A durrsak in Kotorr - jewelry artist, Andrija Izat

Kotor, as a strategic place in the well-known gorge, in the Boka of Kotor, attracted many merchants, entrepreneurs, craftsmen and soldiers of Albanian origin. Among them is also the master, jewelry artist - Andrija Izati. Durrsak, in fact, was an original personality who left his mark on the art of Kotor and beyond. He was known as an artist of the 15th century who made silver works and was also known for the forging of coins, perps and groschi of Kotor, various silver objects with a religious character and other representations in the field of applied art.

In the Middle Ages, Kotor had an intense connection with Kosovo and its mining.

In fact, at one time - being a port under the control of the Nemanjiks - Kotor used this situation by creating a monopoly in trade, which also included ore, especially the gold and silver demanded at that time coming from the interior of the Balkans, including Kosovo.

At this time, Kotor was also influential in the matter of the protection of the Catholic Church in Kosovo, and the people of Kotor were also builders of Catholic churches, in which a large number of Albanians served as Catholic clergy. This also means influences on architectural style and art, not only in Catholic churches.
Such an issue changed little in other circumstances when Kotor became part of the Vendic Republic of Saint Mark, and new political circumstances and other systems and monopolies of ore trade were imposed. This also meant the attempt to monopolize Catholicism in the interior of the Balkans, including Kosovo.

Vital roads Adriatic-Kosovo

In the Middle Ages, Kotor was closely connected with Kosovo, mainly due to its interest in ore mining, especially gold and silver, but also goods and other interests. Therefore, roads were very important for this vital communication: Adriatic - Kosovo.

In fact, there were several established roads from which the Kotor-Kosovo communication took place. They were not simple roads and led inland, in a difficult mountainous terrain. There were three important directions: the first went from the Shkodra lake shore, from the most marshy part and from the upper part of the Lim river valley to Peja; The second from the medieval city of Danji, with its famous customs house. Since the Venetian times, it was given under the government to the well-known Draga family from Kotor and continued further in the Albanian Bjeshke and Nemuna towards Prizren; the third direction was known as the Zeta road, via Zenta, in which, in addition to Kotor, Budva and Tivari were connected, and which crossed the mountains from Cetina down to Podgorica, caught Plava or even the Brskovo mine and on to Peja. But, this road was also mentioned for difficulties and dangers from the Albanian Kachaks. 

The first two routes - in addition to important cities such as Shkodra and Lezha and the coastal cities of Tivari, Ulcinj, Budva, Kotor and Dubrovnik - included various important communication points in the Middle Ages such as Rotecco Monastery, Saint Nicholas and Saint Shirxhi in Buna, Shasi , Sapa, Danji, Drishti and others.

Also, from Kosovo, i.e. through two entry points, mainly Pejë and Prizren, other branches with connections of caravans continued. Driving from Lake Shkodra to Prizren took approximately 35 hours of travel. From Prizren, one went to Lipjan or Janjevë and through Kaçanik and Skopje along the roads of the Vardar valley, from Bulgaria or Greece.

Prizren was a point where the rival interests of Kotor and Dubrovnik met.

In fact, the connection of Kotor and part of the Adriatic, including Dubrovnik, in the interior of the Balkans mainly went from the areas of Northern Albania and Zeta and inevitably came to Kosovo and beyond. Such a route had primary importance throughout the Middle Ages, but later changed due to other geopolitical circumstances with the Ottoman domination and the loss of importance that mining had in Kosovo and the region, especially after securing other international markets, especially with the discovery of oceanic resources.

An original personality who left his mark on the art of Kotor

Kotor, therefore, as a strategic place in the well-known gorge, in the Boka of Kotor, attracted many merchants, entrepreneurs, craftsmen and soldiers of Albanian origin.

Among them is also the master, jewelry artist - Andrija Izati.

Durrsak Andrea Izat was, in fact, an original personality who left his mark on the art of Kotor and beyond. Andrea Izat was known as an artist of the 15th century who made silver works and was also known for the forging of coins, perps and groschi of Kotor, various objects in silver, those with a religious character and other representations in the field of applied art, which it was quite in demand according to medieval taste.

Andrea Izati was one of the most famous goldsmiths in Kotor, together with two other foreigners: Marin Adamin who worked in Dubrovnik and Johan of Basel, who settled in Kotor through Venice, where he got married and later also moved in Dubrovnik.

