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der Renaissance in Italien"; Demmin's "Studien ?ber die Stofflich-bildenden K?nste"; Von Falke's "Geschichte des deutsches Kunstgewerbes"; Scherer's "Technik und Geschichte der Intarsia"; Schmidt's "Schloss Gottorp"; Seeman's "Kunstgewerbliche Handb?cher"; Teirich's "Ornamente aus der Bl?thezeit italienischer Renaissance," and articles in "Bl?tter f?r Kunstgewerbe," and the "Kunstgewerbeblatt of the Zeitschrift f?r bildende Kunst," by such men as Teirich, Issel and Ilg.

In French--Asselineau's "A. Boulle, ?b?niste de Louis 14"; Burckhardt's "Le Cicerone"; Champeaux's "Le bois appliqu?e au mobilier," and "Le meuble"; Demmin's "Encyclop?die historique, archeologique, &c."; Luchet's "L'Arte industriel ? l'Exposition Universelle de 1867," and other encyclopaedias.

In English--"The handmaid to the arts"; Holtzapffel's "Turning and mechanical manipulation"; Pollen's paper on "Furniture in the Kensington Catalogue of Ancient and Modern furniture"; Leader Scott's "The Cathedral builders"; Tomlinson's "Cyclopaedia of Useful Arts"; Waring's "The Arts connected with architecture"; and Digby Wyatt's "Industrial Arts of the 19th Century," together with detached articles found in various publications.

Those who desire further examples of arabesque patterns may find them in Issel's "Wandt?felungen und Holzdecken"; Lacher's "Musterg?ltige holzintarsien der Deutschen Renaissance aus dem 16 und 17 Jahrhundert"; Lachner's "Geschichte der Holzbaukunst in Deutschland"; Lichtwark's "Der ornamentstich der deutschen Fr?hrenaissance"; Meurer's "Italienische Flachornamente aus der Zeit der Renaissance"; Teirich's "Ornamente aus der Bl?thezeit italienischer Renaissance," and Rhenius "Eingelegte Holzornamente der Renaissance in Schlesien von 1550-1650."

I have thought it better to run the risk of incompleteness than to overload the text with the mere names of indifferent designers and craftsmen about whom and whose work scarcely anything is known, believing that my object would be attained more surely by pointing to the work and lives of those about whose capacity there can be no question.

My thanks are due to the officials of the British Museum Library and of the Art Library at the Victoria and Albert Museum for the great assistance which they have given me in many ways, the facilities afforded me, and their unfailing kindness and courtesy; and to the Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum for similar kindness and assistance.

I have also to thank my friend Mr. C. Bessant, whose experience in all kinds of cabinet work is so great, for very kindly looking over the section dealing with the processes of manufacture.

F. HAMILTON JACKSON.

INTARSIA AND MARQUETRY

HISTORICAL NOTES--ANTIQUITY

A few notes on the exceptional scantlings of timber in antiquity may be interesting, though not strictly belonging to our subject. A stick of fir prepared to repair a bridge over the Naumachia in the time of Nero was left unused for some time to satisfy public curiosity. It measured 120 feet by 2 feet the entire length. The mast of the vessel which brought the large obelisk from Egypt, afterwards set up in the Circus Maximus, and now in front of S. John Lateran, was 100 feet by 1-1/2 feet, and the tree out of which it was cut required four men, holding hands, to surround it. A stick of cedar, cut in Cyprus and used as the mast of an undecireme, or 11 banked galley of Demetrius, took three men to span the tree out of which it was cut. It was the exceptional sizes of such pieces of timber, and veneers cut from them, which made the value of tables in Rome.

FOOTNOTES:

Pliny, Book 16, Chap. 83--"Glue, too, plays one of the principal parts in all veneering and works of marquetry. For this purpose the workmen usually employ wood with a threaded vein, to which they give the name of 'ferulea,' from its resemblance to the grain of the giant fennel, this part of the wood being preferred from its being dotted and wavy." Chap. 84--"The wood, too, of the beech is easily worked, although it is brittle and soft. Cut into thin layers of veneer it is very flexible, but is only used for the construction of boxes and desks. The wood, too, of the holm oak is cut into veneers of remarkable thinness, the colour of which is far from unsightly; but it is more particularly where it is exposed to friction that this wood is valued, as being one to be depended upon; in the axle trees of wheels, for instance, for which the ash is also employed, on account of its pliancy, the holm oak for its hardness, and the elm for the union in it of both these qualities.... The best woods for cutting into layers and employing as a veneer for covering others are the citrus, the terebinth, the different varieties of the maple, the box, the palm, the holly, the holm oak, the root of the elder, and the poplar. The alder furnishes, also, a kind of tuberosity, which is cut into layers like those of the citrus and the maple. In all the other trees, the tuberosities are of no value whatever. It is the central part of trees that is most variegated, and the nearer we approach to the root the smaller are the spots and the more wavy. It was in this appearance that originated that requirement of luxury which displays itself in covering one tree with another, and bestowing upon the more common woods a bark of higher price. In order to make a single tree sell many times over laminae of veneer have been devised; but that was not thought sufficient--the horns of animals must next be stained of different colours, and their teeth cut into sections, in order to decorate wood with ivory, and, at a later period, to veneer it all over. Then, after all this, man must go and seek his materials in the sea as well! For this purpose he has learned to cut tortoise shell into sections; and of late, in the reign of Nero, there was a monstrous invention devised of destroying its natural appearance by paint, and making it sell at a still higher price by a successful imitation of wood.

"It is in this way that the value of our couches is so greatly enhanced; it is in this way, too, that they bid the rich lustre of the terebinth to be outdone, a mock citrus to be made that shall be more valuable than the real one, and the grain of the maple to be feigned. At one time luxury was not content with wood; at the present day it sets us on buying tortoise shells in the guise of wood."--Pliny's Natural History, Bohn's Translation.

