Documentation and Diagnostics of the Illumination of the Statute of the City of Pula from 1500

Abstract

A detailed visual inspection of the mechanical and physico-chemical damage observed on the illumination is published in this paper. At the general level of the motifs represented in the miniatures, a style bearing the spirit of the North-Italian quattrocento can be seen, showing the characteristics of a Ferrara school of miniature painting with Venetian influence. Special attention is given to the motif of the coat of arms and to the figure inside the locket on folio 6v, which led to the assumption that the codex was possibly commisioned by the Venetian Doge Agostino Barbarigo. Given the established style, especially in the making of the decorative floral frame and letter miniatures, similarities were observed with other miniatures of the same period and geographical origin, so that, based on recent studies of miniatures, it was assumed that the illumination was made in the Venetian workshop of Maestro di Pica. To verify this assumption, a letter was sent to an expert in the field, Mrs. Lilian Armstrong, who confirmed it. However, she drew attention to the figural part of the illumination and suggested that it was probably the work of Benedetto Bordone, an esteemed Venetian miniaturist of the time. Further research led to the discovery of photographs of miniatures on folios 6v, 7r and 94r taken in 1909 and published in 1911. The photographs are extremely significant because they were created before the 1936 restoration in Venice. Subsequently, a visual comparison of the present state of mechanical damage with the condition recorded in these photographs was made and it was determined that further mechanical damage to the paint and parchment had occurred. The scans taken in 2000 when the monograph Pulski statut / Statuta Polae (The Statute of Pula) was produced, show no difference in the mechanical damage to the paint compared to the present state, while no comparison was made regarding the physico-chemical damage due to the unrealistic tonality of the colours on the scans from that period. After taking a set of photographs of the illumination under angled light, following a review of the literature on the Renaissance pigments, a visual identification of the pigments used to make miniatures and ink was made. A greater part of the identification has been left to further analyses, however the discoloration of azurite, malachite and cobalt pigments was identified, which is the basic diagnosis that indicates the need for stabilization of these pigments through the restoration and conservation processes. The reconstruction of the painted part is not advisable due to the damage of the parchment and the excessive intrusion into the originality of the illumination, since the surface showing lack of paint is large. Due to the difficulty in describing such complex mechanical damage, it has been proven that a photograph is an irreplaceable document that can be used to view the state of miniatures at the time of recording. It has also proven to be the only acceptable way of permanently recording this kind of archival material.