History of Collecting

‘“Struggling Against a Vulgar Prejudice”: Patriotism and The Collecting of British Art at the Turn of the Nineteenth Century’, Journal of British Studies, 49:3 (July, 2010), 566-91.

by Holger Hoock

Winckelmann, Engraved Gems, and Francesco Arcangeli

by Ulf R. Hansson

originally written as a shorter article for a Swedish non-academic journal, it is currently being translated into English

I had this very strange idea to trace Winckelmann's last days and tragic death in Trieste and to sort of weave into... more I had this very strange idea to trace Winckelmann's last days and tragic death in Trieste and to sort of weave into this story his fascination with and very interesting and original work on the engraved gems (of the "ancients"). As I became rather pleased with the result of this experiment, I decided to turn the text into a longer essay

Collezionare antichità al tempo di Gregorio XIII: il caso di Paolo Giordano I Orsini

by Barbara Furlotti

in Unità e frammenti di modernità. Arte e scienza nella Roma di Gregorio XIII Boncompagni, atti del convegno (Roma 2004), a cura di C. Cieri Via, I.D. Rowland, M. Ruffini (Pisa-Roma 2012), pp. 197-216.

Giovanni Gasbarri - Byzantium in objects and objects from Byzantium: doubts, fakes and misunderstandings in historiography at the turn of the 20th century. The case of Giancarlo Rossi’s Tesoro Sacro

by Giovanni Gasbarri

in Actual Problems of Theory and History of Art II, Proceedings of the International Congress (Moscow, 1-5 dicembre 2010), in corso di stampa

Eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century dactyliothecae and gem casts in the collection of the University of Texas at Austin

by Ulf R. Hansson

draft only

The University of Texas at Austin houses a major collection of plaster and sulphur casts of classical and neoclassical... more The University of Texas at Austin houses a major collection of plaster and sulphur casts of classical and neoclassical engraved gems. The collection was formed by a European collector around 1900 and includes three 18th- and early 19th-century dactyliothecae (gem or cast cabinets) of German, Italian and British manufacture. This article traces the very interesting history of this collection and its first owner. A complete catalogue with online access is also in preparation.

Fragments of the So-Called Marwan Tiraz

by Mariam Rosser-Owen

Catalogue entry no.173, co-authored with Mina Moraitou and Ana Cabrera, in the catalogue 'Byzantium and Islam: Age of Transition', edited by Helen C. Evans with Brandie Ratliff (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, distributed by Yale University Press, 2012), pp. 238-241

Sulla provenienza dal Camposanto pisano di una Presentazione al Tempio nel Museo Mimara di Zagabria (e di un Angelo della Maestà di Duccio)

by Ljerka Dulibic

published in Predella, rivista semestrale di arti visive. 27 (2010) (online version) and Predella. Primitivi pisani fuori contesto. 1 (2010) , 1; 97-104, XLII-XLVII (printed version, + Appendice)

La connessione fra due piccole tavole di Pietro Lorenzetti, la Presentazione al tempio del Museo Mimara di Zagabria e... more La connessione fra due piccole tavole di Pietro Lorenzetti, la Presentazione al tempio del Museo Mimara di Zagabria e l'Adorazione dei Re Magi del Louvre, è ben nota al pubblico degli studiosi, provenendo entrambe da un altarolo portatile trecentesco. In questo contributo si descrive il retro del dipinto al Museo Mimara, identificando i sigilli che vi sono applicati come quelli del conservatore del Camposanto pisano Carlo Lasinio (Treviso, 1759 - Pisa, 1838). La stessa combinazione di sigilli si riconosce per la prima volta anche sul retro dell’Angelo della collezione Huis Bergh, un frammento che si ritiene fosse un tempo parte della Maestà di Duccio. L'identificazione dei sigilli consente una discussione del dipinto zagabrese e di quello olandese in relazione al «somewhat ambiguous role» di Lasinio che fu insieme curatore, collezionista e mercante d'arte

"'Bell's Poetics: The Baviad, the Della Cruscans, and the Book of The World." The Satiric Eye. Ed. Steven Jones. Palgrave Press, 2003. Pages 31-53.

by Michael Gamer

A study of engraved diamonds

by Hadrien Rambach

Work in progress

An inventory of all known diamond intaglios (coats-of-arms as well as portraits, flowers and animals), from the... more An inventory of all known diamond intaglios (coats-of-arms as well as portraits, flowers and animals), from the 15th-century until 1900.

«lhe nam faltou mais que não nasçer Rei»: splendore et magnificentia no «tesouro» e guarda-roupa do infante D. Luís

by Hugo Crespo

This paper discusses previously unknown royal receipts (quittance or carta de quitação) that offer detailed lists of... more This paper discusses previously unknown royal receipts (quittance or carta de quitação) that offer detailed lists of the most precious possessions and household belongings of King Manuel I's son, Infante D. Luís, who died in 1555. Careful analysis of these lists illuminate important aspects of the princeps's personality, as well as the identity of a number of members of his entourage, including his treasurer, Rui Salema, his silversmith and his two foreign armorers.

