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Auction archive: Lot number 191

PORTINARI, Pier Francesco]. A collection of 109 letters and documents addressed to Portinari as Florentine ambassador in England 25 October 1527 - 14 September 1528 , including 56 from the Dieci di Balìa of Florence, 7 from Niccolò Capponi, Gonfaloni...

Auction 03.12.1997
3 Dec 1997
Estimate
£12,000 - £16,000
ca. US$19,941 - US$26,588
Price realised:
£28,750
ca. US$47,776
Auction archive: Lot number 191

PORTINARI, Pier Francesco]. A collection of 109 letters and documents addressed to Portinari as Florentine ambassador in England 25 October 1527 - 14 September 1528 , including 56 from the Dieci di Balìa of Florence, 7 from Niccolò Capponi, Gonfaloni...

Auction 03.12.1997
3 Dec 1997
Estimate
£12,000 - £16,000
ca. US$19,941 - US$26,588
Price realised:
£28,750
ca. US$47,776
Beschreibung:

PORTINARI, Pier Francesco]. A collection of 109 letters and documents addressed to Portinari as Florentine ambassador in England 25 October 1527 - 14 September 1528 , including 56 from the Dieci di Balìa of Florence, 7 from Niccolò Capponi, Gonfalonier of Florence, 15 from Giuliano Soderini, Bishop of Saintes, and 13 from Bartolomeo Gualterotti in Venice; bound together with 45 copies of diplomatic reports, letters or treaties sent to Portinari while he was in England, including one of a letter from Cardinal Wolsey to Portinari; 4 letters to Portinari as Florentine envoy to Pope Clement VII at Bologna October and November 1529 comprising 3 from the Consoli di Lana of the Republic of Florence and one from Marietta his wife; together with 2 later documents, including a notarial petition (17 October 1617 ) on behalf of Odoardo and Dionigi Portinari as descendants of the founder of the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuovo in Florence, and with 16 earlier letters and accounts of the Portinari family, especially from their time in London ( ca. 1482-1502 ); altogether 176 letters and documents (174 in Italian and 2 in Latin), approximately 320 leaves including integral blanks, mostly between 290 x 215mm - 350 x 235mm, the largest leaves folded, approximately 367 written pages , many of the letters partly in cipher, most with contemporary interlinear deciphering, several with papered seals, most with contemporary endorsements (occasional slight wear and rodent damage, mostly in blank outer margins, documents numbered 116-118 disbound, no. 167 torn through). Old half-vellum. Phillipps MS 26276. The bulk of the letters and documents that comprise this volume were generated by Pier Francesco Portinari's embassy to the court of Henry VIII on behalf of the last Florentine Republic. From the election of Giulio de' Medici as Clement VII (1523) up until the Sack of Rome in 1527, Florence's funds financed the Pope's policies and her diplomacy was controlled in Rome and directed towards papal interests. The Sack of Rome and Clement's imprisonment paved the way for the people of Florence to expel the Medici and on 17 May 1527 a republic was declared under the Gonfalonier Niccolò Capponi (letters 3, 8, 47, 50, 51, 56 and 66). As part of its effort to maintain an independent existence, to expel the imperial forces from Italy and to avoid the domination of the Florentine state by the Medici, the Republic attempted to win the support -- and a donation of 60,000 ducats -- from the English king. Pier Francesco Portinari, a merchant and diplomat from one of Florence's leading families, was part of the Florentine community in France and he was chosen by the Florentine ambassador Giuliano Soderini, bishop of Saintes, (letters 13, 32, 36, 37, 41, 48, 62, 70, 72, 75, 85, 91, 101 and 106) to go from there directly to the English court. The earliest text (ff.2-5v) is the Instructione sent to Pier Francesco from the Dieci di Libertà et Pace of 25 October 1527. In it they express themselves desirous of the liberty not only of 'patria nostra', but also of the militant roman church and the whole of Italy - 'tanto celebre et d'ogni specie di gloria ornata' - they therefore turn to those 'protectori et defensori', the King of France and the King of England, Portinari having travelled from one to the other. He is given precise instructions on how to conduct himself - not to say much at the first audience, to use Latin or French rather than Italian - and provided with a full account of individual alliances throughout Italy. The republic's general intention to take part in war against the imperial forces; Portinari was to elicit support and funds. Without sufficient support the Dieci foresaw that the Florentine Republic 'resterebbe come pecora tra lupi' - would remain like a sheep among wolves. The instructions conclude by pointing out that 'sappiendo noi non mancha a quel principe danari et spenderebbe ordinamente senza sperenza di recuperarli' and Henry is to be asked

