Domenico di Niccolò, Mattia di Nanni and the Development of Sienese Intarsia Techniques

Author(s): Antoine Wilmering

Source: The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 139, No. 1131 (Jun., 1997), pp. 376+378-379+385+387-397
Published by: Burlington Magazine Publications Ltd.
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 ANTOINE WILMERING

Domenico di Niccol6, Mattia di Nanni and

the of Sienese
development intarsia techniques*

THE four magnificentpanels from the bench of the Sienese
Signoria (Figs.10, 11, 12 and 13), identified by Keith
Christiansenand the presentauthoras documentedworksby
Mattia di Nanni, mark the climax of intarsia making in
Siena, an art developed and refined over a period of more
than a century.They also bear eloquent testimony to the
assertionof the most famous Sienese woodworker,Domeni-
co di Niccol6, that Mattia was his one pupil who had
excelled. Indeed, the panels demonstratethat the pupil sur-
passed his master in both technical execution and artistic
expression.An appreciationof the achievementsof these two
intarsiatori
must be approachedthroughan understandingof
the craftas it developedin Orvieto as well as Siena, for it was
in the choir-stallsof Orvieto cathedral, largely carried out
under the directionof Sienese masters,that figurativeintar-
sia makesits firstappearance.'
According to surviving documents, production of the
choir-stallsbegan around 1329/30 and continuedfor over a
hundredyears.2By 1337varnishwas being purchasedfor the
choir,3suggestingthat some parts were already completed,
but there is no way of statingdefinitivelywhat these particu-
lar stallslooked like. The firstreferenceto the term 'tarsia'is
found only in 1354,4 but the elementary form of what is
known as tarsiaa toppo,describedbelow,must have been pro-
duced from the start,while the visualevidencepoints strong-
ly to the earlyplanningof figurativeintarsia.The purchaseof
woods by the cathedralworksalso supportsthese conclusions.
The main purchasesin the earlyyearswere of poplar(Populus
sp.),alder(Alnussp.),walnut,and some chestnut(Castanea sp.).
Apart from alder,which is somewhatunusualbut appearsin
the earliest documents, these are the most common woods
used for construction (poplar and chestnut)and facing, or
visible, wood (walnut).But already in 1330 payments were
made for 'lingnodiluvii',5
and in 1334, 1337, 1338 and 1339for
quantitiesof'ligninigri'.6Both termsreferto bog oak, a wood
with very little inherentstructuralstrengthand thereforepri-
marily used for intarsia.In 1348 there was an isolated pur-
chase of 'legnorum desorbo',the dense light-rosewood of the
sorbustree (Sorbus sp.),also used for inlay.7
Although there is a rich harvestof documentsfor the Orvi-
eto choir,they are incomplete and do not providea compre-
hensive picture of the materialsemployed or their sequence
and kindsof use. Withthisproviso,it is curiousthatreferences
to many of the woods necessaryfor providingthe variety of
colour and texture essentialto the woodworker'spalette for
figurativeinlay 'lignotarsiarum colorisnigrirubeialbi et bisci'-
appear in the documents only after 1430, a century after
workwas firstundertaken.In the years 1431-33, we find sev-
eralpurchasesof red wood ('lignorubeopro a log of maple
coro'),
aceri
('unorocchio procoro'), as well as bog-oak again.8This is a
clear indication that in the 1430s intarsia panels were still
being made for what is referredto in the documents as the
new choir.This last campaignwas carriedout by a group of
Sienese craftsmen,directed by a younger contemporaryof
Domenico di Niccol6, PietroMinella da Siena (1391-1458).9
Much of the earliestintarsiawork must have consistedof
that most common form of decoration, intarsiaa toppo- the
sort that can be seen representedin Simone Martini'sUffizi
Annunciation, painted in 1333 for the chapel of S. Ansano in
Siena Cathedral (Fig.25) and in the cassone of Mattia di
Nanni'sJusticepanel (Fig.24).Toppo designs are composed of
hundredsof tiny wood sections shaped as triangles,rectan-
gles, trapezoids,squaresor othergeometricforms,cut as end-
grain sections approximatelyfive centimetreslong. In most
cases the wood typeswere walnut (Juglans sp.),bog-oak(Quer-
cus sp.), spindle tree (Euonymus sp.) and pear (Pyrussp.). A
block, or loaf, of thesevariouswoods was assembledand then
slicedto producethin, long-grainstripsfive millimetresthick,

*Thanks are due to many people for help of variouskinds during the researchfor unpublisheddocumentaryreferences,derivedfrom the importantongoing project
this article:to Keith Christiansenfor his enthusiasticsupportand collaborationin of computerisingthe documentsfor the constructionof Orvieto Cathedral.
the project,and to Robert Little of the Musee des Beaux-Arts,Montrealfor facili- 4FUMI, op.cit.at note 1 above, p.292, doc. LXXXV (AOPSM, Memorie e contratti
tating researchon the Montrealpanels and alertingus to the ScipioAfricanus panel; 1353-64, fol.56):'Perlapiscioned'unoannoperla chasadovestamastro Ninoafarela tarsia
at the Victoria and AlbertMuseum, to ChristopherWilkfor allowingme to exam- epagatiperl'annodelMCCCLIIIJ'.
ine and restore the Justicepanel, to Jonathan Ashley-Smithand John Kitchin for 'Ibid.,p.283, document III, 9th January 1330 (AOPSM, Cam., 2, fol.89v): 'Mag.
facilitatingthisprocess,and to Nick Umney,JosephineDarrah and AlbertNeher for Addamomagistri Perinicarpentario, quosdixitse solvisse factisprose et magistro
proexpensis
their help with the conservationand technical examination;at the Metropolitan JohanneTuredeSenisquando ipsiiveruntapudcontratam Melonteetapudcontratam domi-
Vagni
Museum, to MarkWypyskifor performingEnergyDispersiveSpectrometryanaly- ni UgoliniLupicini prolingnodiluviiprocorodicteEcclesie'.Lucio Riccetti kindlyinforms
ses on the ScipioAfFicanuspanel; also, to AlessandroBagnoli of the Soprintendenza me that 'lignodiluvii'(literally,flood wood) is bog wood, most likelybog oak: this is
per i B.A.S. of Siena, Mauro Civai, Director of the Palazzo Pubblico, and Giusi oak that has been submergedin an aqueous environmentfor a considerabletime,
Testa of the Soprintendenzaper i B.A.A.A.S of Perugia,for allowing close exami- during which it slowly turns black on account of a chemical reaction between the
nation of the intarsiaworksin Siena and Perugia,and to Mario Gammino, conser- tanninsin the wood and ferrouselementsintroducedby the water.
vator of the Orvieto intarsia,for sharing his observationson it; to Lucio Riccetti,
6Fora purchaseof 'ligninigridediluvioprocorodicteEcclesie' on 31st March 1334, see
who gave me transcriptionsof unpublisheddocumentsrelatingto the Orvietowood- FUMI, op.cit.at note 1 above,p.287, doc.XXIV Lucio Ricetti has also told me of pay-
work;and to Amee Yunn for reading the manuscript.The researchwas supported ments on 12th March that year for transporting'unasalmaligninigridediluvio procoro
by severalgrantsfrom the MetropolitanMuseum of Art. dicteEcclesie'
from S. Quirico d'Orcia(AOPSM,Cam., 2, fol.331v). Forthe payments
'Forpublishedinformationon the Orvietochoir,see L.FUMI:IlDuomodi Orvieto e i suoi in 1337 and 1339, see AOPSM, Cam., 2, fols.357rand 708v,and for 1338, see FUMI,
Restauri,Rome [1891], and G. TESTA,ed.: La Cattedrale di Orvieto,
Rome [1990]. op.cit.at note 1 a, p.290, doc.LXVI.
2FUMI,op.cit.above,pp.271-307, and docs. I-CLXXXVII. 7AOPSM,Cam., 3, fol.212v.
3Orvieto,Archivio dell'Opera del Duomo (hereafterAOPSM, Cam., 2, fol.447v): "AOPSM,Cam., 18, fols.217rand 260r.
'vernicis
cocteproinverniciando
lignacon'.I am gratefulto Lucio Ricetti for this and other loc. cit. at note 2 above.
9FUMII,

