60. Roman armorial binding executed for Cardinal Girolamo Mattei, late 16th c.

Bernardus Claraevallensis, St, Divi Bernardi doctoris mellitissimi, ac primi abbatis Claraevallensis coenobij opera

Venice: Lucantonio Giunta, 1596 4to

Size of binding: 232 x 172 x 67 mm

Provenance: Girolamo Mattei; Charles Louis de Bourbon (cf Libreria Antiquaria Ulrico Hoepli, Milano, La biblioteca liturgica dei duchi di Parma, No 167); Paolo Gerli



Dark brown morocco over pasteboards with blind and gilt decoration. Blind fillet border to a rectangle and an octagon of gilt fillets. In the centre, the arms of Cardinal G. Mattei surrounded by thin, handsome foliated volutes, small tools and little stars. At angles, an eagle with pattée wings over a festoon, surmounted by a canopy, hatched leaves, dots, a star and pearls arranged in descending order. Spine with four raised double cords. An eagle with pattée wings in each compartment. Head and tail new. Headbands missing. Edges gilt. Two front and one back endleaves.

The structure of the present binding closely resembles the tools found on contemporary Roman bindings, i.e. the octagonal border, the canopies, the eagle with pattée wings and the festoons. The lack of distinctive features on the present binding makes it difficult to trace it back to any known workshop. This book was bought at the De Marinis auction in 1926 ¹. Cardinal Girolamo Mattei (1546-1603) - whose arms are found on this binding -, belonged to a house that gave eight cardinals to the Holy See, including Pope Innocent II. A man of letters, G. Mattei was admitted to the prelacy. As a consequence, he went through all hierarchical ranks. In 1586, Sixtus V appointed him cardinal deacon for the Church of St Adriano in Rome, where he founded the college named for him. The Mattei college was suppressed by Pius VI in 1777. G. Mattei died in 1603.



¹ LIBRERIA ANTIQUARIA ULRICO HOEPLI, Milano, Vendita all'asta…, quoted, part 3, pp. 31-33, No 70, plate VI.