Contributor: Funds for the construction of the pulpit were donated by Riga city Council member, lawyer and the Royal Court Assessor Ludwig Hintelmann (1578–1643) and his wife Katarina born Lemken (?–1666) in 1641.
Author: The pulpit and wood carvings were made in the workshop of Tobias Heintz (1589–1653), the most prominent master of that time.
The angel crowning the pulpit – sculptor Pēteris Jozefs Imhoff from Cologne (1768–1844).
Transformations in corpus of the pulpit woodcarver Konstantina Schelesnikow.
Date: 1641, 1817
Material: timber of various species
Technique: wood carving
Sizes:
Restoration: 1817, the end of 19th century
The pulpit was repainted and rebuilt in 1959-1962
Sculpture of the Evangelist Luke by Sandra Priežčiekure on 1994
Inscriptions:
Biblical quotations written in the middle of the 17th century are still preserved on three panels attached to the pillar wall between the pulpit corpus and the roof:
Plate on the left:
„PSALM :XXVI.V. 7.8.9. Ich Wasche …”
Psalm: 26.6.7.8. /
“I wash my hands in innocence, and go about your altar, O Lord,
proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all your wonderful deeds.
I love the house where you live, O Lord, the place where your glory dwells.”
Middle plate: „PSALM: LXXXIV Wie ieblich …ANNO.1.6.41”
My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Plate on the right: IESAIA. VIII. CAP.V.20 IA Nach……….”
Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.
The pulpit of Riga Cathedral belongs to the most remarkable achievements in the sacral art in the Eastern Baltic in middle of 17th century.
Tobias Heinze is one of the most productive and interesting woodcarvers of the middle of the 17th century, who had even two workshops at the same time – in Revel /Tallinn/, where already in 1629 he employed several disciples, and other one in Mītava /Jelgavā/, which he inherited from his father in 1632. He returned to Revele in 1647, where he died.
The rich ornamental decor of the pulpit from middle of 17th century was altered during the church renovation on 1817. The alteration was made by the woodcarver Konstantin Schelesnikow. The mannerism has been replaced by a classic column, rosettes and fragile festoons. Modern accents have been given to the pulpit by the Neo-Gothic elements, which entered the decorative art of Latvia for the first time. The stylistic diversity is complemented by the Baroque style angel with a trumpet above the pulpit made by the sculptor Peter Jozef Imhoff (1768–1844) from Cologne. The last time the pulpit was repainted in 1959-1962.
Sculptures of Christ and the apostles are depicted on the pulpit body, evangelists on the stair railing:
Portal with the figure of John the Baptist
Evangelist Matthew
Jesus Christ
Evangelist Mark
Evangelist Luke
John the Evangelist
Apostle Jude Thaddeus
Apostle James the Younger
Apostle Paul
Apostle Philip
Apostle Thomas
Apostle Bartholomew
Apostle Andrew
Apostle Simon
Apostle Peter
Personifications of Christian virtues are placed in the niches of the lower floor of the two-story pulpit roof, and figures of naked children (angels) are placed in the tower-shaped elevation.
Allegory on the lower floor of the pulpit canopy:
Love, Hope, Faith, Mercy, Wisdom, The truth, Moderation, Fortitude, Innocence, Humility, Patience
Photo: U.Muzikants 2018