387

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 THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTARSIA
24. Detail of the thronefromtheJusticepanel (Fig.23),here attributedto Mattiadi Nanni. c. 1430.
Intarsiatedwood, 83 by 56 cm. (wholepanel)(Victoriaand AlbertMuseum,London).
25. Detail of the Virgin'sthronein the Annunciation,
by Simone
Martini. 1333. Temperaon panel, 184 by 210 cm. (wholepanel)
(Uffizi,Florence).
thus repeating a design to about eight times the length of the
original block. Shallow channels of equivalent depth would
have been cut out of the matrix wood with chisels and knives
to receive the strips of toppo,forming symmetrical, geometric
patterns.
The dating of the Orvieto choir-stalls' figurative portion -
crucial for any history of the craft - is problematic. Although
"ForMaitani,in additionto FUMIand TESTA,both cited at note 1 above,see c. HARD-
ING, in TheDictionary
ofArt,London [1996], XX,pp.140-41, and XXIII, pp.583-88.
Workon the choir had startedone yearpriorto the death of Maitaniin 1330;see L.
'Le origini dell'Opera. Lorenzo Maitani e l'architetturadel Duomo di
RICCETTI:
Orvieto', in M. HAINES and L. RICCETTI, eds.: Opera:Caratteree ruolodellefabbrichecitta-
388
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TECHNIQUES IN SIENA
the documents show that work continued well into the fif-
teenth century, a stylistic analysis of the surviving portions of
the choir-stalls and lectern suggests that the designs were pro-
duced at the very inception of the project - along with those
for the monumental stained-glass windows and, like them,
possibly carried out under the supervision of the celebrated
Sienese sculptor and architect Lorenzo Maitani, who served
as capomaestro at Orvieto Cathedral from 1310 to 1330. He
was the most influential figure in the building and decoration
of the cathedral, and it is quite probable that designs gener-
ated while he was capomaestro continued to be followed after
his death in 1330.10 It is indeed with the finely-featured, elon-
gated figures of the stained-glass windows in the apse of the
cathedral, and with the similarly elongated bronze angels of
the Maestaholding the baldachin over the central door of the
that the large intarsia tympanum with the Coronation
facade,
of the Virgin(Figs.30 and 31), which crowned the entrance to
the free-standing choir, bears closest affinity.By contrast, the
figures of the choir-stall backs (Fig.26) and imposing lectern
(Figs.28 and 29) show such striking similarities to the painted
work of Meo da Siena - a Sienese artist who is not docu-
mented at Orvieto, but was active in and around Perugia
from 1319 to 1333/34 - that either he or some close associ-
ate must have been reponsible for supplying the designs."
(Compare, for example, the apostle St Peter in the Orvieto
choir, Fig.26, with the equivalent figure in Meo's signed and
dated altar-piece in the Galleria Nazionale in Perugia,
Fig.27).
The technique for the figurative decoration followed stan-
dard procedures. For most intarsia - and especially for figu-
rative inlay - a drawing would be made as a cartoon, which
in turn was used as a pattern to cut the tesseraeinto the desired
dinefinoall'inizio dell'EtdModerna,Florence [1996], pp. 157-267, esp. pp.255-56.
"I am grateful to Keith Christiansen for this suggestion. For Meo da Siena, see D.
GORDON, in The DictionaryofArt, London [1996], XXI, pp. 144-45; F. TODINI: La pit-
turaumbradal duecentoalprimo cinquecento, Milan [1989], I, p.222; II, pp. 107-09.
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTARSIA TECHNIQUES IN SIENA

26. StPeter,detail from choir-stallpanel. Sienese,second 27. Polyptychfrom S. Mariadi Valdiponte,by 28. Detail of Fig.29showingthe head of St Andrew.
half of the fourteenthcentury.Intarsiatedwoods (Orvieto Meo da Siena. Temperaon panel, 233 by 242
Cathedral). cm. (GalleriaNazionale,Perugia).

