Geography and Knowledge Exchange in BnF Fr. Ms. 640
by Sofia Gans
<title id=”p128v_a1”>
Blanchiment de largent gecte </title>
<ab id=”p128v_b1a”>
Pourceque on gecte communem{ent} de bas argent & mesmem{ent} </lb>
les allemands Et que telle ligne face volontiers quelq{ue} </lb>
chappe ou croste qui est contraire xxx Nos Aulcuns orfevres de</lb>
france sont communem{ent} bien empresses a blanchir leurs </lb>
ouvraiges mesmem{ent} les grossieres Pourcequils meslent </lb>
que du commun bullitoyre que est de tartre & sel commun </lb>
presque auta{n}t dun que daultre Mays jay veu un </lb>
excellent allemand travailler ainsy ayant en ma presence </lb>
gecte un petit lezard de ligne de teston Il fist une croste </lb>
xxx sasle Et pour len nettoyer il le fist bouillir au bullitoyre </lb>
susdict de tartre & sel commun Et pulverise mesle deau commune au foeu </lb>
de sa forge en estant sorty il le grattebroissa et pourceque </lb>
il nestoit pas net a sa fantasie de ceste croste il fist brusler </lb>
du tartre dans du papier jusques a ce quil fut noir & ne fuma plus Puys </lb>
il destrempa ledict tartre avec de leau du bullitoyre co{m}posee </lb>
de sel & tartre & en couvrit tout son lezard puys le mit entre les </lb>
charbons de vifs de la forge & soufla un peu Quand le lezard fut </lb>
rouge il losta le laissa froidir puys le recuit au bullitoyre </lb>
apres le grattebroissa dans leau claire
</ab>
<title id=”p128v_a1”>
Bleaching casting silver </title>
<ab id=”p128v_b1a”>
People, even German people, commonly cast silver of poor quality. This kind of cast produces crusts which is contary to xxx. Our Some goldsmiths of France are commonly encouraged to whiten their works, especially the rough ones. Some silversmiths hasten to bleach their works including the thick parts. To do that they mix it with common “bullitoyre” which is made of calamine and common salt, in equivalent quantities. I saw an excellent German worker who cast in my presence a lizard with a teston which had produce a crust […] To clean that he did boil some “bullitoyre” made of calamine and common salt ground together with common water on the heat of a forge. Upon removing it he brushed it on, and because he thought it wasn’t clean enough of this crust for his liking, he burnt calamine with paper until it became black, and until it had stopped smoking, then he soaked this calamine in the water of the “bullitoyre” made of salt and calamine, he covered the entire lizard, then put the lizard between lighted charcoals in the forge, he blew a bit, when the lizard became red, he […], let it cool, then reheated it with the “bullitoyre” mixture, and brushed it in clear water. </ab>
The historiography of early modern metalworking technology has focused much of its energies on the innovations of the Italian peninsula, celebrating Donatello’s early experiments with life-casting,1 Antico’s first adoption of hollow indirect casting,2 the so-called “birth” of small collectors’ bronzes in northern Italy,3 or Cellini’s massive sculptures claimed to have been cast in a single pour.4 Certainly, many more writings by Italian metalworkers were printed and survive today than any other geographic region, which might help explain the sustained scholarly interest in the area.5 But how important were Italian ideas and technologies for the formation of artisans and craftspeople outside the peninsula in the sixteenth century? If we use BnF Ms. Fr. 640 as a window into the exchange of ideas in early modern France, a different story might emerge. The recipe cited above, fol. 128v, makes clear that our author-practitioner observed German metalworkers at work, and no equivalent observation exists for craftsmen of any other geographic region. Indeed, when it comes to remarking on the techniques used in specific locales, only Germany is mentioned in conjunction with metalworking techniques worth replicating.