Auction archive: Lot number 191
Auction:
Datum:
3 Dec 1997
Auction house:
Christie's
London, King Street
Beschreibung:

PORTINARI, Pier Francesco]. A collection of 109 letters and documents addressed to Portinari as Florentine ambassador in England 25 October 1527 - 14 September 1528 , including 56 from the Dieci di Balìa of Florence, 7 from Niccolò Capponi, Gonfalonier of Florence, 15 from Giuliano Soderini, Bishop of Saintes, and 13 from Bartolomeo Gualterotti in Venice; bound together with 45 copies of diplomatic reports, letters or treaties sent to Portinari while he was in England, including one of a letter from Cardinal Wolsey to Portinari; 4 letters to Portinari as Florentine envoy to Pope Clement VII at Bologna October and November 1529 comprising 3 from the Consoli di Lana of the Republic of Florence and one from Marietta his wife; together with 2 later documents, including a notarial petition (17 October 1617 ) on behalf of Odoardo and Dionigi Portinari as descendants of the founder of the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuovo in Florence, and with 16 earlier letters and accounts of the Portinari family, especially from their time in London ( ca. 1482-1502 ); altogether 176 letters and documents (174 in Italian and 2 in Latin), approximately 320 leaves including integral blanks, mostly between 290 x 215mm - 350 x 235mm, the largest leaves folded, approximately 367 written pages , many of the letters partly in cipher, most with contemporary interlinear deciphering, several with papered seals, most with contemporary endorsements (occasional slight wear and rodent damage, mostly in blank outer margins, documents numbered 116-118 disbound, no. 167 torn through). Old half-vellum. Phillipps MS 26276. The bulk of the letters and documents that comprise this volume were generated by Pier Francesco Portinari's embassy to the court of Henry VIII on behalf of the last Florentine Republic. From the election of Giulio de' Medici as Clement VII (1523) up until the Sack of Rome in 1527, Florence's funds financed the Pope's policies and her diplomacy was controlled in Rome and directed towards papal interests. The Sack of Rome and Clement's imprisonment paved the way for the people of Florence to expel the Medici and on 17 May 1527 a republic was declared under the Gonfalonier Niccolò Capponi (letters 3, 8, 47, 50, 51, 56 and 66). As part of its effort to maintain an independent existence, to expel the imperial forces from Italy and to avoid the domination of the Florentine state by the Medici, the Republic attempted to win the support -- and a donation of 60,000 ducats -- from the English king. Pier Francesco Portinari, a merchant and diplomat from one of Florence's leading families, was part of the Florentine community in France and he was chosen by the Florentine ambassador Giuliano Soderini, bishop of Saintes, (letters 13, 32, 36, 37, 41, 48, 62, 70, 72, 75, 85, 91, 101 and 106) to go from there directly to the English court. The earliest text (ff.2-5v) is the Instructione sent to Pier Francesco from the Dieci di Libertà et Pace of 25 October 1527. In it they express themselves desirous of the liberty not only of 'patria nostra', but also of the militant roman church and the whole of Italy - 'tanto celebre et d'ogni specie di gloria ornata' - they therefore turn to those 'protectori et defensori', the King of France and the King of England, Portinari having travelled from one to the other. He is given precise instructions on how to conduct himself - not to say much at the first audience, to use Latin or French rather than Italian - and provided with a full account of individual alliances throughout Italy. The republic's general intention to take part in war against the imperial forces; Portinari was to elicit support and funds. Without sufficient support the Dieci foresaw that the Florentine Republic 'resterebbe come pecora tra lupi' - would remain like a sheep among wolves. The instructions conclude by pointing out that 'sappiendo noi non mancha a quel principe danari et spenderebbe ordinamente senza sperenza di recuperarli' and Henry is to be asked

Auction archive: Lot number 191
Auction:
Datum:
3 Dec 1997
Auction house:
Christie's
London, King Street
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