ITALY IN MEDIAEVAL AND RENAISSANCE TIMES

The mediaeval craft seems, however, to have been derived from the East, though Theophilus mentions the Germans as clever practitioners in woodwork. A minnesinger's harp of the 14th century, figured by Hefner Alteneck, appears to bear out his remark, though later in date, with its powdering of geometrical inlays and curiously-designed sprigs, which might almost have been produced by the latest art craze, which apes archaic simplicity. It belonged to the knightly poet Oswald von Wolkenstein, who died in 1445; the colours used are two browns, black, white, and green. The oriental inlays of ivory upon wood, elaborate and beautiful geometrical designs, are still produced in India in much the same fashion as in the middle ages, for the possibilities of geometric design were exhausted by the Arabs in Egypt and the Moors in Spain; and in Venice there was a quarter inhabited by workmen of the latter race who made both metal work and objects in wood. Except for the inlaid ivory casket in the Capella Palatina, at Palermo, which seems to be a work of Norman times, we have no work of the kind which can be dated with precision before the appearance in the north of Italy of the similar "lavoro alla Certosa," or "tarsia alla Certosina"; but since inlaying with small pieces of marble and vitreous pastes was practised in central and southern Italy certainly from the 12th century, there is little difficulty in imagining how its use arose. This work has its derivative still existing in England in the so-called "Tonbridge ware," which is made by arranging rods of wood in a pattern and glueing them together, after which sections are sliced off--the same proceeding, in effect, as that which the Egyptians made use of with rods or threads of glass. One must allow, however, that the wooden border inlays, which are also placed under this heading, show greater craft mastery, as the examples appended show, which are typical instances. The chair-back from S. Ambrogio, Milan, is a characteristic example of the simpler form on a tolerably large scale.

Historians are agreed that the cradle of Italian carving and inlaying was Siena, where there is mention of a certain Manuello, who, with his son Parti, worked in the ancient choir of the Cathedral in 1259. Orvieto was another place where tarsia work was made at an early date, but the craftsmen were all Sienese. Mastro Vanni di Tura dell' Ammanato, the Sienese, made the design of the stalls for the Cathedral in 1331, and commenced the work, some remains of which are still preserved in the Museum of the Opera del Duomo. Twenty-eight artists were employed on these stalls; Giovanni Talini, Meo di Nuti, and others, all Sienese, assisted him, but he died before they were finished, and they remained incomplete till 1414, when Domenico di Nicol? is recorded as undertaking the work; but neither did he finish it, for in 1431 the overseers gave it to Pietro di Minella, and then to his brother Antonio, and to Giovanni di Lodovico di Magno. The woods used were ebony, box, walnut, and white poplar, and the cost was 3152 lire. In the 14th century tarsia was executed at Siena, Assisi, where in 1349 Nicolo di Nicoluccio and Tommaso di Ceccolo worked at the Cathedral stalls, which no longer remain; Verona, in the sacristy of S. Anastasia, in which city are some inlays resembling those at Orvieto, and Perugia, where some inlays remain in the Collegio della Mercanzia, but remains of the period are few, as may be expected.

Domenico di Nicol? worked for 13 years at the chapel in the Palazzo Pubblico at Siena, using some of Taddeo Bartoli's designs, and also did the doors of the Sala di Balia, or of the Pope. This man, who was one of the best Sienese masters of intarsia and carving, and was head of the Opera del Duomo in 1400, and whose work brought him so much reputation that his family name of Spinelli was changed for himself and his descendants to Del Coro, or Dei Cori, is an example and a proof of the small profit which was to be made even then by conscientious and careful work. He was not only a worker in wood, in 1424 he also did the panels of the Cathedral floor, representing David and Goliath, the Amorite Kings, and Samson, ascribed by Vasari to Duccio; in 1415 he was paid 42 lire for a tabernacle made of gesso, while as early as February 28, 1397-8, he was paid 32 lire 10 soldi for 32-1/2 days' work on a window above the pulpit; yet on May 13, 1421, he petitions the priors and captain of the people to this effect. He says that he is poor, and cannot meet the requirements of his family and apprentices, each of whom, he says, costs 30 or 40 florins a year, and therefore suggests that he should have two or three boys to teach, and that the priors should subsidize him for that purpose, and binds himself to teach them all he can without reserve. The priors and captains recommended to the council that he should be paid by the chamberlain of Bicherna 200 lire, free of tax, by the year, "nomine provisionis libr: ducentos den: nitidas de gabella," and should have two or three Sienese youths to teach, and the council passed the recommendation the same day. Twenty-six years later, January 14, 1446-7, he appears again in the records with a petition to the Signory. He says that he has always, from his youth up, done his best to provide for his family, and that by his craft he has always tried to bring honour on the city and spread the fame of his works. That as they know he was granted money to teach his art to any young man who wanted to learn it, but "because this art was, and is, little profitable, there was no one who wished to go on with it except Master Mactio di Bernacchino, who followed the art thoroughly, and became an excellent master." That, as he thought he was fairly prosperous, he gave up the grant , but the expenses of marrying and dowering his daughters had been so great, and added to the losses caused by the small profits on his work, had reduced him to such poverty that he did not see how he could go on, being 84 years of age, or thereabouts, and having a sick wife. He therefore asked to have a small pension settled on him for the few years he and his wife had to live. He was granted two florins a month, but three years later all mention of him ceases.

From Siena masters were continually sent to the other great towns to design and carry out works of architecture, sculpture, and woodwork, as entries in Sienese documents show. In early times the various arts connected with building were in close union, and it appears tolerably certain that one guild sheltered them all, proficiency being required in several crafts and mastery in one. We find the same man acting in one place as master builder or architect, and sometimes only giving advice, while elsewhere he is sculptor or woodworker. The painter, the mosaicist, and the designer for intarsia are confused in a similar manner. Borsieri calls Giovanni de' Grassi, the Milanese painter , "an excellent architect"; and he also worked in relief, besides conducting very important architectural works. He says that about 1385 Giovanni Galeazzo opened an academy of fine art in his palace, which was conducted by Giovanni de' Grassi and Michelino da Besozzo. On June 19, 1391, he was paid five florins for models executed by him, and something for the expense of execution in marble by another hand. In 1391 he was called upon by the Council of the Duomo, and after four months of uncertainty was assigned the position and pay of first engineer, with a servant who was paid by the Council. He did the door of the S. Sacristy; it was finished in July, 1395, when he was ordered to decorate it with gilding and blue. He also made designs for capitals and window traceries, and carved a God the Father for a centre boss of the vault of the N. Sacristy. He illuminated the initials, &c., of a copy of the Ambrosian ritual of Berold for the "Fabbriceria," and this was his last work, as he died July 5, 1398, and the price was paid to his son Solomon, the officials declaring that it was most moderate. His pupils were nearly all both painters and sculptors, and some of them became stained-glass painters. It is well known that Taddeo Gaddi was painter, architect, and mosaicist, and Giotto, painter, sculptor, and architect, and these details are an example of what was then continually going on. Both in mediaeval times and at the beginning of the Renaissance the most celebrated architects often called themselves by the most humble titles--"Magister lignaminio," "maestro di legname," "faber lignarius," "carpentarius." Minerva, the worker, was the patron of all workmen from Pheidias to the lowest pottery thrower, and in Christian times the Quattro Coronati, the four workmen-saints, were the patrons of all who worked with their hands.

