'Veneto-Saracenic' metalwork: objects and history

Abstract

"Veneto-Saracenic" is the name given to a group of brass household objects inlaid with silver, traditionally believed to have been made during the 15th and 16th centuries by Muslim craftsmen living in Venice. This thesis examines the background to the belief and, by a close examination of the objects, attempts to throw light on the question.

Chapter 1 surveys the links, both commercial and diplomatic, between Venice and the Middle East in the late mediaeval periodo exploring the trade relations with Mamluk Egypt and the career of the Turcoman leader, Uzun Hasan. His widespread campaigns prove of interest not only because of his diplomatic relations with Venice but also because the wide area ruled by the Aqquyunlu chief may explain the multiple influences found in the work of one master, Mabzud al- Kurdi, whose name is central to the "Veneto-Saracenic" school. This master's work is reviewed in some detail, attention being paid too to the oeuvi-e of another craftsman widely represented in the signed pieces, Zain al-Din. In this chapter earlier work of art historians into the question is also explored.

In order to place the inlaid metalwork In a wider contemporary context, Chapter 2 deals with-the technique and history of decorating a base metal with precious inlay. It chronicles briefly the rise to popularity of the mode brought from the Jazira to Mamluk Egypt in the 13th century and then follows the fluctuating fortunes of the Mamluk economy as they are reflected in the contemporary objects. It also looks at the Inlaid metalwork of Timurid Iran, for both Mamluk and Timurid influences are apparent in the "Veneto-Saracenic" objects. Evidence for the European techniques of the same period is sought from contemporary Western texts.

It is a basic tenet that although motifs may be copied, the arrangement of the designs is a subconscious aesthetic passed from one generation of craftsmen to the next. In face of the lack of archival evidence, the author attempts to advance the understanding of late 15th and 16th century metalwork by analysing the individidual motifs found on the objects. The more important of these have been drawn and assigned code numbers. The history of these and a brief summary of where they appear elsewhere is described in- Chapter 3. The form and function of the objects, which include spherical incense burners, hemispherical and cylindrical boxes and covers, salvers, candlesticks, buckets and ewers, are also examined.

The thesis finishes with a handlist of the objects, the majority of which are unpublished, that are currently located in museums in Europe, the United States and Israel. Each object is described briefly by using code numbers of the principal motifs. In this way, three categories of objects have been distinguished - (A) Mamluk, (B) Anatolian or North-Western Iranian, and (C) European.