shapesand to transferthe design to the matrixpanel. Wood-

workerswouldhaveprepareda plainpiece of wood cut to the
properdimensionsof, for example,a choir-stallback (walnut
was used in the Orvieto choir).The smoothed panel would
that were to be inlaid. Once
serve as a matrixfor the tesserae
the transferof the cartoonwas completed,the largersections
were inlaid by being fixed to the substratewith glue and/or
small wooden pegs according to the general outline of the
design. This process was repeated, progressivelysmaller
pieces of wood graduallyadding more detail. Between each
roundof inlay,the face of the panel would have been planed
or scrapedto revealthe stateof progress.When necessary,the
cartoon would have been re-transferredover the semi-com-
pleted image. The matrix remained visible as part of the
completedwork (Fig.26).At Orvieto the level of skillshown
was exceptional.The eyebrowsof the apos-
by the intarsiatori
tle St Andrew in the lectern, for example, are meticulously
inlaidwith tiny sliversof end-grainwood almostarticulating 29. Base of lecternwith figuresof saints.Sienese,c. 1356. Intarsiatedwood
each individualhair (Fig.28). (OrvietoCathedral).
The tympanumwith the Coronation oftheVirgin(Figs.30and
31) shows a slightlydifferent
technique from that in the choir- tain amount of physical strength,comparableto but quite
stallsand lectern, and it may havebeen executedlater.Inter- differentfrom carving sculpture.Whereas in sculpturethe
estingly,the tympanum'stechniqueresemblesthat employed appliedforceand movementis awayfromthe body,the intar-
by Domenico di Niccol6 for the choir-stallsin the Cappella sia cutteroften workstowardsand close to the body.Forthat
de'Signori in the Palazzo Pubblico, Siena. The substrate reason,most intarsiapanelsare smallor dividedinto smaller
wood was first covered with smaller sheets, about 5 mm. matrix sections, as is the case, for example, in the late fif-
thick, of oak, bog-oak, and lighter-colouredwoods, which teenth-centurystudiolo from the Ducal Palace in Gubbio,
were fixed with glue and small wooden pegs to form the now in the MetropolitanMuseumof Art, New York.'2
roughoutlineindicatedby the design.The inlaywas then cut The Orvieto intarsia,especiallythe Coronation of theVirgin
into the surfaceveneer.All furtherstepswere executedin the panel, provides the essential for
background understanding
traditionalmanner alreadydescribed.The extremelylarge the work of Domenico di Niccol6. It is not known where
size of the tympanum,which is constructedof seven boards Domenico receivedhis training,or whetherhe learnedto cut
and measuresc.290 cm. high and 300 cm. wide, made it an intarsia in the conventionalfourteenth-centurytechnique.
incredibly complicated work to produce. This astounding All his earlyworkfor Siena Cathedralis lost and our knowl-
panel, with the exquisitelygraciousand introvertedfigureof
the Virgin crowned by the Lord and surroundedby angels
and saints,musthavebeen regardedas one of the most ambi- 'The Liberal Arts Studiolo from the Ducal
'2See o. RAGGIOand A.M.WILMERING:
tious intarsia works of the fourteenth century.It must be Palace at Gubbio', TheMetropolitan Museumof ArtBulletin[Spring 1996]. A much
rememberedthat the actualcuttingof intarsiarequiresa cer- fullerpublicationof the Gubbio studiolois in preparationby the same authors.
389

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 THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTARSIA TECHNIQUES IN SIENA

31. Detail of Fig.30showingthe head of the Virgin.

30. Coronationof the Virgin. Sienese,secondhalf of the fourteenthcentury.

Intarsiatedwood, 290 by 300 cm. (OrvietoCathedral).

edge of his craftderivesexclusivelyfromhis last and greatest

commissions- the choir-stallsfor the Cappella de'Signori,
and two independentpanels that were likewisepart of the
interiordecorationsof the PalazzoPubblico.'3In a numberof
respectshis method as found in these late worksseems to be
untraditional.Although the Coronation of the Virginpanel in
Orvieto providesclose analogies,Domenico developed sev-
eral technicalrefinements.He veneeredhis panelswith small
sheetsof bog-oak,or lighterwoods (boxwood or spindletree)
of about 5 mm. thick,fixedwith glue and smallwooden pegs
to theirsubstrate,and then cut the detailsinto thisveneer.No
known documentsitemise the purchaseof materialsfor his
Siena choir-stalls,but examination reveals that he used a
slightly narrowerrange of woods than appear at Orvieto,
including (in addition to those just mentioned), walnut,
poplar,pear, cherry (Prunussp.),plum (Prunussp.),boxwood
(Buxussp.)'4and possiblyrobinia(Robinia sp.).
Domenico was a mastercraftsmanin differentmedia and
this may account for the fact that he did not confine himself
in his intarsiato the use of wood alone, but also introduceda
range of colouredputtiesto heighten the expressivecharac-
ter of his work.In the Confiteorunumbaptisma panel, for exam-
ple, he used a to
greenpaste represent the water beingpoured
from the jug. More dramaticare Christ'sred stigmatain the
Et iterumventurus panel, or the blood gushingout of his chest
in the Crucifixus etiampronobis(Figs.34and 35). Each initial
capitalin the Latintextson the scrollsgivingthe relevantpart
of the Creed is executedwith a red-colouredpaste in imita-

'3Forthese two panels and theirpossibleoriginfromdoors,see KEITHCHRISTIANSEN'S

articlein this issue above,p.376.
'4Boxwoodwas commonly used by the early Sienese intarsia cutters.It was pur-
chased, for example, in Orvieto on 16th December 1402: 'Itemdeditet solvitFratri
lacoboSanctiAgostini prounorocchio
bussiquodemitproactando
chorum
soldosdecem
denario- 32. Detail of the Raisingofthedeadfrom the choir-stallsin the Cappellade' Signori,
rum'(AOPSM,Cam., 13, fol.237v). by Domenico di Niccol6, c. 1415-21. Intarsiatedwood (PalazzoPubblico,Siena).
390

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 THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTARSIA TECHNIQUES IN SIENA

, ......... ......
....... :.,

33. Detail of Patrem (Fig.17)from the choir-stallsin the Cappellade'Signori,here attributedto Mattiadi Nanni, c. 1421-28. Intarsiated
omnipotentem
wood (PalazzoPubblico,Siena).

35. Crucifixusetiampronobis,from the choir-stallsin the Cappellade' Signori,by Domenico di

34. Detail of Fig.34 showingred-colouredblood spurtingfrom the Niccol6. c. 1415-21. Intarsiatedwood and colouredputty,49.5 by 46.5 cm. (PalazzoPubblico,
CrucifiedChrist. Siena).