The oldest of the differentiated guilds appears to be that of the painters, at least in Siena, where one was established in 1355, while in Florence they were obliged to enrol themselves in the "Art" of the "medici e speziali," unless they preferred, as many of them did, to be reckoned with the goldsmiths. In Siena the Goldsmiths' Guild followed the Painters' Guild in 1361, while the workers in stone formed their guild still later. Among the painters were included designers of every sort--moulders, and workers in plaster, stucco, and papier mach?, gold beaters, tin beaters, &c., and masters and apprentices in stained glass, also makers of playing cards--a most comprehensive guild. Vasari, in his life of Jacopo Casentino, architect and painter, says, however, "Towards 1349 the painters of the old Greek style, and those of the new, disciples of Cimabue, finding themselves in great number, united and formed at Florence a company under the name and protection of S. Luke the Evangelist"; and Baldinucci, in his "Notizie dei professori di disegno," prints the articles of association at length. Others hold that the Confraternit? dei Pittori was not founded till 1386.

The rapid rise of the last-named city in wealth and importance was the reason that so much of the best later 15th century inlaid work was done there, or at least by Florentines, though the art was not new to Florence, the names of Matteo di Bernardino, Pietro Antonio, Giovanni del Mulinella, and Domenico Tassi being recorded as working there in the 14th century. Vasari, as usual, is somewhat inaccurate; he says that tarsia was first introduced in the time of Brunelleschi and Paolo Uccello, "that, namely, of conjoining woods, tinted of different colours, and representing with these buildings in perspective, foliage, and various fantasies of different kinds." Both he and Lanzi say that Brunelleschi gave lessons in perspective and "tarsia" to architects and others, of which Masaccio in painting and Benedetto da Majano in his inlaid works availed themselves. Vasari held but a poor opinion of tarsia, which, he said, "was practised chiefly by those persons who possessed more patience than skill in design," and goes on to say that the subjects most suitable to the process are "perspective representations of buildings full of windows and angular lines, to which force and relief are given by means of lights and shades"; that although he had seen some good representations of figures, fruit, and animals, "yet the work soon becomes dark, and is always in danger of perishing from the worms or by fires." He adds that it was first practised in black and white alone, but Fra Giovanni da Verona improved the art by staining the wood with various colours by means of liquors and tints boiled with penetrating oil in order to produce light and shadow with wood of various colours, making the lights with the whitest pieces of the spindle tree; to shade, some singed the wood by firing, others used oil of sulphur, or a solution of corrosive sublimate and arsenic. The "most solemn" masters of tarsia in Florence were the Majani, La Cecca, Il Francione, and the da San Gallo. The first name which he gives is that of Giuliano da Majano , architect and sculptor, who executed as his first work the seats and presses of the sacristy of S. S. Annunziata at Florence, with Giusto and Minore, two masters in tarsia. He also did other things for S. Marco. In the archives of the Duomo, Giuliano di Nardo da Maiano is named in a contract for ornamental wood-work in the sacristy, to be finished in 1465. There is still existing in the Opera del Duomo a panel of S. Zenobio standing between two deacons, executed by him from cartoons by Maso Finiguerra, who designed five figures for the panels of the sacristy. The heads were painted by Alessio Baldovinetti. There are also several subjects in the sacristy, a Nativity, resembling Lippino Lippi's picture in the Accademia; a Presentation in the Temple, not without a reminiscence of Ghirlandajo's manner; and an Annunciation. The whole scheme of the decoration of this wall was Giuliano's, but it was the completion of work begun in 1439 by Angelo di Lazzero of Arezzo, Bernardo di Tommaso di Ghigo, Giovanni di Ser Giovanni detto Scheggione, painter and brother of Masaccio, and Antonio Manetti. Milanesi says his father was Leonardo d'Antonio da Majano, master of wood and stone work. He entered the Arte del legnajuolo in company with his younger brother Benedetto, and the first mention of his work in connection with the "Arte" is in 1455, when he made for the Compagnia di S. Agnese delle Laudi, which met in the Carmine, a chest with a bookcase of some sort. Five years later he carved some candlesticks for the Monastery of S. Monaca, and constructed some cupboards ornamented with inlaid work and perspectives for the Badia of Fiesole. Among his architectural work may be mentioned the Chapel of S. Fina at S. Gemignano, which Ghirlandajo embellished with frescoes. He commenced a choir for the Duomo at Perugia, decorated with both carving and tarsia, but since he went to Naples shortly after 1481, and died there in 1490, the greater part of the credit of this work must be given to Domenico del Tasso, who completed it in 1491. His brother Benedetto, to whom he turned over most of his commissions for tarsia, when he became much occupied with architectural work, was born in 1442. He assisted his brother in many of his works, such as the doors of the hall of audience in the Palazzo Vecchio, made between 1475 and 1480, representing Dante and Petrarch, with ornamental borders and other panels, in which Il Francione also had a hand. He gave up tarsia in disgust for the following reason, according to the story told by Vasari:--"He made two chests, with difficult and most splendid mastery, of wood mosaic, which he wished to show to Matthew Corvinus, then King of Hungary, who had many Florentines at his Court, and had summoned him with much favour; so he packed his chests up and sailed for Hungary, where, when he had made obeisance to the King, and had been kindly received, he brought forward the said cases and had them unpacked in his presence, who much wished to see them; but the damp of the water and the mouldiness of the sea had so softened the glue that when the parcels were opened almost all the pieces of the tarsia fell to the ground, at which every one may understand how astonished and speechless Benedetto was in the presence of so many lords. However, he put the work together again as he best might, and satisfied the King; still he was disgusted with that kind of work, not being able to forget the vexation which he had suffered, and gave it up, taking to carving instead." He finished his brother's presses in the sacristy of S. Maria dei Fiori, and, in the opinion of Vasari, surpassed him and became the best master of his period. He died in 1497. Vasari ascribes the celebrant's seat in Pisa Cathedral to Giuliano, together with another of spindlewood, "to be placed in the nave where the women sit," finished and sent home in 1477, and put up by Baccio Pontelli. Milanesi says, however, that the choir of this Cathedral was done by Francesco di Giovanni di Matteo da Firenze, called Il Francione. Guido da Seravallino, between 1490 and 1495, made for the choir of the sacristy of this Cathedral more than 15 perspectives; the usual price appears to have been 11 lire. He was a Pisan, and his father's name was Filippo. Domenico di Mariotto first appears in the accounts in 1489, when he began the choir and seats for the Campo Santo; he went on with various works of tarsia and carving till 1513. He was a Florentine, but lived in Pisa for many years, dying there in 1519. Other names which appear in the accounts are Giuliano di Salvatore and Michele Spagnuolo. In 1486 Cristophano d'Andrea da Lendinara and Jacopo da Villa came to make a seat for the choir, but this does not seem to have been a success, and Il Francione, who had been at Pisa as long before as 1462, and Baccio di Fino Pontelli, who appears in 1471, were put in charge of the work. Giovanni Battista Cervelliera is mentioned first in 1522. He was son of Pietro d'Altro Pietra, a native of Corsica, who began the singing gallery of the organ in S. Martino, Pietra Santa, finished by his son, who died in about 1570. In 1596 a great fire took place. After this the best pieces saved were used in the decoration of the new choir, in 1606, by Pietro Giolli, who also had some fresh ones made; others were mended by Girolamo Innocenti, and placed round the walls and round the nave piers in 1613. The pieces of Giuliano da Majano's work now remaining are in the side aisles, two at the right, one at the left; one represents King David with his harp and with a label in the other hand, "Laudate Pueri Dominum." The other two figures are prophets, and have scrolls, "Benedicam, benedicam," and "Ve qui condunt legem." Pontelli's Faith, Hope, and Charity are on the pier near the Chapel of S. Ranier, three half-length figures of women. The seated figures of the liberal arts on the side panelling of the church are Il Francione's, women with symbols, arithmetic, grammar, geometry, astrology, logic, and music. The great seat in the nave is the work of Giovanni Battista del Cervelliera. In the centre is a large round-headed panel with the Adoration of the Magi; at each side are three lower seats with architectural subjects in the centre and objects in the side panels and below the seats. It is signed and dated 1536. The whole collection of panels is well worth a stay at Pisa to see, even if there were not other attractions in that pleasant little town. In the registers of the "Opera" is an annual charge for two "sbirri," or two servants of the captain of the people, to watch the seats of the Cathedral "so that children may not damage them in the obscurity," which shows that even Italian children could not always be trusted not to be mischievous.