While scholarly interest has favored Italy as the source of the Renaissance of innovation in casting technology in the early modern era, contemporary sixteenth-century chroniclers made it clear that Germany, and especially the Imperial Free Cities of the Holy Roman Empire, enjoyed prestigious international reputations as centers of innovation and invention. Nuremberg and Augsburg were especially highly regarded for their metalwork. Intellectuals and philosophers such as the astronomer Johann Regionmantus chose to settle in Nuremberg in the late fifteenth century “because I can easily procure here all necessary instruments, particularly those which are indispensable for the study of astronomy, and also because I can easily keep up a connection with scholars of all countries from here, for this city, on account of its concourse of merchants, may be considered the central point of Europe.”6 The importance of Nuremberg as a hub of commerce and wealthy merchants created a highly cosmopolitan city containing both scholars and craftsmen known not only for their work in fine arts, but also in the production of delicate astronomical and other instruments of great precision. The Parisian philosopher Petrus Ramus spent four days visiting the artisan workshops of Nuremberg in 1568 and was thoroughly impressed by the way these artisans unified theory and practice in their work.7 Indeed, just before the proposed date for our manuscript,8 the great Wenzel Jamnitzer was producing complex life-cast objects destined for imperial Kunstkammern from his “large and prosperous”9 workshop in Nuremberg. Given the clear interest of our author-practitioner in casting from life, portrait medals, and other objects that would have formed part of a Kunstkammer collection, it is likely that he would have been familiar with Jamnitzer’s work, an interest that could have drawn him to a study of German craft. Following the textual clues left us by our author-practitioner, we can begin to understand the ready exchange of knowledge across geographic borders that characterized the experiences of the early modern craftsman.
Fol. 128v provides several interesting glimpses of the esteem in which the author held German skill. The first sentence alone, “Pourceque on gecte communem{ent} de bas argent & mesmem{ent} les allemands” (People, even German people, commonly cast silver of poor quality),10 speaks volumes. The fact that he specifies that even Germans are known to use inferior materials from time to time indicates the high expectations placed on work of German origin. It is as though it might come as a surprise to the reader, or came as a surprise to the author-practitioner, that they, too, would deal with poor quality metals. He documents, in detail, the techniques of the “excellent” German metalworker whom he directly observed clean a silver lizard that had come out with some sort of crust. He makes a point of noting that the processes he records were observed directly, that the lizard was cast “en ma presence” (“in my presence”). It seems as though he is recommending that French craftsmen adopt this technique over the one commonly used, as it is more effective for cleaning and whitening.
Indeed, there are a variety of other recipes in the manuscript that indicate that the author had actually observed German craftsmen at work and spoken to them at length about their techniques and traditions. On fol. 125r, in a recipe discussing the methods for soaking plaster, the author provides a striking ethnographic detail: “De ce plaster ainsy recuit en pouldre il sen gecte des medailles quil ne craignent point les pluyes mesmement si elles sont vernis On les tient en allemaigne sur les maisons” (Medals are cast from this powdered, reheated plaster, [and the medals] will be waterproof as though they were varnished. In Germany, people hang these medals on houses). This specific observation indicates a familiarity with the domestic decorative customs of German homes that could have been obtained either from travel to the region or from conversations with its natives.
The manuscript precisely records a whole series of metalwork techniques that are ascribed specifically to the Germans, indicating his interest in the technology of the Empire. A recipe on fol. 32v indicates familiarity with German techniques of casting candelabra.11 Fol. 63r includes a recipe that mentions German craftsmen’s preference for lead from Flanders.12 Fol. 72v references the German tendency to casting lead very thinly.13 Fol. 149r includes two descriptions of German methods, one specifically related to the craft of goldsmiths, and the other titled “Various German ways of working,” which illuminates the German metalsmith’s use of mechanized hammers run by water mills, and the specific German method for drawing iron wire.14 On fol. 159v, the use of plaster in molding statues for German fountains is discussed in some detail.15 Finally, in a note on fol. 120r, he notes that certain mixtures that allow gold to run better have only been known in Germany for forty years.16 Such specific knowledge of the historical acquisition of technique would have likely required conversation with a German craftsman. In addition, he seems to know a good deal about where to source German materials such as the material “spalt” (outside Augsburg),17 or the best lead, used in Nuremberg.18 No other geographic region is given such attention by name, indicating a notable interest in German technique in particular. A great deal of observation would have to have been involved in the deliberate preservation of such a variety of foreign knowledge.
