAR/Biblioteca da Ajuda.
MUSEU DOS BISCAINHOS
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MUSEU DOS BISCAINHOS
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The Museum, history and collectionsThe contextfrom Roman empire to archiepiscopal fiefdom
The city of Braga, whose roots lie deep
in time, has a history going back two
thousand years and predates the
founding of the nation. It grew out of
settlements inhabited by the Bracari
who, at the end of the �rd century BC,
were subjugated by the power of the
Roman Empire.
“Bracara Augusta”, the Roman city,
was elevated to the status of capital of
the Roman province of Galecia in the
�rd century AD.
Since that distant time, Christianity
has woven the spiritual fabric of the
city, whose first bishop was consecrat-
ed in the year 400.
There followed a string of invasions,
by the Suevi, Visigoths and Arabs, the
latter arriving at the beginning of the
eighth century.
In reaction to these successive
attacks, efforts were made to revive
Braga in the ��th century. In the
following century, the Count and
Countess Dom Henrique and Dona
Teresa, in gratitude for the assistance
provided during the struggle to found
the nation, handed control of the city
and its surroundings to the archbish-
ops, who governed with absolute rule.
Over the centuries, several notable
figures have stood out for their role in
influencing the shape of the city,
particularly Archbishop Dom Diogo de
Sousa, who, in the �6th century,
imposed a new scale on the city that
was simultaneously humanist and
grandiose, instigating the beginning of
a process of growth that has been
continuous ever since.
In national terms, the �8th century
represented a period of substantial
economic prosperity stemming from
the gold, diamonds and agricultural
goods brought from the Brazilian
colony. In addition, the expansion of
corn maize cultivation in Portugal
afforded significant growth, especially
in the northwest. In the mid-seventeen
hundreds, Braga had a population of
around �7,000, robust trade and
significant industry, producing bells,
sails, silk and damask, pieces of
goldsmithery, tinsmithery and tanning.
Cabinet-making, sculpture, carving and
painting workshops proliferated.
In the heart of the Minho, and Braga
in particular, favourable conditions
existed for the special development of
art. Stimulated by the desire to serve
God, the archbishops, wielders of great
power, intensively fomented the
different expressions that enlarged
the city structure.
The prelates favoured buildings of a
religious nature, to which were added
several seigneurial houses belonging to
the northern nobility, giving the city a
monumental character that the �7th
and �8th centuries, the golden age of
the Baroque, consolidated in richness
and opulence.
In �750, the cathedral chapter, in order
to organise its vast built heritage,
which included a significant part of
Braga, conducted a series of surveys
that today constitute, in global terms,
a rare resource for understanding and
interpreting life in an �8th century Eu-
ropean city: the “Índice dos Prazos das
Casas do Cabido” (Index of the Leases
of the Houses in the Chapter) and the
“Mappa das Ruas de Braga” (Map of
the Streets of Braga) – the latter “of
incalculable value for the study of soci-
ology, urbanism, architecture and the
history of art”1 – which documents the
design of the facades of 4,064 houses
existing at the time.
Dating from around �755 is an-
other document of great interest, the
“MAPPA (D)A CIDADE DE BRAGA PRI-
MAS” (MAP OF THE CITY OF BRAGA
PRIMAS), attributed to André Soares.
This is a highly detailed record of the
urban layout and respective place
names that identifies thirty places of
worship, among them churches, chap-
els, convents and seminaries, as well as
public and private buildings.
MUSEU DOS BISCAINHOS
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MUSEU DOS BISCAINHOS
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house and Gardensnobility and splendour
The Casa dos Biscainhos is located out-
side the medieval walls of the city, in the
street after which it is named3 and that
connects two important urban areas:
campo da Vinha and campo das Hortas.
Dr. Constantino Ribeiro do Lago
was one of the notable figures of the
age in which he lived (�6�9–�686). He
married Maria de Sousa e Silva on ��st
September �655.4
Inácio José Peixoto, an illustrious
Braga native who lived in the �8th cen-
tury, refers to him in his “Memórias”5 in
the following terms: “He was a secular
associate judge and special magistrate
Some of the many artists who lived or
worked in Braga include, among many
others, Manuel Fernandes da Silva, An-
dré Soares, Carlos Amarante, Frei José
de Santo António Vilaça, Marceliano de
Araújo, Manuel Furtado de Mendonça
and Agostinho Marques.
The period in focus was conspicu-
ous for an extraordinary sense of
pomp, grandeur, luxury and ostentation
that manifested itself in the Baroque
feast, a sacred and profane event that
attained elevated levels of realization.
In Braga, there were processions
followed by gala cortèges, bullfights,
tournaments and jousting, games,
fancy-dress balls, comedies, light
shows, bell-ringing, fireworks, theatre,
assemblies and orchestras.2
In sum, the Museu dos Biscainhos fits
into a significant historical and artistic
context that emphasises the importance
of the museum’s current programme.
“The house is an authentic
document of the life of man ... It
sums up an entire style of life and
for that reason is an extremely
important element for the study
of a society, whatever the era.”
Carlos de Azevedo
in this city and procurator-general of
the diocese. This minister was a tal-
ented and worthy man as he was Court
procurator in the year �667 not only
for the city but also for the province,
unpaid and he managed to resolve vari-
ous things ... And it is through him that
it can be said that this noble house first
began to shine.” 6.
Francisco Pereira da Silva, the third
son of the extremely powerful procura-
tor and Dean of the cathedral chapter,
was responsible for significantly enlarg-
ing the building 7, a project for which he
invited Manuel Fernandes da Silva, one
of the most skilled artisans working in
Braga, where he produced a notable
body of work, both as architect and
master mason, from the end of the �7th
century to the middle of the following.