Il Francione had a pupil called Il Cecca. His name was really Francesco d'Agnolo, but like most men at that time he went by a nick-name. Cecca is a corruption of Francesco into Cecco, Cecca, from being Francione's companion and disciple. He was born in 1447; his father was Angelo di Giovanni, a mender of leather or "galigajo." He came to Florence from Tonda, a little place near S. Miniato al Tedesco. His father died in 1460; he and three older sisters were left to his mother, Monna Pasqua. So the 13 year-old boy went bravely to work to keep his mother and sisters, and entered Il Francione's workshop. When he was 25 he left him and set up for himself, taking a shop in the Borgo de' Greci, where he lived and slept as well as worked. In 1481 he had a commission from the magistrates, called "degli ufficiali di Palazzo," for all the wood-work of the Hall of the Seventy, Bernardo di Marco Renzi helping him. Afterwards he did other work for different parts of the Palace and for other places, all of which has perished. Finally, he spent most of his time as architect and engineer, and had a great deal to do with the fortification of various places and with the great cars for the "feste"--a not uncommon juxtaposition of engagements. He died in 1488.

The stalls from the Cathedral at Lucca, which are illustrated, are now in the Picture Gallery. They were made by Leonardo Marti, of Lucca. When in 1620 the choir was spoilt they were moved to the church of the Riformati of S. Cerbone, being badly mutilated to adapt them to their new position. There, in two centuries of neglect they became in such a state that the brothers thought them no longer decent, and wished to sell them and make a new choir. The Opera of the Cathedral and the Commission of Art paid them something for them, and thus preserved them as they now are, having executed some restorations here and there.

The Canozii were also at Reggio, in the Emilia, in 1474 and in 1485, but the work of the stalls in the Cathedral seems rather more archaic than their period, and the lectern is dated 1459. It is probably the work of Antonio da Melaria, who three years later made one exactly like it, with other things, for the Church of S. Domenico. This was done for Antonia di Fiordibelli, and the contract shows what were the conditions under which such work was done. He was given 50 lire at once to buy material with, 50 when he began working, 50 when he had finished a third of the work, 50 when it was half done, 50 more when three-quarters was finished, and the rest of the whole price of 336 lire when it was completed. He was to use wood of Piella, and give 48 planks to the lady--a very curious clause in the contract.

At Citt? di Castello there are tarsie designed by Raffaello da Colle in the Cathedral.