It was not uncommon for craftsmen from across Europe to travel abroad in the landscape of early modern workshops, as many journeymen apprentices looking to learn from master craftsmen in other communities would spend a portion of their training on the road. In Germany, this travel was known as the Wanderjahr,19 and was compulsory for all journeymen craftsmen looking to eventually establish themselves as masters in their own right. In 1449, 7% of Nuremberg’s total population was made up of such journeymen, working temporarily for local craftsmen.20 In France, this voyage was called the Tour de France, and, while generally opposed by the monarchy,21 remained a popular way for journeymen to escape somewhat strict laws of apprenticeship in France.22 While both systems of travel seem to have focused mainly on the knowledge that could be gained within one’s own country, there are also plenty of documented journeymen who traveled internationally, always choosing a region or city with the best reputation in their craft.23 It is important to note that despite being relatively equidistant geographically from both the Italian Peninsula and Germany, our author chose to focus on techniques from Germany, perhaps indicating that this country’s reputation for excellence in metalworking was greater than that of Italy at the time. Indeed, the only time he mentions Italy in relation to metalworking comes on fol. 109r, when he describes the Italians’ choice to mix their wax with tallow, which does not carve as cleanly as turpentine or butter. Otherwise, Italy and Italian artistic centers such as Florence, Venice, Milan, or Rome are only mentioned in relation to the materials that are sourced from there,24 such as Venice turpentine or lake pigment, or lacquer or paper from Florence. Italian technique is only specifically noted in reference to painting.25 Other countries with important artistic reputations, such as Flanders26 are given a similar cursory treatment. Thus, purely from the textual evidence available in Ms Fr 640, we can conclude that, for our author, German metalworkers and their techniques were most worthy of documentation and emulation, indicating that Germany was perhaps a center of casting innovation equal to or greater than Italy at the time.
Bibliography
Allen, Denise with Peta Motture, eds. Andrea Riccio: Renaissance Master of Bronze. New York:
The Frick Collection, 2008.
Cole, Michael W. “Cellini’s Blood.” The Art Bulletin 81.2 (1999): 215–35.
Icher, François. The Artisans and Guilds of France: Beautiful Craftsmanship through the
centuries. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2000.
Kluge, Arnd. Die Zünfte. Stuttgart: Steiner, 2007.
Mukerji, Chandra. “Tacit Knowledge and Classical Technique in Seventeenth-Century France:
Hydraulic Cement as a Living Practice Among Masons and Military Engineers.”
Technology and Culture (47, 2006): 713-733.
Pincus, Debra ed. Small Bronzes of the Renaissance. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001.
Reith, Reinhold. “Circulation of Skilled Labor in Late Medieval and Early Modern Central
Europe.” in Guilds, Innovation, and the European Economy, 1400-1800, 114-142.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
Smith, Pamela H. The Body of the Artisan: Art and Experience in the Scientific Revolution.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004.
Stone, Richard E. “A New Interpretation of the Casting of Donatello’s Judith and Holofernes.”
In Small Bronzes of the Renaissance. Edited by Debra Pincus. New Haven: Yale University
Press, 2001.
Stone, Richard E. “Antico and the Development of Bronze Casting in Italy at the End of the
Quattrocento.” Metropolitan Museum Journal 16 (1982): 87-116.
1 See Richard E. Stone, “A New Interpretation of the Casting of Donatello’s Judith and Holofernes,” in Small Bronzes of the Renaissance, ed. Debra Pincus (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001), 55-69.
2 See Richard E. Stone, “Antico and the Development of Bronze Casting in Italy at the End of the Quattrocento,” Metropolitan Museum Journal 16 (1982): 87-116.
3 See Debra Pincus, ed. Small Bronzes of the Renaissance (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001); Denise Allen with Peta Motture, eds. Andrea Riccio: Renaissance Master of Bronze (New York: The Frick Collection, 2008).
4 See Michael W. Cole, “Cellini’s Blood,” The Art Bulletin 81.2 (1999): 215–35.
5 For example, Vannoccio Biringuccio’s Pirotechnia of the mid-sixteenth century; Benvenuto Cellini’s Treatise on Sculpture, sixteenth century, as well as his autobiography, Cennino Cennini’s Il Libro dell’Arte, c. 1400; and humanist Pomponius Gauricus’ more theoretical De Sculptura from 1504, for which he claims to have observed workshops.
6 Quoted in Pamela H. Smith, The Body of the Artisan (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004), 65-66.
7 Ibid 66
8 BnF Ms. Fr. 640 probably dates to the 1580s, see Pamela H. Smith and Tonny Beentjes, “Nature and Art, Making and Knowing: Reconstructing Sixteenth-Century Life Casting Techniques,” Renaissance Quarterly, 63 (2010): 130.