&-1

391

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 THE DEVELOPMENT
36. Detail of ScipioAfricanus(Fig. 13), here attributed to Mattia di Nanni.
tion of the red ink of an actualchoir-book,and the other let-
ters are inlaid with black putty simulatingblack ink. Black
puttywas used throughoutthe panelsfor the smallestdetails,
which would have been difficult to execute with bog-oak
(Figs.32 and 37). Black putty was also commonly used at
Orvieto for small details but the application of coloured
pastes has not been observed.In the choir-stallson the left
in unumdeum(Fig.19)fromthe choir-stallsin
37. Detail of Credo
the Cappellade'Signori,here attributedto Mattia di Nanni.
c. 1415-21. Intarsiatedwood. (PalazzoPubblico,Siena).
392
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OF INTARSIA TECHNIQUES IN SIENA
side of the Cappellade' Signorigreen paste was used again,
to imitatethe sea in the mappamondi of three of the panels(see
Fig.33). In this group, a furthernoveltywas the use of thin
metal strips for certain details, such as the feathers of the
angels'wings.A wonderfuland imaginativeexampleof these
tiny metal strips is provided by the inlaid breakersof the
waves in the sea of the mappamondo of the Patrem omnipotentem
panel (Fig.33).The technical refinement of the left-hand
groupof choir-stalls,dateableon documentaryevidenceafter
1421, stronglysuggeststhe presence of a new, youthfuland
innovativeartistalongside the middle-agedDomenico: this
can only be Mattia di Nanni. How great a r61ethe younger
artisthad in the productionof these stallsmustremaina mat-
ter of conjecture,but it is arguablethat in the productionof
the last eight panels his was increasinglythe dominantper-
At any event, these panels set the standardfor his
sonality.'5"
workon the Signory'sbench.
One of the most peculiarand innovativetechniquesintro-
duced by Domenico is the applicationof laminatedstripsof
wood to controlthe gradationof wood colour,used predom-
inantlyin the folds of the drapery.The use of laminaein this
particularmanner is not found elsewhere in Italy and is
unique to Domenico and his starpupilMattia.It allowedfor
5Since the intarsia
panels were made independentlyfrom the stalls,ratherthan set
into a matrix,it is possiblethat therewere two campaignsof intarsiadecorationfol-
lowing the constructionof the stallsthemselves.If this was the case, the firstmight
have begun c. 1418 - allowingfour to sevenyearsfor the constructionof the stalls-
and the second in the 1420s, includingthe door on left, which is part of the overall
scheme,was begun. The firstgroupis finely executed,but as CHRISTIANSEN remarks
in his articleabove,differsstylisticallyfromthe second,which showsthe influenceof
Ghiberti.Christiansenand I are fully in agreementthat Mattia di Nanni may well
havebeen involvedin the secondgroup;indeed,the technicalmasteryand attention
to detail found in the Credoin unumdeumpanel, which goes far beyond Domenico's
earlierwork,is a sufficientindicationthat its executionmay be ascribedto Mattia.
 THE DEVELOPMENT
38. Detail of the Cassapanca(Fig.8),with the threepanels showingM. Curius
a subtle and perfectly controlled gradation of the natural
wood coloursto renderhighlightsand shadows,andwas used
very effectivelyto create hollowed-outfolds in draperyby
interweavinglight and very dark strips, as can be seen in
Domenico's Justicepanel (Fig.7).The application of these
laminae add a painterly quality to the intarsiawhich was
developedto a very sophisticatedlevel by Mattia(seeFig.24).
Wood laminationswere used in intarsiathroughoutthe fif-
teenthcentury,butwith a completelydifferentintention.The
guillocheborderin the Gubbiostudiolo,for example,is com-
posed of fourteenstripsof wood, rangingfrom very light to
deep black,to create a three-dimensional,volumetriceffect,
and some of the books in the studiolohave laminatedblocks
to simulatethe individualpages, but laminae are never used
to model the form.16
As one wouldexpect,Mattiadi Nanni'sintarsiatechniques
developedfrom Domenico di Niccol6's. The four surviving
panelsfrom the Signory'sbench (Figs.10, 11, 12, 13 and 35),
togetherwith the panel of Justice(Fig.23)in the Victoriaand
AlbertMuseum- undocumentedbut certainlyby Mattiaand
associablewith the Palazzo Pubblico commissions- reveal
Mattia as a master of intarsia of unequalled ability.Scipio
Africanus(Fig.13)may have been among the first completed
panels, as the seated figure and the oddly foreshortened
bench are clearlyreminiscentof Domenico di Niccol6 (the
'"Forillustrations see RAGGIO cited at note 12 above.
and WILMERING,
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OF INTARSIA TECHNIQUES IN SIENA
Dentatus, and MettusCurtius.
Pompey
figure may be compared with the Et iterumventuruspanel in
the Cappella de'Signori choir). Mattia refined Domenico's
technique of laminating wood shavings by employing lami-
nae of various thicknesses, and by mixing different wood
species. Whereas the older master had used shavings with
blunt ends, Mattia tapered them meticulously, enabling pre-
cise and smooth interweaving of the different, naturally
coloured woods. This technique allowed Mattia to create
images with carefully modelled details, and some of the inlaid
slivers are as fine as a painter's brush stroke (Fig.39). The lam-
inae were probably produced by two different techniques.
One seems to have involved wet boards, which were shaved
on their side with a coarsely-set plane, as indicated by a close
look at the right arm of 'Marcus Curius' (Fig.40), with its lam-
inae of even thickness with tiny fractures. The second must
have incorporated dry boards to produce straight strips
which, in turn, needed to be moistened before they were lam-
inated. The laminae must have been assembled with the aid
of jigs to force them into the required shapes. Then the sec-
tions of inlay were cut from these newly assembled blocks to
a thickness of about 5 cm. If the laminae were not wet
enough, or some of the curves were too small, tiny breaks
occurred, as can be seen in Pompey'sright arm (Fig.43). Once
the small laminae were in place, forming the rough outline
of the design, they may have been further inlaid with details
following the intarsia technique (Fig.41).
Mattia created finely rendered images with a beautiful
painterly quality, combined with a bold sculptural presence
393
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTARSIA
39. Detail of the garmentbow ofJustice(Fig.23),here 40. Detail of right arm of M.Curius
attributedto Mattiadi Nanni.
reminiscentof Ghiberti.His palette of wood speciesis quite
similar to that of Domenico, incorporatingwalnut, pear,
poplar,bog oak, brownoak and spindlewood. The selection
of wood seemsalmosttoo limitedfor intarsia,especiallyif we
compare it to the Florentineworkshops.However,Mattia's
cleverlaminationtechniqueenabledhim to createa fulltonal
spectrum.He abandonedthe use of colouredputties,except
for black,used for the finest details:bone and metal seem to
be the only non-woodmaterialincorporatedinto his panels.
He used bone rather ingeniouslyto make the whites of the
eyes in MettusCurtius,ScipioAfricanus and (combined with
light-colouredspindle wood) Pompey, and to highlight the
In
bridgeof the nose of the lattertwo (Fig.42). addition,Scipio
Africanushasbone denturesand metal stripson the brimof his
helmet (Fig.36).'7
This technical masteryreaches a climax in the beautiful
Justicepanel in the Victoriaand AlbertMuseum,which was
carefullyexamined during conservationtreatmentin 1992.
X-radiographyindicatedcertaindarkerbrownareasof inlay
to be moreX-ray densethan others,and furtherexamination
with X-ray fluorescencerevealedelevatedlevels of copperin
the head-dress, the lining of the garment, the shoulder-
bands,the ribbontying the dresstogetherand the mappamon-
do(Figs.45and 46), while the lighter-colouredwoods showed
no presenceof metalliccomponents.It is highlyprobablethat
the copper tracesare the remainsof a now-discolouredcop-
per resinateglaze that partiallypenetratedthe wood fibres,
and that the intentionwas to have certaindetailsin the panel
appeargreen or greenish,whilekeepingthe underlyingwood
visible.As we have seen, the precedentfor the applicationof
coloursin figurativeintarsiahad been set by Domenico, using
opaquepigmentedputtiesto enhancecertainisolateddetails.
Mattia,by contrast,seems to have used his glazes to empha-
"EDS analysesconfirmedthat the metal compoundconsistedof a lead-tinmixture.
'8Apreliminaryinspectionof the ScipioAfricanuspanel revealedthat here too a green
colouring agent had been used in the lining of the garment,which is stillpartially
394
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TECHNIQUES IN SIENA
Dentatus
(Fig.10),here attributedto Mattiadi Nanni.
sise the pictorialqualityof his work,followingthe practiceof
painters.'"
It is hard to imagine some detailsin theJusticefigurehigh-
lightedwith a green glaze,while the restof the panelwas ren-
dered only in naturally toned woods. When representing
mantles and cloaks, fifteenth-centurySienese painters and
polychromesculptorsnormallyused one colourfor the exte-
rior of mantles and cloaksand anotherfor the lining, some-
times set off by a still differentlycoloured undergarmet.
There is no reasonto assumethatfigurativeintarsia,once the
possibilityof colour was introduced,would have been pro-
duced accordingto a differentaesthetic.Thus the evidenceof
a green lining in the Justicepanel has to be recognisedas an
indicationthat the exteriorfabricof the dresswas glazed as
well - probablyin a red tone not unlikethe colourschemeof
the Justicepaintedby Taddeo di Bartoloin 1414 in a lunette
of the antecappellain the PalazzoPubblico.Mattia'sfigurative
intarsiashouldthus be comparedwith painting,polychrome
sculpture,or enamels andjewellery,where glazeswere com-
monly appliedto enhance an underlyingdesignor colour.
The Justicefigure most probablyhad colouredglazes not
only in the dress,but also on her face and hands. How else
can it be explainedthat her face lacksthe detail renderedby
contrastingwoods in other parts of the same panel (Fig.44)?
While the face certainlyrevealsextensivewood modulation
and fine workmanship,almost all the woods are used in one
tone. Her righteyebrow,for example,is lost betweenthe lam-
inae of the eye socketand forehead,and there is perhapsno
other explanationfor this effect than that her sereneexpres-
sion was intensifiedby glazes, or even opaque paints. Since,
unfortunately,the panel has been scraped (undoubtedlyto
eliminate a darkenedsurface),we cannot be sure what the
polychromy looked like. Most fifteenth-centuryglazes for
visibleto the nakedeye. EDS analysesconfirmedthatcopper-resinatehad been used
as the colouringsubstance.
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTARSIA TECHNIQUES IN SIENA

