Palazzo Falson

Palazzo Falson
Façade of Palazzo Falson
Former names	Palazzo Cumbo-Navarra Casa dei Castelletti Norman House
General information
Status	Intact
Type	Residence used as a historic house museum
Architectural style	Siculo-Norman
Location	Mdina, Malta
Address	Palazzo Falson, Villegaignon Street, MDN 1191
Coordinates	35°53′13.2″N 14°24′11.2″E / 35.887000°N 14.403111°E / 35.887000; 14.403111
Current tenants	Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti
Named for	Falson family
Completed	13th century
Renovated	15th and 16th centuries
Owner	Government of Malta
Technical details
Material	Limestone
Floor count	2
Website
palazzofalson.com

Palazzo Falson, formerly known as Palazzo Cumbo-Navarra, Casa dei Castelletti, and the Norman House, is a 13th century medieval palace in Mdina, Malta. It was purposely built as a family residence by the Maltese nobility, and its namesake is for former owners the Falson family. It is presently open to the public as a house-museum with seventeen rooms of historic domestic belongings and a number of antique collections.

It is the second oldest building in Mdina, with structural modifications throughout the years prominently the 15th and 16th centuries renovations. The original architect is not known, but the distinctive upper floor windows are attributed to Jacobo Dimeg. During the rule of the Order of St. John the building housed Philippe L'Isle-Adam, the first Grand Master of Malta.

Since the early 21th century it has been open for public visits as the Palazzo Falson Historic House Museum, and is managed by the Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti, a Maltese heritage foundation. It displays permanent collections of former owner Olof Frederick Gollcher, and occasionally other temporal exhibits from private collections.

The building was included on the Antiquities List of 1925, it has been a Grade 1 scheduled property since 1992, and is on the list of the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands.

History

Palazzo Falson was built during Malta’s medieval period in the 13th century, over the remains of a defensive structure called La Rocca.^[1] Changes to the façade, including a shift in the orientation of the building as well as the addition of a double serrated string course separating the two storeys and the hood mould framing the main doorway, were also completed in the 15th century.^[2] These features are typical of the Siculo-Norman style, prevalent in the period.

Reuse of a Roman column (lower-left) and a pregnant window (upper-right), both as part of the rear façade

One of the first documented owners Michele Falson, who inherited the house in 1524, made further changes to the building including the addition of mullioned windows on the second floor.^[2] The decorative windows were probably designed by the local architect Jacobo Dimeg (1464-1527).^[1][3] The house saw further improvements upon the arrival in Malta in 1530 of the Knights of the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem when it was host to Grand Master Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam (r.1530-1534). The Grand Master stayed in the house from the 20th October to 5 November.^[1]

The building eventually passed to the Cumbo-Navarra family and was purchased by Olof Gollcher and his mother, Elisa Gollcher née Balbi (1857-1935), in 1927.^[1] Throughout the centuries a number of changes were made to the house, including a reduction in the size of the building by separating it into more than one tenement.^[1]

Gollcher himself made a number of changes to the house. In 1927, together with his mother, he bought a part of the original house and went on to acquire a second part in 1938 when. He was then able to reunite the two parts as one house.^[4] The most significant changes he made can be seen in the courtyard where Gollcher, in a true revivalist manner, built a Siculo-Renaissance inspired external staircase, as well as a pseudo Siculo-Norman fountain and a Byzantine-Romanesque folly.^[5] He also added a pointed-arched doorway to complement the main portal of the façade.

Olof Gollcher

The yard or garden

Olof Gollcher was born in Valletta in 1889 to Chevalier Gustav Gollcher (1854-1922) and Elisa Gollcher.^[4] The family was of Swedish descent and owned a shipping business which still operates in Malta today, under the name of The Gollcher Group.^[6]

In 1914 Gollcher joined the British Army and subsequently served in both World Wars, gaining the rank of Captain in 1945.^[4] In 1936 he was named Knight of Grace of the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem.^[4] A year later he was appointed Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE).^[4] In 1947 he married Teresa ‘Nella’ Lucia née Prior (1890-1962).^[4] Nella, was an officer in the Nursing Division of St. John’s Ambulance, later becoming an Honorary Secretary.^[4]

Gollcher was a keen collector, artist and cultural enthusiast.^[7] His vast collection includes paintings, furniture, Oriental carpets, silver, books and jewellery. He was also a member of Malta’s Antiquities Committee and secretary to both the International Institute of Mediterranean Archaeology and The Malta Underwater Archaeological Branch.^[8] A number of archaeological items are presently exhibited at the museum.

Capt. Gollcher intended the house and its collection to be opened to the public.^[7] After his death, in 1962, both were eventually made over to the Captain O F Gollcher OBE Art and Archaeological Foundation, but it was not until 2001 that restoration on the house and the collections began. The museum opened its doors to the public in 2007 and continues to operate under the management of Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti.^[9]

The Museum and its Collection

The museum is divided into 17 rooms that aim to create the atmosphere of a home. They include a Kitchen, an Armoury, a Carpet Gallery, as well as Capt. Gollcher’s Library, Studio and Study.