The choir stalls at the Certosa, Pavia, were made by Bartolommeo Poli, surnamed dalla Polla, from designs by Borgognone, as is said, and the style certainly seems to bear out the assertion, though no document has yet been found directly connecting him with them. They were restored in 1847 by Count Nava with wax and stucco coloured to imitate the missing pieces of wood. The upper row contains a series of figures of saints and prophets, and below are exceedingly graceful and flowing arabesques. A document in the Brera Library notes that in 1490 "Mro. Bartolommeo de Polli da Mantoa, who made the inlaid choir and the doors of the chapels, has a right to 8 ducats per door, and also for the wooden pulpits 30 ducats a pulpit." He was the son of Andrea da Mantova, who was born at Modena, but lived and worked at Mantua, and also with his brother Paolo in S. Mark's, Venice. The stalls were made between 1486 and 1501, and are the only work which he is recorded to have executed. A Cremonese, Pantaleone de' Marchi also worked on these stalls--a relation of the large family of the Marchi of Crema, perhaps, who worked in S. Petronio, Bologna, in 1495. The father was named Agostino, and he had six sons, Giacomo, Nicolo, Taddeo, Biagio, Agostino, and a second Giacomo. The stalls in the Chapel of S. Sebastian are signed Jacopo de Marchis. Some stalls by Pantaleone de' Marchi are in the Museum at Berlin, acquired in 1883. They probably came from Bramante's Church, the Madonna of Tirano, in the Valtelline, which was built in 1505, and where there are still some remains of seats similar in style. The upper range of panels has a few half-lengths of saints, landscapes, and the usual open cupboard doors revealing objects on the shelves within. On the backs of the seats below are arabesques, and the pilaster panels and divisions between are also inlaid, as is the cornice. He also worked at Savona.

The seats near the high altar at S. Maria Novella, and other things there were made between 1491 and 1496. The floor of the hall of the Great Council in the Palazzo Vecchio was begun in 1496, and with other works there went on till 1503. On October 1, 1502, he engaged to do the choir of S. Agostino Perugia from Perugino's designs at 1120 florins of 40 bolognini each, but he did not work at it much at that time, since on June 20, 1532, he made a fresh contract with the monks to continue and complete the choir of their church. Adamo Rossi gives other curious details about this work drawn from Perugian records, which are worth noting. He says that in 1501 Bacciolo d'Agnolo, not having a good design to show, agreed with the prior Federico di Giuliano in three months' time to submit two different seats for the choir of S. Agostino, and confessed to having received 50 broad ducats of gold as part of the price of the choir and the two stalls mentioned. He also agreed to return the money if he did not undertake the choir or did not finish it according to contract. He presented them accordingly, and in 1502 the contract was signed at 30 florins for each upper seat. Rossi also says that he finds trace of another Baccio d'Agnolo in the collection of wills of Pietro Paolo di Lodovico, under date June 11, 1529, and thinks that the work was done by him. One Baccio was elected capo-maestro of the Duomo in 1507 together with Giuliano and Antonio da San Gallo and il Cronaca , and continued in that office until 1529.

Rossi also gives other interesting details about the making of various pieces of joinery in Perugia and their makers, from which I extract the following:--"In the refectory of S. Agostino two Sienese, Giovanni and Cristoforo de'Minelli, worked in 1477. The cupboards in the sacristy of S. Pietro in Casinense were made by Giusto di Francesco of Incisa and Giovanni di Filippo da Fiesole in 1472. They were bought in Florence, and are particularly fine and large in their treatment of flowers, &c. The work was finished with the assistance of Mariotto di Mariotto of Pesaro, three workmen coming from places at considerable distances from each other, proving that they wandered about the country a good deal. The lectern in the same church, which is well inlaid and finely carved, was made by Battista the Bolognese, Ambrose the Frenchman, and Lorenzo. The contract was between the abbot and Fra Damiano's brother, Maestro Stefano di Antoniuolo de' Zambelli da Bergamo, and was for the whole choir at 30 scudi for each seat, wood being provided. The lectern itself cost 176 florins, and was finished in 1535. In the Sala del Cambio, besides Domenico del Tasso's seats, there is a fine door which was made by Antonio di Benciviene da Mercatello da Massa, for which he was paid 10 florins 93 soldi 6 denari. The orator's desk, the 'ringhiera,' was made by Antonio di Antonio Masi, the Fleming, though often ascribed to Mercatello. It was estimated by Eusebio del Bastone as worth 68 florins. At Assisi the choir of the upper church, which is the most important in all Italy for the number of its stalls, the mastery of its figure intarsia, and the elegance of its form, was made by Domenico da S. Severino, who agreed with the superiors on July 8, 1491, to make it for 770 ducats of gold. It was not finished till 1501, but no payments are noted in the archives after November 18, 1498. In the lower church two Sienese worked in 1420, and a Florentine from 1448 to 1471. The choir of the Cathedral in the same city was made by Giovanni di Piergiacomo, also of S. Severino, and there is sometimes confusion between the two artists. The price was 57 florins. On one of the backs is carved the date 1520. The most ancient piece of joinery in Perugia is that executed for the Arte della Mercanzia in the 14th century."

Rossi prints a priced list of joiners' tools, dated November 8, 1496, which is interesting as showing the small amount of tools and furniture required in a joiner and intarsiatore's workshop at that period. It runs thus:--

Bernardino di Lazzaro buys from Angelo di Maestro Jacopo, called Boldrino, joiner, the underwritten tools and apparatus at the price at which they were valued by Master Giovanni da Siena and Ercolano di Gabriele of Perugia.

Florins. Soldi.

Two benches, 2 0 Four planes, 1 0 Two screw profiles, one broad and one narrow, 0 40 Two rules, 0 16 Four straight edges, one large and three small, 0 28 One outliner for tarsia, 0 8 Rods for making cornices, 0 12 A cross beam, 0 6 Two compasses, one large and one small, 0 12 Two rulers, 0 5 Four one-handed little planes, 0 16 One two-handed little plane, 0 8 Two broad planes, 0 12 Two hollow moulding planes, 0 12 Three pieces of unfinished tarsia, and one with a wire drawing iron, 1 30 Two large squares and one "grafonetto" and one little square, 0 8 Two old irons for making cornices, 0 8 Nine files, large and small, round and straight, 0 30 Fifteen "gulfie," large and small, 0 24 Three chisels, one glued and one all of iron and one "a tiro colla manacha de legusa saietta," 0 7 One small hammer, 0 16 Two arm chairs, 0 8 A big "tenevello," 0 25 A little anvil, 0 20 A pair of big pincers, 0 32 Two little axes, 0 20 A two-handed axe, 0 25 A two-handed saw with a file, 0 60 A cutting saw, 0 25 Two stools, 0 16 Nine presses , 0 60 Two cupboards, 0 90 Five pieces of panels, two on the benches and three outside, 0 20 Three pieces of tarsia frieze and two pictures with a box without a lid, 1 0 A bench to put the tarsia on, 0 40

The words untranslated are, I suppose, Perugian words. At all events, they do not appear in the large Italian dictionary edited by Tommaseo and Bellini.

