Beschreibung:

MEDIEVAL FORGERY. (JONI, ICILIO FEDERICO, 1865/6-1946), forged medieval miniature, battle scene and siege of a city, Siena, late 19th century. Watercolour and gold on vellum, about 260x300 mm. Partly some colour abrasion and wear. A FINE EXAMPLE. PROBABLY THE WORK OF THE SELF-PROFESSED FORGER, ICILIO FEDERICO JONI Joni was a Sienese painter and restorer who produced imitations of the wooden panel bindings (tavolette della biccherna) used to cover the accounts of Siena from the middle of the 13th to the end of the 17th centuries, and other objects. While he sold a number of his imitations as medieval and Renaissance originals, he openly described his forgery work in his autobiography (Le Memorie di un pittore di Quadri Antichi, 1932, English trans. 1936). Joni bindings - undetected - have graced some of the greatest book collections, including those of Borghese, Hoe, and Wilmerding. Even recognised as imitations, they had great caché, as the commission by Lady Wantage for a binding in 1904 demonstrates. Some 20 examples of Joni's work are known, including one in the British Library (C. 109.k.18) described by Mirjam Foot: Studies (1993) pp. 296-297. See also: H. M. Nixon, 'Binding Forgeries,' Transactions of the VIth International Congress of Bibliophiles, 1969, Vienna: 1971, pp. 69-83; Mirjam Foot, 'A Pair of Bookcovers of the late 19th Century by I. F. Joni', The Book Collector, 1985, pp.488-89. Photo.