Miscellaneous manuscripts (Large), circa 1585-1599

Name:

Miscellaneous Manuscripts Collection (University of Pennsylvania)

Timespan:

Early works to 1800

Date:

1585

Description:

2 leaves (4 pages), perhaps originally from a bound manuscript, containing 14 recipes, 11 dealing with the forgery of pearls. Likely of Venetian origin, the bifolia are written in Italian, with a few words in Venetian dialect. Venetian currencies such as the scudo and the quattrino (which suggest the manuscript was written at the end of the 16th century) are also mentioned. Thanks to its strategic position in the Adriatic Sea and its strong naval and commercial power, Venice was one of the most prosperous European ports, acting as an intermediary in the trade with the Byzantine Empire and the East. It was also a major importer of luxury and exotic goods such a spices, textiles, silk, gems, and pearls. Pearls from the Far East in particular were renowned for their beauty, size, and quality which made them extremely valuable and sought-after. Over the centuries, Venetian pearl merchants developed a number of techniques for transforming the less expensive pearls of local origin and glass beads into almost identical imitations of authentic pearls of greater value. The 11 recipes in the manuscript, often referred to as segreti (secrets) describe some of these techniques in great detail. They include methods to increase the size of small pearls or beads, lighten their natural color, and give them a white, lustrous appearance. They often involve the use of chemical apparatus and glassware (of which 5 small illustrations in ink accompany the text) to mix, distill, heat, and melt compounds and pastes of various origin. Talc, alum (allume di Rocco), aquavit (acquavite), nitric acid (acquaforte), and mercuric chloride (mercuriale dissolutivo) are among the most widely used substances, but one recipe requires egg whites and honey, one only water and rock salt (salgemma), and one the content of the digestive systems of snails who had been fed talc for 30 days. The 3 remaining recipes are household chemical or medical preparations. The first describes the process of calcination of talc into talc oil and its properties (according to the author, it was used to distinguish real and fake silver coins, as well as a remedy for numerous skin ailments including corns, calluses, and ulcers); the second contains the directions to make fruit jam; and the third gives the ingredients of a tooth whitening paste.

Language:

Italian

Provenance:

Sold by Martayan Lan (New York), 2012.

Relation:

The Edgar Fahs Smith Memorial Fund Home Page: http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017.12/366281

Subject:

Counterfeits and counterfeiting -- Italy; Pearls -- Early works to 1800; Chemistry -- History; Chemistry; History; Medicine -- Formulae, receipts, prescriptions -- Early works to 1800; Medicine -- Formulae, receipts, prescriptions; Pearls; Counterfeits and counterfeiting

Resource Type:

Text

Form/Genre:

recipes; Manuscripts, Italian; Manuscripts, Renaissance; manuscripts (documents)

Physical Description:

1 item (2 leaves)

Geographic Subject:

Italy

Rights:

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/

Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Edgar Fahs Smith Memorial Fund.; In Italian, with a few words in Venetian Italian.

Physical Location:

Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Manuscripts, Misc Mss (Large) Box 2 Folder 24

Collection:

Miscellaneous Manuscripts (Large); Edgar Fahs Smith Memorial Fund