This Bernardino six years earlier worked as apprentice with Maestro Mattia da Reggio, and was paid 6 florins 22 soldi for four months. His name appears in the list of masters of stone and wood.

In the 17th century tarsia was more used for domestic furniture than for stationary decoration. The character of the design changed in consequence, and mother-of-pearl, ivory, tortoiseshell, silver, and other materials were used. The first Tuscan, or one of the first who did so was Andrea Massari of Siena. A few works in tarsia were still executed, but none of much importance. The choir of S. Sigismondo, outside Cremona, commenced by Gabriel Capra and finished by his son Domenico in 1605, is one of the principal, and the choir of S. Francesco, Perugia, where Fortebraccio was buried, but this latter no longer exists. Marquetry was produced in Florence, Venice, Milan, and Genoa down to a still later date, but the fashion for ivory and ebony carried all before it. The Italian work of this kind is often most beautifully engraved, but less accurate than that produced in France. The later Italian marquetry does not lose decorative effect though the figure drawing becomes very conventional, and the curves of ornament are often cut with a mechanical sweep. A good deal of it is in only two colours, a return to the simplicity of earlier days.

FOOTNOTES:

There were nineteen subjects, divided by channelled pilasters with a carved frieze, above a bench which ran round the circular wall from one doorpost to the other, the whole work crowned with a cornice also carved with foliated ornament. The first subject on the right was an open cupboard with architects' and joiners' tools. The second was the portrait described above. The third showed a cupboard half open, worked with a grille of pierced almond shapes and divided. "In the upper part is a naked boy, standing with a ball in his left hand, below is a large circle with a bridge within and without in the form of a diamond. Within the closed part of the grille one sees a ewer above and a basin below. The fourth is a figure of S. Ansano, half-length, below whom is the head of a man who receives baptism with joined hands, and the saint with a vase in his hand pours water on his head, holding in his right hand a standard. The fifth shows a cupboard open and shelved in the middle--above is a chalice and paten, below is a salver with fruit within and falling from it. The sixth contains an organ case with a man who, with raised head, enjoys the sweetness of the sounds, on the side of the organ are the arms of the Opera and below are the arms of the rector Arringhieri. The seventh is a cupboard half open with pierced doors, in the upper half a censer, and an incense boat, with a label above with these words, 'Dirigatur Domine oratio mea sicut incensum in conspectu tuo.' Below is the holy water pot with the sprinkler within, and with a pair of sacrament cruets. The eighth shows the figure of a man with a glory and a diadem on his head, with face and right arm raised to heaven, representing whom I do not understand; above him is a garden full of different flowers and trees. The ninth is a cupboard cut across and half open; in the upper part a label with these words 'Qui post me venit, ante me factus est. Cujus non sum dignus calceamente solvere;' below are different musical instruments, the words above are set to plain song. The tenth, that is the centre one, is a half-length of S. John Baptist with the cross in his left hand, and in the right a label with the words, 'Ecce Agnus Dei,' while with his finger he points to Christ in a figure which represents him. The eleventh shows another cupboard half open and shelved, above is a label on which are some lines of the hymn of S. John Baptist, with notes in plain song and with the name of the author above, which was Alessandro Agricola, and below is a flute and a violin with its bow. The twelfth is the figure of a young man with a label below which says, 'Johannis Baptistae discipulus.' This is generally thought to represent S. Andrew the apostle. The thirteenth is another open cupboard with a shelf. In the upper part is a chalice and more fruit, and in the lower a hollow dish with a foot also full of fruit. The fourteenth shows the half-length of a man who plays a lute, above him appears a garden with different trees. The fifteenth is a cupboard with open division, with a little gate and grating with almond shaped openings, above is a candlestick with a candle half burnt, and below is a box full of yellow tapers. The sixteenth represents S. Catherine with her wheel, half-length, disputing with the tyrant, before her is an open book on which are cut these words, 'Catharina disputationis virginitatis ac martirii palmam reportat.' The seventeenth shows a cupboard divided and half closed, with a grating like the others, above is a missal laid down, with a chalice upright, and a paten on the missal, and there are also a pair of spectacles and another paten leaning against the wall, below there is a closed book which seems to be a breviary, upon which is an open book with these words, 'Ecce mitto angelum meum ante faciem tuam, qui preparabit viam tuam ante te. Vox clamantis in deserto; parate viam Domini: rectas facite semitas ejus.' The eighteenth shows a fine gate through which one sees a garden, within which appear different trees with fruit on them, and at the bottom is a little table upon which is an inkstand with a pen and a penknife with a label which issues from the inkstand with these words, 'Alberto Aringherio operaio fabre factum.' The last panel shows an open cupboard with shelf and grating, above is a harp and below is a violin and other musical instruments. The rector Arringhieri paid 4090 scudi for the work as a matter of compromise on the valuing of Fra Giovanni da Verona. It was in so dark a place that it could not be seen except with lighted torches, and it was also damaged because it was put in a newly built place, the walls of which were not sufficiently dry to receive such delicate work." This account was written in 1786.

THE CLOISTERED INTARSIATORI AND THEIR PUPILS

The Order of the Olivetans took its rise from the piety and liberality of a Sienese noble, Bernardo Tolomei, who, with two companions, Ambrogio Piccolomini and Patricio Patrizzi, established himself as a hermit on a barren point of land at Chiusuri, some miles from Siena, in the same manner as did S. Benedict at Subiaco. This was in 1312, but the Papal charter by which the Order was founded dates from 1319. It was called "Monte Oliveto," from a vision seen by Guido Tarlati, Bishop of Arezzo, the Papal commissary, in which the Virgin ordered that the monks should have a white habit, and that the badge of the Order should be three hills surmounted by a branch of olive. It was a branch of the Benedictines, and, like them, the monks devoted their lives to useful labours. As Michele Caffi says, "The Olivetans did not strive in political or party struggles, but spent their simple lives in works of charity and industry, and showing great talent for working in wood succeeded to the heirship of the art of tarsia in coloured woods, which they got from Tuscany."

