Episode 9 - An Imitation of Luxury
Textile with Swan Hunt, 12th–13th century, China
Plain-weave silk brocaded with gold-leaf wrapped leather strips 23 x 24 1/2 in. (58.5 x 62.2 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Bernardo Daddi, Panel from the Santa Reparata Polyptych, c. 1338-40
Tempera and gold on panel
Uffizi Galleries, Florence
Bernardo Daddi, Panel from the Santa Reparata Polyptych, c. 1338-40
Tempera and gold on panel
Uffizi Galleries, Florence
Textile with Coiled Dragons, Jin dynasty (1115–1234), China
Plain-weave silk brocaded with metallic thread, 29 1/8 x 13 in. (74 x 33 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Brocade with Soaring Phoenixes among Clouds, Jin dynasty (1115 – 1234), China
Silk and gold thread; tabby, brocaded, 22 1/8 x 24 1/2 in (56.2 x 62.2 cm)
Cleveland Museum of Art
Master of the Dominican Effigies, Madonna and Child, c. 1340
Tempera and gold on panel
Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence
Textile with Phoenix, Winged Animal and Flowers, 13th–early 14th century, Central Asia
Silk and metallic thread lampas, 9 5/16 x 6 1/2 in. (23.7 x 16.5 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Guido da Siena, Paliotto: Transfiguration, Entrance into Jerusalem, and Resurrection of Lazarus, c 1270 - 1275
Tempera and gold on canvas, 35 ½ x 73 ¼ in (90 x 186 cm)
Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena
Giovanni Baronzio, Madonna and Child with Five Angels, c. 1335
Tempera on panel, 40 1/4 × 19 7/16 × 1 7/16 in (102.3 × 49.3 cm)
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
Bernardo Daddi, Coronation of the Virgin, 1342-45
Tempera and gold on panel
Accademia Gallery, Florence
Bernardo Daddi, Santa Reparata Before the Emperor Decius, c. 1338-40
Tempera and gold on panel, 12 ¾ x 16 in (32.4 x 40.6 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Macro photography of mordant gilding
Simone Martini, Annunciation, 1333
Tempera and gold on wood, 120 x 104 in (305 x 265 cm)
Uffizi Galleries, Florence
Textile with Floral Pattern, late 13th–mid-14th century, Central Asia
Silk and metallic thread lampas, 4 3/4 x 11 in. (12.1 x 27.9 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Master of the Sienese Straus Madonna, Virgin and Child, c 1340-50
Tempera and gold leaf on panel, 32 1/8 × 17 3/4 in. (81.6 × 45.1 cm)
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Giovanni del Biondo, St. Catherine of Alexandria, late 14th century
Tempera and gold on panel
Museo Opera del Duomo, Florence
Photo Credit: Sailko
Textile, 14th century, Lucca
Silk, metal thread, 20 x 10 1/2 in. (50.8 x 26.7 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Simone Martini, Saint Louis of Toulouse, c. 1317
Tempera, gold, and gems (lost) on panel, 121.6 × 74.2 in (309 x 188.5 cm)
Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte, Naples
Velvet with gold discs, late 1200s or earlier, Iran, probably Tabriz, Ilkhanid period
Silk, gilt-metal thread; brocaded velvet, 12 x 8 1/8 in (30.5 x 20.6 cm)
Cleveland Museum of Art
Recommended Reading
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Cathleen S. Hoeniger, “Cloth of Gold and Silver: Simone Martini's Techniques for Representing Luxury Textiles,” Gesta, Vol. 30, No. 2 (1991), pp. 154-162
Cecilie Hollberg ed., Textiles and Wealth in 14th Century Florence: Wool, Silk, Painting, 2017
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