41. Head of M. Curius

Dentatus
(Fig.10). 42. Head of Pompey
(Fig.11).

(Fig.11),here attributedto Mattia di Nanni.

43. Detail of right arm of Pompey

paintedor wooden surfaceswere composedof organicmate-
rials(exceptfor copperresinate),such as kermesfromthe lac
insect and verzinofrom brazilwood. Tracesof these may be
impossibleto detectwith analyticalequipmenton an already
scraped wood surface. That these materialswere used in
combinationwith intarsiadecorationis beyonddoubt, and is
supportedby the documentaryevidence from Orvieto. In
1345, during the early stages of the intarsiawork, verfinoor
brazilwood (Caesalpinia sp.)was purchasedfor the choir,and
in 1431 on two separateoccasionsverdigriswas bought 'pro
coloribus procoro'
.1
It is not widely understoodthat intarsiain the fourteenth
and fifteenth centuries was often coated with a cooked
oil/resin varnish (verniceliquida),rather than being finished
with wax or spirit varnishes.The Orvieto documentsmen-
tion a 'cooked varnish'being appliedto the choir in 1337.20

'9AOPSM,Cam., 3, fol.104r; 18, fol.250v; 18, fol.260r. 20Seenote 3 above.

395

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 THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTARSIA TECHNIQUES IN SIENA

44. Head ofJustice(Fig.23)

Recipesfor suchvarnishes,whichwere commonlyappliedto and clarifythe wood colours.When Vasaricommented on

paintings,appearas early as the twelfthcenturyin the man- intarsia in 1550, however,he praised the achievementsof
uscriptof Theophilus,who statesthat,when appliedto paint- wood-workers,but was criticalof theircraft,becauseintarsia
ings, they make them 'bright, beautiful and completely
lasting'. Wooden surfacestoo requiredfinishesto saturate OnDiversArts,
2 Theophilus ed.J.G.RAwTHoRNEand s.c. SMITrrH,
New York[1979],p.28.
396