On �6th November �7��, the Dean
signed an agreement 8 to enlarge his
houses in Rua dos Biscainhos, and the
actual L-shaped facade, a common
feature of Baroque architecture from
that century, was probably the work of
the same artist. Of note is the fact that
the master mason made a cardboard
maquette for the job.
The imposing Great Hall, dating from
the first quarter of the �8th century and
incorporating artistic styles character-
istic of the Baroque period, was prob-
ably constructed at this time.
Bearing in mind that the garden’s
central axis constitutes an extension of
the main entrance to the new facade, we
can assume that the garden area was
also structured during this significant
enhancement 9. It should be remem-
bered that the commissioner, as Dean
of the chapter, was the second most
powerful person in Braga’s religious hi-
erarchy, and that this ambitious project
would have been consistent with the rep-
resentation of his power and influence.
Still in the first half of the �8th cen-
tury, the north wing of the palace, fac-
ing Rua dos Biscainhos, was extended
upwards by a further floor that already
registers some elements of a late
Baroque style. The date of this work is
verifiable by a drawing of the building
noting the alteration in the aforemen-
tioned Mappa das Ruas de Braga (Map
of the Streets of Braga) of �750.
If we look at the “Mappa da Cidade
de Braga Primas” (Map of the City of
Braga Primas) (circa �755), we can see
that the Biscainhos estate (building and
gardens) emerges as one of Braga’s
most important seigneurial houses.
MUSEU DOS BISCAINHOS
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MUSEU DOS BISCAINHOS
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It is assumed that for the occasion
of the wedding of Maria Angelina de
Eça Montenegro to Damião Pereira
da Silva de Sousa de Meneses in �79�
– from whose union would be born the
�st Count of Bertiandos – the building
would have undergone improvements,
identifiable as the creation of the Dining
Room, just as it appears to the public
today, with paintings on the walls, neo-
classical azulejo (tile) wainscots and or-
namental ceilings featuring stucco and
landscape paintings. From that period
and entering the �9th century, some of
the palace’s other ceilings would have
been decorated with artistic stucco
closely associated with equally neo-
classical paintings.
The decorations to the interiors in
the north-facing wing, with wall and
ceiling paintings in the Empire style,
featuring eagle, bee and laurel wreath
motifs, among others, are thought to be
from the beginning of the �9th century,
This then is the heritage that history
has provided us an opportunity to turn
into a museum and to place at the serv-
ice of one and all.
On �4th February �954, at a meeting of
the Junta de Província do Minho (Minho
Provincial Council), the then president,
Dr. Felicíssimo do Vale Rego Campos,
bearing in mind the healthy state of the
body’s finances and in the context of its
respective duties, presented a proposal
for the creation of a museum for which
immediate approval was obtained.
The project became reality nearly a
decade later, on �5th March �96�, after
the acquisition of the Palácio dos Bis-
cainhos from the �rd Viscount of Paço
de Nespereira, Dr. Gaspar Lobo Mach-
ado do Amaral Cardoso de Meneses.
Given the historical and artistic
importance, size and central urban
location of the estate, which had been
classified as a listed building by Decree
no. �7.�66 of 5th April �949, this was an
extraordinary opportunity.
The process advanced through
the efforts in �964 of the architect
Alberto da Silva Bessa, then head
of the Direcção Geral dos Edifícios e
dos Monumentos Nacionais do Norte
(Department of National Buildings and
Monuments in the North), to draw up a
plan to restore the building and adapt it
to the role of a museum.
The museum’s origins
Once the work had been completed,
the canon Arlindo Ribeiro da Cunha,
an integral member of the council’s
administration, strove to raise aware-
ness of the museum within the local
community in the aim of encouraging
donations for the creation of the muse-
um’s future collection.
For its inauguration, an Installation
Committee was established made up of
Mrs. Maria Emília Amaral Teixeira, Mrs.
Maria Clementina Quaresma and the
architect Mr. Roberto Leão. The Museu
dos Biscainhos opened to the public on
��th February �978.
On �7th March �987, Decree-Law
no. ��� transferred responsibility for
the technical and administrative run-
ning of the Museu dos Biscainhos from
the Assembleia Distrital de Braga10
to the then Instituto Português do
Património Cultural and, in �99�, it
was transferred again to the Instituto
Português de Museus (Portuguese In-
stitute of Museums), now Instituto dos
Museus e da Conservação (Institute of
Museums and Conservation), to which
it is currently attached.
The collections of the Museu dos
Biscainhos have been structured
around the donations and bequests of
local benefactors, particularly those
of Dr. José Maria da Costa Júnior and
his wife, Mrs. Maria Celeste Ribeiro da
Costa Júnior and Mrs. Maria Delfina
Gomes da Silva e Matos de Sousa Car-
doso. These have been progressively
enlarged through systematic endow-
ments and loans from private individu-
als and public bodies.
The current collections fall within
the category of decorative arts, refer-
ence being made, among others, to
furniture, Portuguese, European and
Chinese ceramics, Portuguese and Eu-
ropean glassware, textiles, goldsmith-
ery, and metalwork and weaponry.
The collection also includes Portu-
guese and European painting, sculp-
ture, drawings, engravings, means
of transport and ethnography. The
Archaeology section is currently on
loan to the city’s Museu Regional de
Arqueologia D. Diogo de Sousa.
discovering the collections
Recommended