The first master of intarsia mentioned among the Olivetan monks is a certain lay brother, "laico Olivetano," who came from Tuscany in the first half of the fifteenth century, and taught the art to the monks of S. Elena, the island which lies just beyond the Public Gardens at Venice, and was so beautiful before the iron foundry was established upon it. His principal pupil was Fra Sebastiano of Rovigno, known as the "Zoppo Schiavone," the lame Slavonian, who taught Fra Giovanni da Verona and Domenico Zambello of Bergamo, Fra Damiano. Fra Giovanni, again, was master to Vincenzo dalle Vacche and Raffaello da Brescia, and perhaps to the oblate of S. Elena, Antonio Preposito, in 1493.

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The work is exceedingly delicate, pieces of wood no thicker than a thick pencil line being often used. In one panel is a well-executed lily, in another a hare is a foreground figure, in another are an owl and a bullfinch, while a hoopoe appears in another, with mountains behind him. The objects on the shelves of the cupboards are turned at queer angles to show his skill in perspective, but, since they lack tone, do not appear quite accurate. Among the architectural subjects are the choir of a church, a harbour, and a castle on a hill, seen from a balustraded terrace, and a circular building a little like that in the background of Raffaelle's "Sposalizio." They were well restored in 1860 by C. G. Minchiotti. In the monks' choir in the church are other intarsie said to be by Angelo da Verona, Giovanni's brother. They are principally arabesques, somewhat resembling the panels in the Cathedral at Genoa, but include four figure panels of little angels and an Annunciation in two panels, which are not without charm, though rather overstiff.

In his last years he returned to Verona, where he had made the monks' choir in S. Maria in Organo, and the cupboards of the sacristy. These have the reputation of being not only the finest of the period but also the best which came from his hand. The Adige was in this church for two months during one of the inundations, but the tarsie did not suffer so much as might have been expected. He accepted a commission in 1523 for some stalls for the Olivetan church at Lodi, S. Cristopher, eleven of which are now in the suburban church of S. Bernardino in that city, but died before they were completed. Vincenzo Sabbia writes of these:--"In the year 1523 the reverend father Fra Filippo Villani of Lodi, prior of the convent of S. Cristoforo in that city, agreed with Fra Giovanni Veronese, an excellent master of perspective, to make him 35 pictures of perspective at the rate of 30 or 40 broad ducats of gold for each--which are worth 5 lire 4 soldi each--which were to be finished in two or three years, and 300 broad ducats of gold were counted out to him. The said brother was not able to finish more than 23, because he died on February 10, 1525. They were sent from Verona and taken to Lodi, and in 1586 the new church of S. Cristoforo being finished, Don Agostino, the prior, who had charge of the fabric, had the aforesaid 23 pictures with their ornaments set in the choir by the hand of Paolo Sasono." He died in the 68th year of his age, and was buried in S. Maria in Organo. He is called "prior" in a chronicle of the monastery under date 1511, and in the list of dead. In his portrait in the sacristy, by Caroto, he is represented with the tonsure and with the hood and cowl of the form which was proper to monks who were constituted "in sacris."

Fra Raffaello da Brescia, whose name was Roberto Marone, was born in 1477. His father's name was Pietro Marone, and his mother was a Venetian, named Cecilia Tiepolo. When twenty-two years old he took the monastic habit as a lay brother in the convent of S. Nicol? di Rodengo, near Brescia, and a little later was sent to Monte Oliveto Maggiore. Fra Giovanni being then established there as "conventual brother," took young Marone and taught him, seeing that he had both liking and talent for the work, so that he soon became a clever workman. Between 1504 and 1507 he worked with him at the choir of Monte Oliveto, from 1506 to 1510 he was with him at Naples, when the famous sacristy panels were being executed, and in 1511 and 1512 he was at S. Nicol? di Rodengo, where he worked at the choir of that church. The lectern from Rodengo is now in the Galleria Tosi at Brescia; the inlays are in the lower portion, and show architectural compositions in perspective and the usual objects, such as a censer, an open book, &c. It is signed F.R.B. In 1513 Raffaello commenced the magnificent choir of S. Michaele in Bosco, Bologna, and here he also made the design for the campanile, which was built by Maestro Pedrino di Como, showing that like so many of the intarsiatori he was no mere worker in wood. While this work was in progress he executed a lectern for Monte Oliveto, ordered by the abbot Barnaba Cevenini, who was a Bolognese. It is signed and dated 1520, and shows on each side a choir book open, with notes of music and words. In one of the lower panels a black cat symbolises fidelity.

Another somewhat similar set of stalls, though rather later in date, also at Bologna, are the upper row in the choir of S. Giovanni in Monte, which have on their backs intarsie representing monuments, fantastic battlemented buildings, musical instruments, and geometrical motives, all executed with a mastery which reveals an artist old at the work. They recall in their general effect those in S. Prospero at Reggio, in the Emilia, which were executed by the brothers Mantelli in 1546. They are set in a carved framing of arches divided by pilasters which terminate above in brackets which support the cornice. The pilasters rest on the arms which divide the seats. Champeaux says they were made by Paolo del Sacha.

