Gregory Bailey
During my time at the American Academy in Rome, I will investigate the materials and techniques employed in so-called Venetian enamel objects on copper believed to have been made in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries but whose precise origins and methods of manufacture, including an unusual form of textured gilding, are currently matters of scholarly debate. To reach a better understanding of their significance in the history of art and technology, I will study and document “Venetian” enamel objects on copper in Italian collections, conduct a series of experiments to test theories of manufacture, and research the craft origins as well as the potential influences on later Near Eastern enamels. A soon to be published corpus of “Venetian” enamel objects, including sixty in Italy, will guide my documentation of individual stamps used for the textured gilding, helping to establish groups by workshop. Experiments in printing in gold and enameling will be undertaken in collaboration with Rome-based goldsmiths and artists.