«lhe nam faltou mais que não nasçer Rei»: splendore et magnificentia no «tesouro» e guarda-roupa do infante D. Luís

by Hugo Crespo

This paper discusses previously unknown royal receipts (quittance or carta de quitação) that offer detailed lists of... more This paper discusses previously unknown royal receipts (quittance or carta de quitação) that offer detailed lists of the most precious possessions and household belongings of King Manuel I's son, Infante D. Luís, who died in 1555. Careful analysis of these lists illuminate important aspects of the princeps's personality, as well as the identity of a number of members of his entourage, including his treasurer, Rui Salema, his silversmith and his two foreign armorers.

Incrusted with Ivory: Observations on a Casket in the Victoria and Albert Museum

by Mariam Rosser-Owen

In Siculo-Arabic Ivories and Islamic Painting 1100-1300. Proceedings of the International Conference, Berlin, 6-8 July 2007. Römisches Jahrbuch der Bibliotheca Hertziana, vol. XXXVI, ed. David Knipp (Munich, 2011), pp. 53-79

A study of the incrustation technique in medieval Mediterranean ivories, taking V&A casket inv. 700-1884 as a... more A study of the incrustation technique in medieval Mediterranean ivories, taking V&A casket inv. 700-1884 as a starting point <http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O86577/casket/>; and using technique to associate a group of medieval ivories which have not really been associated before. It also turns into a study of the famous "enigmatic" large oval casket in the Cappella Palatina treasury, which Monneret de Villard called the "masterpiece of the art of incrustation".

Adalékok az Országos Széchényi Könyvtár Cod. Germ. 38 jelzetű kéziratának újkori provenienciájához. Habent sua fata libelli! [Beiträge zum neuzeitlichen Überlieferungsschicksal des Cod. Germ. 38 der Ungarischen Nationalbibliothek], in: Magyar Könyvszemle (Budapest/Ungarn) 119 (2003), S. 366-374

by Balázs J. Nemes

In der vorliegenden Untersuchung geht es im Grunde um die Erhellung der Jahrzehnte, die zwischen der letzten Bezeugung... more In der vorliegenden Untersuchung geht es im Grunde um die Erhellung der Jahrzehnte, die zwischen der letzten Bezeugung von Cod. Germ. 38 (u.a. mit Mechthilds von Magdeburg „Das fließende Licht der Gottheit“) im Bestand der Jesuitenbibliothek von Millstatt im Jahr 1774 und ihrer Erwerbung durch den ungarischen Bibliophilen und Mitbegründer der mittelalterlichen Handschriftensammlung der Ungarischen Nationalbibliothek, Miklós Jankovich (1773-1846), um 1830 liegen. Bemerkenswerterweise gibt es eine Reihe von Handschriften in der Jankovich-Sammlung, die aus den Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts aufgelösten Kärntner Klöstern Millstatt, Eberndorf und St. Paul in Lavanthal stammen und folgende Merkmale aufweisen: ein 19 x 22,7 cm Papierzettel mit einem Numerus currens-Signatur und einer kurzen Beschreibung des Äußeren der Handschrift bzw. ihres Inhalts. Wenn auch ein solcher Zettel in vielen Handschriften heute nicht mehr nachzuweisen ist, taucht die für diese Gruppe von Handschriften typische Numerus currens-Signatur im inneren Vorderspiegel, auf fol. 1r oder auf dem letzten Blatt bzw. auf dem hinteren Buchdeckel der entsprechenden Bände auf.

Auf Handschriften mit dieser Ausstattung stößt man nicht nur bei Jankovich sondern auch in den auf uns gekommenen 13 Handschriften der Sammlung der Grafen Seiler-Aspang in Schönbichl (ursprünglich verfügte die Bibliothek über etwa 70-80 Handschriften; doch ist der Großteil von ihnen dem 2. Weltkrieg zum Opfer gefallen). Desgleichen ist auf zwei Handschriften hinzuweisen, die über Matthäus Kuppitsch (1797-1849) in den Besitz der Vorgängerinstitution der Berliner Staatsbibliothek gekommen sind und die oben genannten Merkmale aufweisen: Ms. germ. oct. 138 und Ms. germ. fol. 575. Zu beachten ist in diesem Zusammenhang auch die ehemalige Kuppitsch-Handschrift HV Msc. 129 (Nro. 1790) der Staatsbibliothek Bamberg. Kuppitsch hat Handschriften auch an Karl Wilhelm Ludwig Heyse (1797-1855) vermittelt, die heute in der Berliner Staatsbibliothek liegen. Es ist durchaus denkbar, dass das eine oder andere Stück aus dieser Sammlung die oben genannten Merkmale aufweist. Nach der Versteigerung der Kuppitsch-Sammlung 1845 hat der Berliner Antiquar Adolf Asher (1800-1853) eine Reihe von Handschriften erworben, die in die Bibliothek des British Museum gelangt sind. Wenn auch nicht Add. 15690 (Millstätter Provenienz!) so könnten andere Handschriften durchaus aus dem Besitz jenes Antiquars stammen, der Bibliophile und Antiquare seiner Zeit mit mittelalterlichen Handschriften vorwiegend kärntnerischer Provenienz versorgt hat. Einer brieflichen Mitteilung von Nikolaus Henkel zufolge könnte es unter den Kuppitsch-Handschriften aus London auch solche geben, die die für den unbekannten Antiquar typischen Numerus-currens-Signaturen enthalten. Mit weiteren Handschriften aus dem Besitz unseres Antiquars ist im Bestand der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek in Wien zu rechnen. Dies zeigt etwa die Handschrift Cvp 12836 (Suppl. 443).