Izat worked on the masterpiece – the silver pair in the Cathedral of St. Tryphon, the iconic cathedral that symbolizes Kotor. 

This is his masterpiece that he made with nam and remembered.

The tradition of placing silver sides in gold flames with figures and reliefs of saints on the altars spread to southern coastal cities there from the 14th century and the beginning of the 15th century, so that a competition with other Italian and Western European coastal cities began. 

Dubrovnik in the neighborhood of Kotor, in the church of its patron Saint Vlahu, had its side before Kotor. Kotorri in the last decade of the 1453th century started the initiative and the debate on this matter, initiating the decoration of the sides of its churches. This was completed in XNUMX under the leadership of the city fathers who engaged the most prominent craftsmen of the time. Moreover, this work that we mentioned, in Kotorr, is the only surviving side in this part of the coast. It is made in the style of the Gothic polyptach with figures of saints, evangelists and apostles, including Saint Tryphon and with the representation of Dezia and reliefs about half a meter long that are surrounded by Gothic and other arches.

This best testifies to the seriousness and importance of this magnificent work in which Andrea Izati participated.

A story related to the priest and diplomat of Skanderbeg

In fact, Andrea Izati is also known for the order that was given to him in Kotor in 1441. The orderer was Jelena Balshaj-Hranic, the daughter of Prince Lazar. She had commissioned the work through her chancellor Doberko Marinić, and it was the silver pages for the cover of the religious book with the face of Christ the Redeemer, as the fashion of the time wanted.

In 1445, another work by Andrea Izati is known. It is about the silver cross for the church of the flagellant community in Kotorr. 

Otherwise, goldsmithing was very popular in medieval Kotor. In addition to well-known artists, such as Andrea Izat, Marini Adami, Johani Bazelit, Trifon Palma also worked there, who was also engaged in Moscow, in the palace of the great Russian prince Ivan III Vasilević, where he stayed in 1473. Kotorri, therefore, was a workshop of serious artists who had a voice and engagement in a wider scene of works and artistic works.
The artisans also had their brotherhood organized centrally, near the church of Saint Luke
Andrea Izat, or Isat, is also mentioned in another interesting circumstance and role, indirectly related to his colleague from Kotor Marin Adami and the priest and diplomat of Skenderbeu, Gjergj Pelini from the Benedictine Roteco monastery, near Tivar. In November 1436, his colleague, the well-known goldsmith Marin Adami, had entered into a contract with the well-known priest and diplomat Gjergj Pelini, from the Benedictine monastery of Rotec, to make a work, a silver censer (unum turibulum de argento). It was recorded in the notary that on June 12, 1444, "in the presence of the Princes and Magistrates, the goldsmith Marin accepted from the Notary in Kotor a pound of silver in asprona and the silver sent to him by the monk Pelini through his servant, Peter". After that, on October 5, 1444, Marin Adami agreed to forge the work in question and Pelini agreed to pay the predetermined amount. Pelini agreed to pay 6 groschi for this work worth an ounce of silver. On December 14, 1444, the Princes and Magistrates asked Marini to deliver the work according to the agreement with the Roteco Monastery. 

But, according to the testimony of Andrija Isat, the silver delivered to Marini through Pelini's servant had weighed 3,2 pounds less than it contained copper layers, based also on the Law of Dubrovnik, which was demonstrated by the goldsmith Andrija Isat. 

So, besides being a master artist, Isat is also a connoisseur and appreciator of the purity of silver and an expert in cases of professional disputes. 

In fact, Kotor, together with Dubrovnik, developed another more specific and complementary form than the rest of the Dalmatian coast, absorbing European and Mediterranean influences, but also from the Balkan hinterland. This, thanks to the cooperation with a wider scope of orders and exchanges also in the interior of the Balkans and beyond the sea, which found another form of expression of the language of jewelry and was typified with a type of its own special school that had an activity that resonated expansive, representative and distinct. 

But, unlike other craft centers, Kotor had an advantage in the development of jewelry mainly thanks to the more privileged access to ores and mining material, first of all gold and silver. This also means access to the medieval mines in Kosovo.

However, the durrsak Andrea Izati, who became known in Kotor and far beyond with his fine artistic works, is little known, or not known at all, in the history of art in the Albanian language. 

This is a modest attempt to bring it to the attention of the field of Albanianology.

Footnotes have been removed by the Editor. 
 

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