Essai sur les nielles, gravures des orfèvres florentins du XVe siècle

Uittreksel

First edition of the earliest monograph devoted to niello prints, and still the standard work on the subject. Duchesne gives a masterly dissertation on the technique and history of niello, and crucially lists all niello prints then known, discussing extensively the various collections in which they were found. Sir Mark Masterman Sykes (1771-1823) had the largest collection of nielli, some of which were bought at his dispersal sales in 1824 by picture dealer,drawing connoisseur and collector Samuel Woodburn (1788-1853). The Duke of Buckingham had a choice collection of nielli which were eventually sold to the British Museum in 1834. The French Crown had a sizable collection, so did Count Durazzo of Genoa, and count Malaspina of Milan. ‘Niello is a type of black enamel, made by fusing a powder of metal oxides and sulphur, which was used for filling the lines of an engraved silver plate. When polished, the finished metalwork displays a black design on a silver ground. Sometimes goldsmiths in fifteenth-century Italy used to record their compositions by printing proof impressions of the engraving with ink on paper before completing the niello process’ (British Museum). This led historians for a time to believe that printed engravings originated in Italy with niello. Duchesne worked in the print department of the Imperial Library (later the Bibliotheque National) for 60 years. Brunet, II, 858.