The tarsie in S. Mark's, Venice, were worked by Fra Vincenzo da Verona, another Olivetan, under whom was Fra Pietro da Padova, Jesuit, with two youths to assist them. The commission was given in 1523. Three rooms in the hospital of "Messer Jesu Cristo" were assigned him as workshops, and 100 ducats for food and clothing, as stated in the registers of the procurators of S. Mark's. On January 15, 1524, they inspected the work done, and were not satisfied, and so suspended it, "praising, nevertheless, the manners and the life of Fra Vincenzo." According to Cicogna, the registers contained, under date April 7, 1526, a note of money paid to "Fra Vincenzio, of the order of the Jesuits, for the finishing of the works of inlay" in the choir of S. Marco. On February 25, 1537, certain moneys were given to more workmen for the construction of the doge's seat, which is said to have been "a great thing full of artistic pangs" , and rather hindered the genuflections to the altar. This was made for Andrea Gritti, who was doge that year. This Fra Vincenzo da Verona, or Vincenzo dalla Vacche, is mentioned by Morello in his "Notizie" as excellent, especially in his work at S. Benedetto Novello at Padua, four panels from which are now in the Louvre. He became novice in 1492, "Conventuale" of Monte Oliveto in 1498, was a priest like Fra Giovanni, and lived almost all his life in his native city. He died in 1531. The tarsie in the presbytery at S. Marco consist of seven great compartments, five lesser, and thirteen which are small. The eighteen smaller compartments are panels of ornament. The others are figure subjects, but by more than one hand. First comes a figure of S. Mark with a lion at his feet, which is not very good ; next, a figure of Charity side by side with one of Justice, a woman with a baby, and one holding the balances. Next comes a figure of Strength or Courage, older and rougher in character, then four ornamental panels, a door, and five others, also of ornament. The next panel in the corner bears date 1535, to which year the figures of Justice and Charity may be assigned. The other figures are Prudence and Temperance, the latter of which resembles Strength in character. The remaining subject, a Piet?, is like Charity and Justice, and is masterly. Three spaces are empty. The doge's seat, until the fall of the Republic, was on the right of the principal entrance to the choir, as Sansovino says. It had on its back a figure of Justice, now in the Museo Civico. He also says that Sebastiano Schiavone did these tarsie, but he died in 1505. Various initials appear here and there through the work; on each side of the figure of S. Mark are U.F.Q. and M.S.R. in cartouches, Charity and Justice have N. and P. at the sides, and Prudence has P.S.S. and S.S.C. attached to her. The panels of ornament seem to be of the same period as the figure of Charity.

A few stalls made by him are now in the church of S. Bartolommeo, Bergamo, which were brought from the Dominican church of S. Stefano, destroyed for the fortifications in 1561. The designs were made by Trozo da Monza, Bernardo da Trevi , and Bramantino. As Locatelli says, they preceded the famous choir at Bologna, and show the master trying his wings. Some think that his best works are those in which he did not employ colour, but only shading, but general opinion considers his highest point was reached in the doors of S. Pietro in Casinense.

Another intarsiatore who worked with Fra Damiano was Giovanni Francesco Capo di ferro of Lovere, on Lake Iseo. His masterpiece is the choir of S. Maria Maggiore, Bergamo. When it was determined to commence it in 1521 the presidents of the church fabric sent to various cities of Italy, especially to Milan, to consult over the model to be selected for so important a work with the excellent painter and architect M. Bernardo Zenale da Treviglio. In the archives of the Misericordia is a book entitled "Fabbrica Chori," in which is noted the great expense of the designs only, among which were some made by Lorenzo Lotto, by Alessandro Bonvicini, called Il Moretto; Andrea Previtali, Giacomo de' Scipioni, Filippo Zanchi, Giuseppe Belli, Domenico di Albano, Niccolino Cabrini, Pietro da Nembro, Francesco Boneri, and other painters, as well as the making of models and other similar operations. Those who worked at carving and tarsia under the direction of Giovanni Francesco were his son Zinino and Pietro his brother, who lived in Lodi; Paolo da Pesaro, and many others, including a whole family, Giovanni di Ponteranica and his four sons. The part towards the sacristy was designed by Lorenzo Lotto, the rest by Alessandro Belli. The sedilia on the Gospel side bear a signature hung from a tree, "Opus Jo: Franc: D. Cap. Ferr. Bergomi." The four panels outside the screen are Noah entering the ark, the passage of the Red Sea, the triumph of Judith by the death of Holofernes, and the victory of David over Goliath. Thus Tassi speaks of them--"These, to speak the truth, for their admirable workmanship, singular art, and beautiful colouring, do not appear to be pieces of wood put together, but rather pictures formed by an excellent brush, the pieces placed with such mastery, and the woods of different colours to form the chiaroscuro so arranged with the darkening of others that they make the half-tints appear as if really painted with oil by the same Lotto who made the coloured designs, and as he was a celebrated and finished painter and a powerful one, thus certainly these pieces of wood put together could stand in face of paintings by the most celebrated brushes, which, beyond the exactness of drawing, gave to their works singular force and finish; for in them all the possible excellences of drawing and of art are displayed, and whoever has had the opportunity of well considering them has remained surprised and delighted, never believing that human art could reach so high a pitch of perfection." His last work is mentioned in 1533, two pictures of Samson, at 60 lire each. In 1547 his son Zinino and his brother Giovanni Pietro went on with the choir, and finished it nine years later. The total cost for labour alone was 7000 lire Imperiali.

In Spain there must have been a good deal of intarsia done, seeing how long the Moors held the southern part of the country, but very little has come down to us. In the Mosque at Cordova was a finely inlaid mihrab of the 10th century, which was unfortunately destroyed in the 16th century and its material used to make an altar. In the Museum at South Kensington are some panels with Hispano-Moresque geometric inlays of bone of the 15th century, which are very pleasing; the ground is of chestnut, the bone is often stained green, and metal triangles and light wood are also used. This use of bone, which is frequently tinted, in conjunction with black and pale wood, is characteristic of Spanish work of the 16th century. The design is often exceedingly naive, employing birds, animals, plants, and trees, with scrolls and monsters. There is one cabinet at South Kensington with the animals entering the ark, which is most entertaining. The Portuguese carried this work on later, especially at Goa, in the 17th century, but neither here nor in Spain is the later work tasteful, except occasionally. Cabinets were then made at Toledo of ebony and ivory, and at Seville and Salamanca the same materials were used for chests and sideboards.

At Burgos is a pulpit decorated with inlay as well as carving, and one of the most elaborate works of marquetry of comparatively modern times is Spanish. This consists of the decoration of four small rooms in the Escurial, upon which 28,000,000 reals was spent in 1831. They are called "piezas de maderas finas," rooms of perfect or delicate woods, and are entirely covered with landscapes, still-life subjects, flowers, etc., made of the finest and most costly woods, and almost like paintings; floor, frieze, panels, window recesses, and doors.

There was a mode of decorating furniture much used in Spain and Portugal, especially the latter, in which metal plates, cut and pierced into elaborate and fanciful patterns, were fastened on to the surface of objects made of black wood by means of small pins. From this to the decoration of the same surfaces by sinking the metal in the wood is a short step, and some think that this was the origin of the metal inlay so well known a little later under the name of Boulle work.

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