Lot 54: JACOPO LIGOZZI VERONA 1547 - 1627 FLORENCE

A MARRIED PERIOT GREEK WOMAN WITH A MONKEY

measurements note
11 by 8 3/4 in.; 27.9 by 22 cm.

inscribed upper left SPOSATA PEROTA / Giovane grece da marito

tempera and shell gold on paper

PROVENANCE

Mrs. S.K. Legare, Washington, D.C.;
By whose Estate sold, London, Christie's, April 18, 1989, lot 11.

NOTE

This drawing represents a young married Greek woman of Pera; Nicolay goes on to describe the costume of Greek newlywed brides:

[L]e figlie, ò donne novamente andate à marito portano in testa una berretta to[n]da di raso cremesino ò di broccato figurato, avvolta da una ghirlanda larga due dita di seta, & d'oro, tutta piena di perle, & d'altre pietre di pregio. Sono le loro camicie di crespo ò di taffettà di colore porfilato, & rigato d'oro, come sono quelle delle Turche. [The girls, or woman newly married wear on their head a round hat of crimson satin or figured brocade, surrounded by a garland two inches wide of silk, and of gold, all covered in pears and other stones of value. Their blouses are of crepe or of taffeta of a purple color, and striped with gold, as are those of the Turkish ladies]."

This drawing was used by the Doccia factory as one of the designs for a group of porcelain platters, manufactured in the mid 18th Century (see fig. 1, and introduction to these lots).