9 Ibid 76
10 Emphasis added by author.
11 “En allemaigne ilz font des chandeliers fort legiers cest pource quilz les tournent par le moyen de leau mays ilz sont frangibles” (In Germany candelabras are made very light because they rotate by means of water, but they are breakable).
12 “Les allemands versent du plomb de flandre pourceque est fort doulx” (The Germans use lead from Flanders because it is very soft).
13 “Les Allemands jectent fort tenvre leurs plombs pourcequil semble quilz viennent mieulx que fort espes” (The Germans cast lead very thinly, because it seems to come out better than very thick).
14 “Les orfevres dallemaigne Lont voules affiner pensant le separer davecq ceste blancheur quilz evident estre argent” (Goldsmiths from Germany wanted to refine it in order to separate gold from the whitish color they thought to be silver); “Divers arts dallemaigne” (Various german way of working). “Ils saydent fort des moulins deau & la pluspart des artisans de metaulx dor & dargent & aultres font a ces martines faire battre leurs grands ouvrages Et pour tirer le fil de fer il rougissent de grandes masses de fer & luy ayant faict une poincte ilz le font acrocher ainsy tout rouge & tirent ainsy promptem{ent} le fil” (They work a lot with water mill, most of gold, silver and other metalworkers use the hammers of the water mill to hammer their big works and to draw iron wire, they redden a big lump of iron from which they make a point that they hang when red, then they draw the wire).
15 “Les allemands en font des statues aulx fontaines qui ne se gastent point mesmem[{ent}] esta{n}t vernissees Ains il sendurcist en leau” (German people use this plaster to make statues for their fountains, even if the statues are varnished they will not be damaged with water. On the contrary this plaster hardens with water). This recipe appears to refer to a substance similar to hydraulic mortar, a type of cement that hardens upon exposure to water that has been in use to varying degrees in Europe since the Roman Empire. For a discussion of the tacit preservation of the formula for making hydraulic mortar, see Chandra Mukerji, “Tacit Knowledge and Classical Technique in Seventeenth-Century France: Hydraulic Cement as a Living Practice Among Masons and Military Engineers,” Technology and Culture (47, 2006): 713-733. Although the recipe here does not conform to the typical construction of hydraulic mortar (lime and pozzolan sand from Italy), it appears to behave the same way. If this were true, it would further bolster Mukerji’s argument that the knowledge of making hydraulic mortar was not classical knowledge lost to time and rediscovered in the eighteenth century as a distinctly Roman technique, but rather a material whose making was preserved in a variety of ways in a variety of communities.
16 “Tu pourrois bien gecter lor en sable commun des orfevres Mays que tu y bouttes de la matiere qui faict courre Devant linvention du crocum on gectoit bien les fleurs en argent mays non point en or Il ny ha pas quara{n}te ans quon le scait en allemaigne” (You can easily cast gold with the common sand of goldsmiths, but [make sure] that you add some substance that makes it runny. Before the invention of crocum, one cast flowers in silver, but not in gold. This has only been known in Germany for forty years).
17 Fol. 107r, also fol. 106r, fol. 119r, and fol. 119v.
18 Fol. 30r.
19 For a thorough discussion of the history, regulations, structure, and demographic of the Wanderjahr, see Arnd Kluge, Die Zünfte (Stuttgart: Steiner, 2007).
20 Reinhold Reith, “Circulation of Skilled Labor in Late Medieval and Early Modern Central Europe,” in Guilds, Innovation, and the European Economy, 1400-1800 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008), 116.
21 Louis IX had produced a Livre des Metiers for Parisian craftsmen in 1268 in an attempt to control labor and undermine the collective power of guilds. This disdain for guild independence seems to have continued for many centuries. For example, in 1539, François Ier decreed that all craft fraternities and organizations be disbanded, a decree which was never followed to the letter, but which led to the somewhat clandestine nature of the Tour de France and guild practices. See François Icher, The Artisans and Guilds of France: Beautiful Craftsmanship through the Centuries (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2000), 29-32.
22 Ibid, 32.
23 Reith, “Circulation of Skilled Labor,” 123.
24 Fol. 3r, 5r, 6r, 32r, 57r, 58r, 61r, 73v, 80r, 81r, 137r.
25 Fol. 59r, 97v.
26 References on fol. 31r, 32r, 36v, 57v, 58r, 58v, 60r, 63r, 63v, 66r, 85r, largely mentioned in relation to materials or painting techniques.