De claris mulieribus - photo 1
De claris mulieribus - photo 2

De claris mulieribus

Starting price
$ 24 000
Auction dateClassic
07.12.2022 10:00UTC -04:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
USA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 859579
Lot 7 | De claris mulieribus
FORESTI DA BERGAMO, Jacobus (1434-1520). De claris mulieribus. Ferrara: Laurentius de Rubeis, de Valentia, 29 April 1497.

First edition of "one of the finest early Italian illustrated books, and the first to include contemporary woodcut portraits from life," from the library of Maria Benigna Francisca, Princess Piccolomini (Baskin). This encyclopedia of famous women stretches from antiquity—crediting Isis with the invention of writing and Nichostrata with the invention of numbers and computation—to the author's contemporaries both in Italy and abroad. While most of the fine woodcuts depict stock types (martyrs, scholars, warrior women, etc.), the final seven portraits are thought to be taken from life, executed with a noticeably different style. Five of the seven have been identified, as Bianca Maria Sforza, Catherina Countess of Forlì and Imola, Leonora of Aragon, wife of Ercole d'Este, Danisella Trivulzia, and Cassandra Fidelis. A full-page woodcut depicts Jacobus presenting the book to Beatrice of Aragon, the dedicatee. Because she died in 1491, some scholars suspect that the printed book is based on a manuscript composed rather earlier; one of the woodcut borders is also dated 1493, perhaps indicating that Rubeis was planning this work for some years. Goff J-204; Bod-inc J-085; BMC VI 613; BSB-Ink I-120; ISTC ij00204000; Ford BPH 126; Baskin 3.

Chancery folio (306 x 199mm). 176 leaves. Xylographic title page, two full page woodcuts within woodcut borders, woodcut border framing first text page, woodcut portraits throughout, printer's device at end (occasional faint dampstains, light fingersoiling at ends with small repair to register leaf, final gathering reinforced at gutter). Contemporary quarter morocco over wooden boards, clasps, catchplates (remboitage). Custom box. Provenance: occasional marginal comments and underlining, erased stamp – Maria Benigna Francisca, Princess Piccolomini, 1635-1701 (bookplate) – Austrian Federal Monuments office (Bundesdenkmalamt) stamp, 1920s.
Place of origin:Italy
Category:Incunabula, Printed book
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
20 Rockefeller Plaza
10020 New York
USA
Preview
23.11.2022 – 07.12.2022
Phone +1 212 636 2000
Fax +1 212 636 4930
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase
Shipping Postal service
Courier service
pickup by yourself
Payment methods Wire Transfer
Business hoursBusiness hours
Mo 09:30 – 17:00   
Tu 09:30 – 17:00   
We 09:30 – 17:00   
Th 09:30 – 17:00   
Fr 09:30 – 17:00   
Sa closed
Su closed

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.