One of the rarest items in the museum, is the 10-hour French Revolution time piece. This watch is one of only three such watches that are known to survive by the maker Robert Robin (1742-1799). It is numbered the 2nd in the series.^[10] Robin had been King Louis XVI’s (r.1774-1791) favourite watch maker, but at the introduction of the Revolution’s Decimal time he produced this watch.^[10]

Secondary entrance and exit

Other items of particular note include the painting Portrait of a Boy attributed to the Spanish baroque artist Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617-1682); four small pictures representing the Four Seasons traditionally attributed to the French painter Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665),^[11] and a landscape ink and wash sketch by the British 19th century artist and poet Edward Lear (1812-1888) made during one of his stays in Malta.^[12] Engravings of importance include a series by Italian baroque artist Salvator Rosa (1615-1673).^[13]

Capt. Gollcher’s collection is not just limited to paintings and the decorative arts, but he also collected typical household objects or items of unique historical interest. One of the more intriguing items is a chastity belt, originally believed to have been worn during the Middle Ages as a sign of a woman’s fidelity while her husband was away at war. Nowadays the chastity belt is commonly thought to be a Victorian fabrication, and an item of curiosity.^[14]

The museum also has some Maltese earthenware containers traditionally used to cook rabbit stew. They are known as ‘Il-Baqra’ which translates to ‘the cow’ in Maltese and refers to the shape of the pot resembling that of a cow.^[15] These pots have today fallen out of use.

Gollcher had an extensive silverware collection, varying from decorative figurines to coffee pots and other tableware. Two large silver Nefs form part of the collection. A nef, or silver ship, would have been placed at the dinner table, not just as a decorative item but to contain and dispense salt, pepper and other spices down the table. At times, they were also used to hold napkins or cutlery.

The Library

Over his lifetime Capt. Gollcher amassed a collection of 4,500 books and manuscripts, presently still to be found in the library of the museum.^[16] This impressive collection has been catalogued and the titles can be viewed on the website. A number of books have also been digitised in collaboration with the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library of Saint John’s University, Minnesota (U.S.) and one can view the digital versions upon special request.^[17]

The collection covers a wide variety of subjects that reflect Capt. Gollcher’s varied interest, in art history, biographies and the two world wars, to mention but a few. He also collected Melitensia books (ie. books about the Maltese Islands or written by Maltese authors or published in Malta) including Giacomo Bosio’s 1594 Dell’Istoria della Sacra Religione and its update by Bartolomeo Del Pozzo.^[18]

Temporary Exhibitions

Palazzo Falson regularly holds temporary exhibitions which highlight particular objects from Capt. Gollcher’s collection that are complemented by artefacts loaned from other museums and private collections in Malta.^[19] The exhibitions are generally accompanied with the publication of a catalogue and a calendar of activities - such as gallery talks and children’s workshops.

Remains of the original door of the building, on permanent display

The first exhibition, held in 2009, was titled Whistles: From Rituals to Toys. A total of 150 different whistles were included in the exhibition, highlighting the varied uses of whistles throughout history. The exhibition included whistles ranging from antique Maltese whistles to bird calls as well as more modern examples.^[20] The exhibition was guest-curated by music historian Anna Borg Cardona.

An exhibition on pipes followed in 2010. Smoking pipes had particular significance in Gollcher’s life. He belonged to a group of artists that called themselves the Confraternità della Pipa (Brotherhood of the Pipe). This group held regular exhibitions and festive gatherings.^[21] The exhibition was titled Pipes: From Habit to Art and brought together over 160 pipes showcasing the history of pipes from all around the world.^[22] The exhibition was curated by Francesca Balzan.

The 2011 exhibition was dedicated to scent bottles. Titled Scent Bottles: From Ceremony to Seduction, it showcased over 250 examples sourced from local private and museum collections. The exhibition was guest-curated by Joseph Galea Naudi.^[23]

The exhibition Edward Lear: Watercolour and Words focused on the literary and artistic output of the British artist, poet and author Edward Lear, and was held in 2014. The show was dedicated primarily to Lear’s stay in Malta and married his water colours with his corresponding diary entries, highlighting the unique personality of the artist.^[24] The exhibition was guest-curated by John Varriano, Professor Emeritus of Art History at Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts who published a book about Lear in Malta in conjunction with the exhibition.^[25]

In 2015 the exhibition Watches: Timekeepers to Trendsetters dealt with the theme of antique watches. The exhibition was guest-curated by David Thompson, former senior curator of Horology at the British Museum.^[26] The exhibition brought together over 50 watches and a specially commissioned animation about French decimal time.

The exhibition Snuff Boxes: From Accessories to Objets d’Art opened in 2016. It brought together 200 snuff boxes and related artefacts, sourced from museum, ecclesiastical and never-seen-before private collections in a show that charted the history of the snuff box from the most stunning examples to the variety of boxes that were created to hold the once precious powder, snuff.^[27] The exhibition was curated by Francesca Balzan.

Further reading

• Balzan, Francesca (2010), Pipes: From Habit to Art, Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti 
• Balzan, Francesca (2016), Snuff Boxes: From Accessories to Objets d'Art, Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti 
• Borg Cardona, Anna (2009), Whistles: From Rituals and Toys, Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti 
• Buhagiar, Mario (2005), The Late Medieval Art and Architecture of the Maltese Islands, Valletta: Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti 
• Buhagiar, Mario (2006). "The Palazzo Falsone at Mdina, an Art Historical Appreciation". Treasures of Malta. 12 (2): 16–18. 
• Galea Naudi, Joseph (2011), Scent Bottles: From Ceremony to Seduction, Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti 
• Varriano, John (2014b), Edward Lear: Watercolours to Words, Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti 

Reference List

External links

• palazzofalson.com