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 THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTARSIA
45. X-radiographofJusticepanel (Fig.23).
'is somethingwhich turnsblackat once'.22The phenomenon
of the darkening of oil/resin varnishes, keenly observed by
Vasari,is well known today.It apparentlytakes place more
rapidlyin darkenvironmentssuch as chapelsand choirs,for
which, ironically,most intarsiawas made. This darkening
explains why nineteenth-century restorers had to resort to
suchstrongcleaningagentsas lye in orderto exposethe wood
surfaces from the heavily cross-linked varnishes. Mattia's
panel too must have been varnished and darkenedin this
way,which explainsthe scrapingthat was later necessaryto
clean the surface.
The originalsettingof theJusticepanel has not been docu-
mented,but the hypothesisadvancedin the precedingarticle
thatit was partof a pulpitin the councilchamberseemscred-
ible. The converginglines in the Sassetta-likepavementindi-
cate that the panel was intended to be seen at a fairlylow
position (the horizon line at the viewer's knee height), which
would have emphasisedthe trompe l'oeileffectwroughtby the
one-point perspective.2Thus Mattia di Nanni should be
recognisednot only as one of the most innovativeand skilled
intarsiacuttersof the fifteenthcentury,but also as a crafts-
man of a new generationwho, despitenot havingbeen part
of Brunelleschi'scircle,may lay claim to being one of the ear-
liest Sienese maestri
diprospettiva.
MuseumofArt,Newrork
Metropolitan
22G.VASARI: Le vitede'pizieccellenti
pittori,scultori
e architettori,
ed. G.MILANESI,
Florence
[1878-85], I, pp.202-03.
23Theperspectivedesign and inherent optimum viewpoint in this panel are not
unlike,for example,those in the lowerpanels of a cabinetmade by FraGiovannida
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TECHNIQUES IN SIENA
46. Detail of 45 showinggarmentbow.
Appendix
Observations on condition.
The threepanels in Montrealare in fair condition.They were probablyrestored
at the turn of the century,at which time they were also mounted into a pastiche
renaissancebench. They are unusuallytightly croppedin the lozenge frame, and
must have been trimmedat the sides.Their surfaceshave been rigorouslycleaned
and scraped,as is evident in the lower left corner of the 'MarcusCurius'panel,
where the mouth of the sack has almost lost its detail. The boardsof the substrate
wood have shrunkunevenly,causingthe intarsiato crack,buckleand delaminatein
some places.
The ScipioAfticanus, acquiredby the MetropolitanMuseum of Art in 1997, is in
overallfaircondition.The thinnedpoplarsubstratepanel hasbeen preservedalmost
flat without any cracksand the inlay is well consolidatedto the surface.There are
severalrepairsto the intarsia,especiallyto areaswith bog-oakinlay.At some point
in its historythe panel was turnedinto a cabinetdoor,as is evidentfromvoidsmade
for a lock and two knife-hinges(now lost);the back and sides have been veneered
with rosewoodoverthe poplarsubstrate,probablyat the time ofthis conversion.The
lozenge borderis a modern restoration.
Interestingly,the titles seem to have been separatedfrom the panels (futuretech-
nical examinationmay be able to confirmthis),possiblyaccountingfor some of the
confusions in the names. The titles 'MAGNVSPONPEVS' and 'Q. cvRCivs' (which, as
KEITHCHRISTIANSENpoints out above, p.379,is strictly speaking a mistake for 'M.CvR-
cIvs')certainlycome fromthe originalbench, while 'MARCvs (whichis a mis-
CvRIVs'
take for 'MANLIVS CVRIVs')seems to be a replacement,as it is made from a different
wood and fill material.The inscriptionat the bottom of the MetropolitanMuseum
panel, slightlymisspelledas 'SCIPIoAFFRICANUs',
is partof the originalbench and fea-
turesblackputty inlay.
The Justicepanel, which entered the South KensingtonMuseum in 1859, had
probablybeen restoredwhen it was taken out of its framework,or perhapswhen it
was sold.Obliquescratchmarksrevealthatthe surfacehadbeen scraped,andit may
additionallyhave been cleanedwith aquamaestra, or lye. Both techniqueswere com-
monlyusedby restorersin the nineteenthcentury.The overallconditionof the panel
is fairlygood, however,with only some minorwood restorations.
Veronain 1502 for the choir books of the monasteryof Monte Oliveto Maggiore;
see G. BRIZZI:I1 corointarsiato di MonteOliveto
dell'Abbazia Milano [1989],
Maggiore,
p.132 (ill.)
397
 A SIENESE INTARSIA BENCH
6. TheVirgincommending delPopolo,by Domenico di
thecityof SienatotheCapitano
Niccol6. Intarsiatedwood, 48 by 44.5 cm (PalazzoPubblico,Siena).
have been part of the bench: 'oPUS.MATHIAE.SENENSIS.
IOHAN-
NIS. F. MCCCCXXX'."What must have been the same five
panels were lent by a private collector in Florence to the
comprehensiveMostradell'Antica ArteSeneseheld in the Palaz-
zo PubblicofromAprilto August 1904.28The cataloguegives
the identityof the figuresaccordingto inscriptionsappearing
at the base of the panels: Quintus Curtius,PubliusHoratius
Cocles, Marcus Cato Uticensis, Manlius Curius Dentatus,
and Pompeius Magnus. Somewhat surprisingly,the panels
seem to have escapedproperidentification(theywere simply
catalogued as works of the late fifteenth century), and by
1927, when Peleo Bacci publishedas the workof Mattiatwo
intarsiapanels acquiredby the city of Siena from a private
collection- one showingthe Virgin commendingthe city of,
Siena to the Capitano delPopoloor Gonfaloniere
di Giustizia
(Fig.6)
and the other an allegorical figure ofJustice (Fig.7)29- the five
Roman figureshad slippedinto oblivion.
It did not take long for the two panels publishedby Bacci
to become associatedwith the signory'sbench, though their
subjectshave nothingto do with those describedby Milanesi
and their style and technique are Domenico di Niccol6's:
their dentilledframingmotifs,figurativestyle and technique
are intimatelylinkedto the choir-stallsand survivingdoor in
the chapel: presumablythey belonged to two single or one
27SeeMILANESI, op.cit.at note 2 above,p.240. He does not identifythe figuresbut sim-
ply recordsthat they were famousRomans.He also statesthat, 'questa .. .fu
residenza
guastae dispersaneiprimiannidelcorrentesecolo'.Milanesispeculatedthat the inscription
came from the door to the Cancelleriathat Mattia was commissionedto make in
1428. He was obviouslymisled by Pecci'serroneouscitation of Tizio to the effect
that the bench was completedin 1429.
28Thiswas broughtto my attentionby Pia Palladino.See cat. nos.18-22 of the Cata-
logogeneraleof the exhibition.The collector'sname given in the catalogueis Enrico
Pelleschiof Florence.The recordeddimensionsare 79 by 63 cm., but it is unclear
whetherthis includedframingelementssince removed.
29P. BACCI: 'Due preziose "tarsie"del senese Mattia di Nanni di Stefano detto il
Bernacchino',LaBalzana:Rassegna I [1927], pp.180-83.
d'arteSenese,
30Itis universallystatedthat Bacci made the associationof the panels with the signo-
ry'sbench, but this is not true:he simplyspeculatedthat they mustbelong to one of
Mattia's documented commissions. For the bibliography of these panels see
376
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BY MATTIA DI NANNI
7. Justice,by Domenico di Niccol6. Intarsiatedwood, 47 by 44 cm. (Palazzo
Pubblico,Siena).
double set of doors in the palace salvagedduringthe seven-
teenth- or nineteenth-centuryalterations.30 They are, howev-
of
er, great interest in giving an idea of the manner in which
everypart of the Palazzo Pubblico was endowed with a con-
sistentpoliticalimagery.One panel takesup the theme of dis-
tributivejustice - alreadydepicted by Ambrogio Lorenzetti
in his frescoesin the SaladellaPaceand by Taddeo di Bartolo
in the vestibule - showing the crowned personification
beheadinga prisonerwith one hand and crowninga kneeling
youthwith the other.(Inhis fresco,Lorenzettihad includeda
depictionof commutativejustice, and it may be that this was
treatedin a companionpanel.)The other takesup in anoth-
er guisethe theme made famousby Simone Martini'sMaestd,
in which an inscriptionbeneath the Virgin lauds good gov-
ernment while in the border there appears the seal of the
commune showing the enthroned Virgin encircled by the
motto 'SalvetVirgoSenamVeterem QuamSignatAmenam'.
The reappearanceof these two panels in 1927 servesas a
reminder that the dispersalof objects in the palace in the
wake of Napoleonic reformsdid not necessarilylead to their
wholesale destruction.And indeed, in 1994, after a lapse of
ninety years, three of the panels from Mattia di Nanni's
bench re-surfacedin a private collection in Montreal and
have now founda permanenthome in the Musie des Beaux-
op.cit.at note 13 above,pp.266-67; and CORDARO
SOUTHARD, and BORGHNI
in BRAN-
DI, op.cit.at note 13 above,pp.87, 267. In an effortto make her assumptionfit with
the report of Milanesi, E.C.SOUTHARD ('Reflectionson the Documented Workby
Simone Martini in the Palazzo Pubblico',Simone Martini:attidelconvegno, Florence
[1988], p.104) has describedMattia'sbench as decoratedby the panelsof the Virgin
consigningSiena andJusticetogetherwith Roman heroes.BAGNOLI (loc.cit.at note 3
above,p.92) rightlyrejectedthe associationwith the bench and reascribedthe pan-
els to Domenico di Niccol6. The subjectswould be suitablefor a numberof places,
