Commission of an Unknown Venetian nobleman
binder
Unknown
Datemid 17th century
Place MadeVenice, Veneto, Italy, Europe
MediumGold-tooled leather
Dimensions22.5 x 16.5 x 1 cm (8 7/8 x 6 1/2 x 3/8 in.)
ClassificationsBooks
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession number4.a.1.2
eMuseum ID718967
EmbARK ObjectID17563
TMS Source ID5825
Last Updated8/14/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryLeather tooled in gold with a border of interlacing ribbon lined by a lacy inner edge, leone in moleca within a fan-wheel, fan-shaped corner-pieces, and filigree, mid-seventeenth century.
The border, fan motifs and filigree decoration of this book's covers were inspired by new styles of bindings, which originated in France in the second half of the 1500s, and were copied and modified all over Europe in the following century. In Italy, these elaborate designs were introduced by French binders working for popes and cardinals in Rome. This commissione's rich but dainty design was inspired by the contemporary fashion for lace-trimmed collar and sleeve ruffs, which can be seen worn by wealthy men and women in sixteenth and seventeenth-century portraits.
Source: Anne-Marie Eze, Illuminating the Serenissima: Books of the Republic of Venice, special exhibition on view in the museum's Long Gallery, May 3 through June 19, 2011.
The border, fan motifs and filigree decoration of this book's covers were inspired by new styles of bindings, which originated in France in the second half of the 1500s, and were copied and modified all over Europe in the following century. In Italy, these elaborate designs were introduced by French binders working for popes and cardinals in Rome. This commissione's rich but dainty design was inspired by the contemporary fashion for lace-trimmed collar and sleeve ruffs, which can be seen worn by wealthy men and women in sixteenth and seventeenth-century portraits.
Source: Anne-Marie Eze, Illuminating the Serenissima: Books of the Republic of Venice, special exhibition on view in the museum's Long Gallery, May 3 through June 19, 2011.
BibliographyNotesIsabella Stewart Gardner. A Choice of Manuscripts and Bookbindings from the Library of Isabella Stewart Gardner, Fenway Court (Boston, 1922), p. 101.
MarksNotesInscribed on self-adhesive tag (back cover, right): "1882 Car[....] 2040-"
ProvenanceNotesPossibly offered for sale, 1882, lot 2040.
Entered Isabella Stewart Gardner's collection at an unknown date.
Entered Isabella Stewart Gardner's collection at an unknown date.
Francesco Donato
17 July 1547
