A 17th-century cookbook - photo 1
A 17th-century cookbook - photo 2
A 17th-century cookbook - photo 3

A 17th-century cookbook

Lot 26
11.12.2024 00:00UTC +00:00
Classic
To bid, go to the website
CHRISTIE'S
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
ID 1349785
Lot 26 | A 17th-century cookbook
Estimate value
£ 4 000 – 6 000
A 17th-century cookbook
Artis recentioris Precepta, in Italian, manuscript on paper [Southern Italy, perhaps Naples or Sicily, 17th century]
154 recipes ranging from brain stew to Neapolitan mostaccioli, sauces, fish and meat dishes, and doughnuts: a veritable compendium of 17th-century Italian cooking.

183 x 129mm. 24+iii leaves, complete, collation: 1-212, modern foliation 1-27 followed here, c.30 lines of text, recipes numbered 1-154 (some minor marginal dampstaining, show-through and ink erosion, edges sometimes a little frayed). Original card binding rebound in modern leather.

Contents: Soups and stews, ff.1-2, including 'Minestra dei Cervelli' (brain stew), 'Minestra de Carciofi e di Piselli' (artichoke and pea soup), pigeon stew f.1v, ricotta stew f.1v, turnip soup f.2; various recipes using brain ff.2-3: brain pie, brain frittata, fried brain; veal's head stuffed with veal sweetbreads, ham, sausages, parmesan, pine nuts, candied citron and truffles f.2v; meat rolls and fricassées ff.3v-5; 'Piccioni in veste da Camera' and other stuffed, jellied and fried meats and poultry ff.6-9v; sweets ff.9v-13v, including various fried doughs ('pasta siringata', a typical Sicilian Carnival sweet, and 'pasta gonfia' or choux pastry), tarts, doughnuts, 'Bocca di Dama', 'Paste Affricane' and 'Mostaccioli alla Napolitana', almond, coffee and chocolate creams, and frozen pastry; various recipes including oyster soup, stuffed tongue, lard bread, stuffed calamari ff.14-17; fish courses ff.17-18v , including swordfish, ray, eels, frogs, trout, turtle and sturgeon; sauce recipes ff.19-20v, including anchovy sauce, apple sauce, caper sauce, pine-nut sauce, and sauces for roast chicken, roast fish and 'Salsa Reale'; 'Bianco mangiare' (blancmange) and other sweets including lemon and strawberry granita and ricotta doughnuts ff.20v-22v ending with 'Ravjuoli' (but no recipe); blanks ff.23-27v.

The manuscript is evidently an avid cook's working collection of contemporary and traditional recipes. The preponderance of fried dough, pastry, and ricotta-based recipes, along with granite and the regionally-unique recipe for Neapolitan mostaccioli indicates a localisation in the south of Italy.

Place of origin:Italy, Europe
Auction house category:Books and manuscripts
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
11.12.2024 – 11.12.2024
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.
?>