includingthe Saladi Balia.However,we knowtoo little aboutother decorateddoors
in the PalazzoPubblicoto be at all confidentin associatingthesepanelswith the few
for which documents survive (both Concistoro and Biccherna documents are
incompletefor these years).We have, for example,no informationabout the deco-
ration of one of the most prominentdoors, that connectingthe council hall to the
Sala della Pace, which was not in its presentlocation but beneath Sodoma'sfresco
of S. Galgano (the door-jambmeasures283 by 122 cm.).
 A SIENESE INTARSIA BENCH
10. M. Curius here attributedto Mattiadi Nanni. Intarsiatedwood, 56 by
Dentatus,
41.7 cm. (Museedes Beaux-Arts,Montreal).
Martiniwas paid for paintinga figureof the Roman Repub-
lican hero Marcus Atilius Regulus in the Sala del Concistoro
(long since destroyed).34" Within a few years after the
collapseof Visconti rule and the reorganisationof a republi-
can government,the commune commissionedfromJacopo
della Querciathe fountainin the Campo decoratedwith fig-
ures of the mother and foster-mother of Romulus and
Remus,and in 1414 Taddeodi Bartolodecoratedthe wallsof
the Antecappellawith his cycleof illustriousfiguresof Repub-
lican Rome (Fig.3).35 Taddeo's frescoes gave the themes of
peace, unity,justice, and the common good, expressed so
in
vividly Ambrogio Lorenzetti'scycle of good and bad gov-
ernment, a humanist slant by presentingfiguresof Republi-
can Rome as exemplacivilia.The figures on the bench
transposedthisimageryto the adjacentchamber,wheretheir
presencegave a distinctlysecularresponseto the message of
Simone Martini'sMaesta,with its depiction of the Christ
Child holdinga scrollinscribedwith the openingof the Book
of Wisdom, 'Diligiteiustitiamquiiudicatisterram',
and another
op.cit. at note 13 above, pp.396-98; BORGHINI 10c.cit. at note 14
"'SeesoUTHARD,
above, p.220; and A. MARTINDALE: SimoneMartini,New York [1988], p.204.
(soUTHARD, pp.66-70 also has some useful comments about Roman themes in the
PalazzoPubblico).
"Forthe imageryof the Fonte Gaia see A.C.HANSON: JacopodellaQuercia's
FonteGaia,
Oxford [1965], pp.22-34. On the iconographyand literarysourcesof Taddeo'sfres-
coes see RUBINSTEIN, pp.185-207, and HANSEN,pp.133-48, both cited at note 15
above.It has been arguedthat Simone'sfigurewas linkedto Remigiode' Girolami's
De BonoCommuni, while Taddeo'scycle shows links with both humanistideas and
more traditionalconcerns of jurisprudence:it was supervisedby Ser Cristoforodi
Andrea, chancellorof Siena from 1404, and Pietro de' Pecci, a doctor of law and
instructorin the Sienesestudio(in Taddeo'scycleAristotleis shownin the guise both
of Doctor of Law and city official).Pecci serveda term as Capitano del Popolo in
1416,whenJacopowas enjoinedto completethe FonteGaia, and as a priorin 1426,
378
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BY MATTIA DI NANNI
11. Pompey,
here attributedto Mattia di Nanni. Intarsiatedwood, 56 by 41.7 cm.
(Museedes Beaux-Arts,Montreal).
admonitoryverse beneath the Virgin about good govern-
ment.36As to the idea of incorporatingthis politicalmessage
on so 'humble'an item as a bench,we woulddo well to recall
that about four decades later Antonio Federighicarved a
marble bench decoratedwith Roman heroes for the Loggia
dellaMercanzia as a pendant to another by Urbano da Cor-
tona that has figuresof the fourcardinalvirtues(Fig.9).37
Three of the five figuresoriginallyshown on the wooden
bench - Marcus Cato Uticensis, M. Curius Dentatus, and
PompeiusMagnus- were also depictedby Taddeo di Barto-
lo in the Antecappella.
As Nicolai Rubinsteinhas pointed out,
the colony of Senae was presumedto have been established
under Curius Dentatus'sconsulship.38 Cato, of course, per-
sonified Roman republican patriotism and resistance to
tyrannyby his supportof Pompey against Caesar.Interest-
ingly,while in Taddeo'sfrescoesCuriusDentatusis shownas
a warrior,in Mattia di Nanni'spanel (Fig.10) it is his equally
celebratedrejectionof an attemptedbribethatis extolled:he
is shown recoiling from a sack of money beneath his right
when Mattiawas advancedfiftyflorinsforworkon the signory'sbench, and it is pos-
siblethat he playeda key r81ein both of theseprojectsas well:see MILANESI, op.cit.at
note 2 above,pp.80-82, and c. STREHLKE, in CHRISTIANSEN,op.cit.at note 10 above,
pp.38-39, 43.
s6Q.SKINNER:'Ambrogio Lorenzetti:The Artistas Political
Philosopher',Proceedings of
theBritishAcademy, LXXII [1986], p.15 (reprintedin shortenedform in BELTING and
BLUME, op.cit.at note 15 above,pp.89-90), discussesthe importanceof the versefrom
the Book of Wisdomfor contemporaryliteratureon city government.
37Thebest discussionof the iconographyof this bench is in HANSON, op.cit.at note 35
above, pp.30-32. Hanson identifiesthe figureson the bench as Cicero, Cato Uti-
censis, LuciusJunius Brutus,MarcusJunius Brutusand Scipio Africanus,and she
suggeststhat the idea for the benches may go backto the initialplan for the loggiain
1417.
38Loc. cit.at note 15 above.
 A SIENESE INTARSIA BENCH
12. Mettus Curtius,here attributed to Mattia di Nanni. Intarsiated wood, 56 by 41.7
cm. (Musee des Beaux-Arts, Montreal).
foot, an apt admonitionfor the ten signoriprioriwho used the
bench. Taddeo had included Pompey togetherwith Caesar
on a separatewall as anti-types- men who sacrificedthe
common good to personalambition."3 This is in conformity
not only with Plutarch'sambivalentbiographyof Pompey,
but with the way both he and Caesar came to be viewed by
many humanistwriters:40 the fact that Pompeyhad opposed
the imperial designs Caesar and had been a friend of
of
Cicero was, in the end, overshadowedby his own political
ambitions.Mattiashowshim againsta patternedclothwith a
flyingbirdmotif,wearinga wide-brimmedhelmet,holdinga
sceptre,and imperiouslygloweringas he indicateswith his
right hand eleven diminutive crowns scattered at his feet
(Fig.10).The crownsmust signifythe twelvebarbariankings
who paid him homage duringhis triumphantmarchthrough
Arabia."1 Of this campaignPlutarchnotes, 'ambitionled him
into obnoxiouscourses'.The admonitoryinscriptionon the
bench gains resonancefrom Pompey'scounter-example.
The two figures on the bench not included in Taddeo's
frescoprogramme,Quintus (sc.Mettus)Curtiusand Publius
Horatius Cocles, were potent models of civic virtue and,
more to the point, of individualsacrificefor the common
'9Ibid.,
pp.196-98.
In Search
40SeeH.BARON: CivicHumanism:
ofFlorentine essaysonthetransition
frommedieval
tomodernthought, Princeton[1988], pp.31, 40, who quotesboth Bruniand Landino.
"I would like to thankRobert Little,who kindlypointed out the significanceof the
crownsto me. See Plutarch'sLives,XXXVIII, 2.
42Amongthe worksorderedfromGiacchettoduringthe ten yearshe workedin Siena
(1442-52) were three tapestries('trespannosdeArazo')showing allegoriesof Good
Government,Peace and War.Although the tapestrieshave sometimesbeen sup-
posedto havebeen coversforMattia'sbench, thereis no proofthiswas so. Theirsub-
jects underscore the signory's interest in the themes that had dominated the
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BY MATTIA DI NANNI
13. ScipioAfricanus,here attributed to Mattia di Nanni. Intarsiated wood,
61.6 by 43.4 cm. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York).
good. To assurethe life of the Roman commonwealth,Met-
tus Curtiusthrew himself into a chasm that had opened up
near the middleof the Forum,therebysatisfyingthe demands
of soothsayers.Mattia shows the youth as an armed soldier
with the chasm beneath his left foot (Fig.12):it is this detail
that assuresus that the figurewas, indeed, intendedto show
Mettus Curtius rather than the historianof Alexanderthe
Great,QuintusCurtius(itwouldbe nice to be ableto saythat
the inscriptionhas been altered,but this does not seem to be
the case).PubliusHoratiusCocles opposedsinglehandedthe
army of Porsenna at the Sublician Bridge and, after the
bridgewas destroyed,leaptto near certaindeathin the Tiber.
Taken together,the imageryof the bench complemented
and enlargedupon the hortatorymessageof Simone'smural
by offeringto the rulersof Siena a numberof Roman para-
digms: figures of action who, like members of the signory,
were called upon to sacrificepersonalinterestto the good of
the commune.The ideas implicitin the figureson the bench
may have been furtherunderscoredby a series of tapestries
commissionedfromthe residentFrenchweaverGiacchettodi
Benedetto.42
The bench in the Saladi Baliahas eleven decorativedivi-
Trecento decoration of the palace under the rule of the Nine: see BORGHESI and
BANCHI,op.cit. at note 17 above, pp. 157-58. Numerous other pieces woven by Giac-
chetto for both the Sala del Consiglio and the Sala del Concistoro are listed in a con-
temporary inventory; some of these had figurative designs. The dimensions of one
spalliera showing ten figures of unspecified identification were 181 braccia long
and 31 braccia high, or approximately 11 by 1.82 metres. Another, for the Sala
del Concistoro, was even longer. By contrast, the wall with Simone's Maestd mea-
sures 9.85 metres and the area below the painted medallion frieze is 2.15 metres. See
MILANESI,op. cit. at note 2 above, pp.210-12.
379
 A SIENESE INTARSIA BENCH BY MATTIA DI NANNI

