VENICE, ITALY, SECOND HALF 16TH CENTURY

This shield is one of a number inspired by Ottoman models produced in Venice during the second half of the 16^th century. The production lasted little more than fifty years but has been described as “one of the most remarkable phenomena in the colourful story of the cultural exchanges between Venice and the Orient” (Ernst Grube, ‘Venetian Lacquer and Bookbindings of the 16^th century’ in S. Carboni (ed.), Venice and the Islamic World: 828-1979, New York-Paris, 2007, p.242.). Although made in 16^th century Italy, the decoration recalls the aesthetic of the Ottoman naqqashkhaneh with its elegant arabesques, split palmettes and heart-shaped knots. Comparison can be drawn between the decoration of our shield and that of 16^th century Ottoman works of art. One example of many is the Iznik basin by the ‘master of the knots’ dated to circa 1510 and now in the Louvre (OA 7880/92; Sophie Markariou (ed.), Islamic Art at the Musée du Louvre, Paris, 2012, pp.364-365).

Grube suggests that these shields were created to be in the manner of classical heroes, who were identified as Turks in 16^th century Europe (Carboni, op.cit., p.233). As an extension to this conceit contemporary figures of celebrity would be escorted by a Turkish bodyguard dressed with Ottoman-style arms (Atasoy and Uluç, Impressions of Ottoman Culture in Europe: 1453-1699, Istanbul, 2012, p.319). A number of examples of these bodyguards are given by Ernst Grube in his paper on the subject with one such guard formed by the future King of Spain, Philip II (1556-1598) on his entry to Milan in 1548 (Carboni, op.cit., p.233). Another bodyguard of Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau (1587-1611), Archbishop of Salzburg, was equipped with Ottoman-style garments and armours from Venice for his cavalry.

Whilst some of the inspiration behind this group of armour, which included helmets, shields and quivers, came to Europe as ‘Türkenbeute’, or booty, taken in battles with the Ottomans, the trade links between Venice and Istanbul was a far more important source. Manuscripts and other tradeable good were readily exchanged and it is notable that the decoration of the present lot and the other shields in the group bears close resemblance to Ottoman illumination of the period. Contemporary Ottoman shields were of a very different construction, consisting of coiled cane wrapped in metal threads or silk (an example is in the Badisches Landesmuseum, Baden, inv.Nr.D20).

Similar shields are found in various European collections but the majority are preserved in the Museo Correr and Armeria di Palazzo Ducale in Venice (inv. J19; published Atasoy and Uluç, op.cit., no. 320, p. 319.) and the Museum Carolino-Augusteum in Salzburg, assumed to be those that were made to order for Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau. Further comparable shields are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (acc. no. 29.158.586) and Staatlische Kunstammlungen, Dresden (inv. No. 1). A similar shield was sold Sotheby’s London, 25 April 2012, lot 548 and another 10 June 2020, lot 120.