Re: Period World Costume book (by an italian)

[Dick Eney <dickeney@access.digex.net>]

Poster: Dick Eney <dickeney@access.digex.net>


> Poster: "Terry L. Neill" <Neilltl@ptsc.slg.eds.com>
> Pulled form the An Tir list and forwarded for those who are interested.
>         - Anarra
> 
> >Hello everyone-
> >A few days ago, I mentioned that I had a period costume survey, and that I
> >would be happy to share the contents...
> >
> >The book was written (by an Italian) and published in the last decade of
> >the 16th century.
> >The book is Dover, ISBN 0-486-23441-X  Vecellio's Renaissance Costume Book...
> >The original title translates (in my less than perfect italian) to:
> >Clothing Ancient and modern of all the world
> >
> >The pictures are "engravings", I wouldn't use them as a sole source to base
> >a costume on, but they do give a really good idea as to the differences in
> >rank and area in a specific costume.

The book is interesting and useful for Italian costume, but do take it
with a grain of salt. Vecellio's information about places outside of Italy
is sketchy and based on rumor.  For instance, he includes detailed
costumes for the court of Prester John.  His idea of what was worn in
Lappland seems a trifle strained, to say the least - either he's trying to
depict skis, or he has combined poulaines with wooden pattens and
attributed them to the Saami. 

Vecellio does seem to have been the first European to depict "ancient
costume" with full knowledge that it was not what was currently worn, and
with an antiquarian intent (not merely as an artist depicting classical
ideas of what might have been worn in a religous icon).

=Tamar the Gypsy (sharing account dickeney@access.digex.net)

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