23. Justice,here attributedto Mattiadi Nanni on a designby Sassetta.Intarsiatedwood, 83 by 56

cm. (Victoriaand AlbertMuseum,London).

ticepanel can be relateddirectlyto Sassetta'sworkduringthe
years of Mattia's activity.The geometric patterned pave-
ment, with a succession of differently coloured squares
inscribedone inside the other - a motif ultimatelyderived
from the work of Pietro Lorenzetti- appears in Sassetta's
ruineddepictionof the AnnunciateVirgin,in which the floor
sweeps past the foreshortenedthrone to suggest a deep, if
indefinite,space (Fig.21).That work, now at Yale, has been
thoughta pinnaclefor eitherSassetta'sArte della Lana altar-
piece or, more likely,for his Madonnaof thesnow(Fig.14) of
1430-32.65It is the framingof the main panels of the Madon-
na of thesnow(the frame of the Yale panel is modern) that
offersa directanalogyfor the motifof the piercedarcheswith
trilobatetraceryand stubbyfinials:a solutionthat traces its
ancestrybackto the inlaidmarblepavementof the cathedral,
at least one compartmentof which was designedby Sassetta.
Even the draperyof the figure,arrangedin triangularfoldsas
it spillsacrossthe floor,has parallelsin the Yalepanel, which
must,indeed,be more or less contemporarywith the cartoon
for theJustice.
Given the iconographyof the Justiceand what we know of
the decorationsof the PalazzoPubblico,it seemslikelythatit
formedpart of the same decorativeprogrammeto whichthe
bench and door scenes belong. But from what sort of furni-
ture did it come? Its size - 83 by 56 cm. - and its framing
argue stronglyagainstit havingformedpart of a door,66 and
for the same reasons it seems an unlikely candidate for a
bench. However,in his descriptionof the SaladelMappamon-
doPecci describes,in additionto the frescoesand Mattia di
Nanni'sbench, a wood pulpit or elevatedchair- 'la Residen-
o Pulpito'- fromwhich the proposalsto be voted
za, o cattedra,
upon were expounded."'This was situatedon the window

"The two argumentsare summarisedin my entry (loc.cit.at note 10 above,pp.64- 67PECCI, Raccolta..., MS cited at note 25 above,p. 195v:'Nellafacciata oppostaallaCap-
67) on the Arte della Lana altar-piece. pellaesisteaccosto
la muraglia o cattedra,
la Residenza, o Pulpitochesia,percommodo d'essporre
66The chapel door scene of the Nativity,includingits framingdevice, measures68.5 nelleRagunate delConsiglio .. .'. In his Relazione
le deliberazioni (cited at note 25 above,
by 65 cm. while the scenesofJusticeand the VirgincommendingSiena measure48 pp.77-78) Pecci opts for the term pulpitand mentionsthat it is made of wood.
by 44.5 cm.
385

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