Es stellt sich die Frage, wo der unbekannte Antiquar seine Handschriften vorwiegend kärntnerischer Provenienz erworben haben kann. Man denkt als Erstes an die Klagenfurter Öffentliche Bibliothek, die für die Aufnahme der aufgelösten kärntnerischen Klosterbibliotheken bestimmt war und in der jahrzehntelang Umstände herrschten, die die ‚Abwanderung‘ einer Reihe von Handschriften begünstigt haben könnten. Zugleich ist nicht auszuschließen, dass unser Antiquar aus zweiter Hand in den Besitz von Handschriften Kärntnerischer und anderer Provenienz gelangt ist, denn es ist auffällig, dass eine Gruppe von Handschriften, die über seine Vermittlung in die Jankovich-Sammlung gekommen ist, außer dem Numerus currens eine weitere durchstrichene Zahl aufweisen.

Coleccionar la Alhambra: Owen Jones y la España Islámica en el South Kensington Museum / Collecting the Alhambra: Owen Jones and Islamic Spain at the South Kensington Museum

by Mariam Rosser-Owen

Chapter in the book Owen Jones y la Alhambra, edited by Juan Calatrava (Granada: Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife, 2011), pp. 43-69 (English version pp. 159-168; NB the English version of the article is included at the end of the PDF)

Apollo and Marsyas on engraved gems and medals

by Hadrien Rambach

in: Jahrbuch für Numismatik und Geldgeschichte, 61 (2011), pp. 131-157

The famous "Seal of Nero, a Roman intaglio depicting Apollo, Marsyas and Olympus, was once in the collection of... more The famous "Seal of Nero, a Roman intaglio depicting Apollo, Marsyas and Olympus, was once in the collection of Lorenzo il Magnifico and is now in the National Museum of Naples. Two gems related to that "Seal of Nero" are published here for the first time: one, a severely damaged intaglio kept in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, is supposed to date from the third quarter of the first century BC. Another gem with a similar motif, a refined Renaissance cameo, recentlya ppeared in Oxfordshire and is now in a private collection in London. It is presumed that this perfectly preserved piece originally was in the possession of the Medici. The author considers a possible attribution of this work to the young Michelangelo Buonarroti and discusses a copy shown in a portrait painting by Botticelli now in the Städel Museum in Frankfurt on the Main. (summary by Matthias Barth)

Review of the exhibition: La Collezione Borgia. Curiosità e tesori da ogni parte del mondo

by arianna D'OTTONE

published in: "Arte medievale", n.s. I (2002), pp. 149-150

A Museum of Wonders or a Cemetery of Corpses? The Commercial Exchange of Anatomical Collections in the Early Modern Netherlands

by Daniel Margocsy

published in: Sven Dupré and Christoph Lüthy, eds. Silent Messengers. The Circulation of Material Objects of Knowledge in the Early Modern Low Countries. Berlin: LIT Verlag, 2011.

Collecting Histories and the Market for Classical Antiquities

by David Gill

Journal of Art Crime 3, 1 (2010) 3-10

Aggiunte alla collezione Tacoli-Canacci. Dipinti del Cinquecento e icone balcaniche.

by Vincenzo M. Buonocore

'"Die Quelle des guten Geschmacks ist nun geöffnet!": Philipp Daniel Lipperts Dactyliotheca Universalis 1755-1776', in F. Faegersten, J. Wallensten & I. Östenberg (eds.), Tankemönster: En festskrift till Eva Rystedt, Lund 2010, 92-101.

by Ulf R. Hansson

Written for a Festschrift to honor the Swedish archaeologist Eva Rystedt, this essay is about the highly interesting... more Written for a Festschrift to honor the Swedish archaeologist Eva Rystedt, this essay is about the highly interesting eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century cultural phenomena of dactyliothecae (cabinets with casts of ancient and neoclassical engraved gems). It outlines the history of collecting and scholarship, with special focus on the work of Dresden-based antiquary Philipp Daniel Lippert (1702-1785) and his widely influential Dactyliothecae Universalis and various other editions and supplements, published between 1753 and 1776. Other manufacturers, collectors and scholars discussed include Philipp von Stosch, Johann Joachim Winckelmann, Christian Dehn, Bartolomeo & Pietro Paoletti, Johannes Wiedewelt, James Tassie and others.