Design for a festival chariot or triumphal car
Drawing
1589 (made)
1589 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Design for a triumphal car or festive chariot presented at Florence in the festivities held in 1589 in honour of the marriage of the Grand Duke Ferdinando I of Tuscany with Christina of Lorraine.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Titles |
|
| Materials and techniques | Cropped at top. Pen and brown ink and pale brown wash |
| Brief description | Bernardo Buontalenti. Design for a triumphal car or festive chariot drawn by a dragon. Florence, Italy, 1589. On the reverse, a design for a festival helmet. Originally attributed to Alfonso Parigi the Younger. |
| Physical description | Pen and wash design for a festival chariot with a plumed helmet design on the reverse. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Production | Design for a festive chariot or triumphal car presented at Florence in the festivities held in 1589 in honour of the marriage of the Grand Duke Ferdinand I of Tuscany with Christina of Lorraine. The design depicts the second float in a procession of chariots, which preceded a foot tournament or joust on foot held in the courtyard of the Palazzo Pitti in Florence as part of the Habsburg-Lorraine wedding festivities. Designed by Bernardo Buontalenti and his collaborator Andrea Boscoli, the chariot was covered with papier-mâché attachments of winged dragons, swags and a kind of lion's head with open jaws. Winged furies and a winged fire-exhaling dragon were pulling the float and the wheels give off fire like pin-wheels. The two armoured equerries seated at the top of the cart on a scrolled or wrapped stair are the referees of the foot tournament. The first was the Duke of Mantua, Vincenzo Gonzaga, and the other was Don Piero de’ Medici, youngest brother of the groom. Buontalenti's design is described in a contemporary source as "another triumphal car, pulled by a very large Dragon, with inside two Knights and an exceptional music; and they stopped to sing in front where was Her Most Serene Highness the Bride; as did also all of the other inventions.” The present design was engraved by Orazio Scarabelli for a volume of prints recording the Palazzo Pitti floats and marchers. Twelve prints were originally printed at a small size of 5 x 8 inches, in varying combinations of etching and engraving. Eleven of these were reissued with decorative borders with military motifs and the Medici and Lorraine combined coat of arms. The small series, without the borders, is also preserved at the Victoria and Albert Museum. |
| Summary | Design for a triumphal car or festive chariot presented at Florence in the festivities held in 1589 in honour of the marriage of the Grand Duke Ferdinando I of Tuscany with Christina of Lorraine. |
| Associated object | E.5222-1907 (Reproduction) |
| Bibliographic reference | Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1938, London: Board of Education, 1939. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.1731-1938 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | June 30, 2009 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
