Venice as an "Eastern City" Deborah Howard
or medi eval Europe, the lands ro the east embodied a range of material and spiritual asso ciations, as the source of exotic and precious commodi ti es and the perceived location of FParadise. From at least the 9th century, Venice's political and economic viability depended on commercial li nk; with the East, and over the centuries th e city came to acquire a hybrid idemiry infused with Eastern characteristics. As John Ruskin wrote in The Stones a/Venice, "the
Venetiam deserve especial note as the only European people who appear to have sympathized ro the ful l with the great instinct of the Eastern races." In contraSt with most other European powers of the Middle Ages, the members of the Venetian ruling elite were not great feudal landowners but imernacional merchants. Inhabiting a group of marshy islands in a shallow lagoon, they had no natural resources except for fish and salt, and only gradually acquired a hinterland. Thus the city's livelihood depended on long-dis tance rravel and daring trading ventures. The theft of St. Mark's body from Alexandria in 828 was only possible because the appearance ofVenecian merchants in the Egyptian parr caused no surprise. In the same year th e testament of Doge Giustiniano Parrecipazio revealed that he himself had huge investments in ove rseas uading voyages.! Over the centuries, Venice strug gled ro achieve supremacy over her rivals in Levantine (fade, especiall y Pisa and Genoa. By the 15"' century, however, it had achieved undeniable dominance in the import of Eastern merchandise into Europe. O verseas commercial voyages, threatened by piracy, shipwreck, and warfare, always involved a degree of risk. Yet the enticement of lucrative profits was irresistible. As the Venetian diarist Marin Sanudo, remarked, "it is worthy of note that, JUSt as they have been merchants from the beginning, so the Venetians cominue ro be from year ro year."2 When traveling abroad, merchants such as Marco Polo could pay no higher compliment to any foreign city man the term mercadamesca (cat.15).-' Literally translated as "mercantile," the word implied a dazzling array of goods in the bazaars and bustling cosmopolitan crowds. Visitors to Venice, in their turn, were fascinated by the profusion of O ri ental goods. In 1494 the markets of the Rialto stunned the Milanese priest Pierro Casola: "W ho could count the many shops so cat. 15. Johannes, Mn rco Polo's Departure from Ven ice (detail) well furnished that rl1ey also seem warehoLlses, \-"ith so many c1 0rll~ of every make-tapestry. The Bodleian Library. Oxford
59 -
:i?J~~'~~".~ \,1' ~-c J~"T r.- (f - 1: "C , ft,-' II~' ~~6~ ~~~..r"~-'''' ~~~.~~ 1 ...-" t • t~.. .f.P'~2b. ,.p brocades, and hangings of every design, carpets of every son. camlets of every color and texture, sil ks of every kind; and so many warehouses full of arom.ttics, spices, and drugs. and so much ~ ~~ fl,! ~f, "(( ~ (;- ~~ , II~,"J," ~~, <~t~ ~ beautiful white wax!" (cat. 71) 4 ~ ~~-.-.. In the SITeets, markerplaces, and family homes. the advennlres of overseas traders were a i . r .~'~ , r •• ' • .-;,;., " .' ,;- ,. -, constant copie ofconversation. The infi ltration of Arabic an d Greek words inro Venerian d ialect ,~_ . \',." 1:,:-'. ""~~~ mirrored rhe whole specrru.m of colonial experience.s At the foot of the Rialw Bridge s[Ood a log gia of marble and wood, where the merchan t nobili ty could meet co plan their voyages, using a world map painted on the wall (fig. 1). (, Unlike Spain and Sicily, Venice was never ruled by any Islam]c caJ ipbare. Originally an outlying colony of the Byzanrine Empire. the Republic gradually established irs cultural and political independence. After th e Fir$[ Crusade in 1099, the Venetians lost no time in establishing trailing bases in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, based on the model of their rradi ng privi leges in Constantinople si nce 1082. 7 Thus, fro m the era of the Crusades onwards, Ve ni ce enjoyed a network of trading postS, known as "colonies," in the Levant and Central Asia,S Some of these were in Mediterranean seaports such as Acre and Alexandria. or on [he:: Black Sea, including Tana and Trebizond, wh.i.l e others were in inland cities, rangin g from Damascus ro Tabtiz. Ve netian commerce depended on the mainrenance of cat. 71. Pieced panel ofbrocaded gilk smooth relations wim M uslim lrading parmErs. Proba bly Bursa, secon.d half of 1f> '" century """'010nia1" life was not the pri vil ege of the elite alone. Traveling merch anrs came from Th e Metropolitan Museum of Art, a wide ran ge of backgrounds. At the lowest end of the scale were the oarsmen, who were allowed New Yo rk to collect indulgences at a local pil grim sire and to peddle their modest possessions when moored fig. 1. Rialto market, with the loggia in a foreign POrtY A consul represented the i nteresr.~ of rhe Venetian community, and the priest at the fo ot of the bridge, Det:lii [rom a bird's-eye Vle.W o(Ve.nice, served as notary as well as chaplain. Most "colonies" bad a fo ndaco for srorage Jlld lodgings, a engraved by jacopo dc' Ba rbari church, a ba kery, and a public bathhouse. Tn some ci ries, such as Damascus, Venetians lived Out in 1500 side the fo lldaco in rented property in the town al'ongside the loaU population. Skilled artisans from home served the daily needs of the visiring or resident merchants: w est: incl uded barbers
and tailors, bakers and cooks, go l ds rni cl~ and pharmacists. 10 Barbers could serve as surgeons, and we also have doclU11enrary ev id ence of physicians accompanying consuls and ambassadors to the East,1I (cat. 191) T he C rusader colo ni es in the Kingdom of Jerusalem bad provided the only comext in
which family life could be recreared in the pons of the Eastern Mediterranean. 12 After the fall of cat . 191 , B(/rber ~ dish Acre, th e Iasr basrio n of the Kingdom ofJerusalem, to the Muml uks in 1291 , the cl1ance fo r w hole Veneto, 17th cenLury M useo Civico Corre" Venice families ro serrle permanently in the East became res tricted to Ve nice's [fUe colonies in Crete,
60 The Cu ltural and Historical Context raising the children in the absence of their husbands.23 Men making thei r wills abroad included poignant
references [Q rhei r wives in Venice, ofren wondering whether they mighr be pregnant or leaving them spe cially rreasured valuables.14 In Aue in 1227 Giovanni Natale even left a string of pearls to his mother-in law. 25 Similarly, on his death in Damascus in 1455,
th Stefano Ravagnino left tWO coral rosary beads, or cat. 4'. Workshop of Pietro Vescontc Cyprus, and the Aegean (cat. 41). Elsewhere, from the 14 cenrury onwards, Venetian res idents 2 paternosters, to his beloved sister in Venice. (' it)' dews of Jemsalem overseas were exclusively male. In the colonies in M:w1luk Egypt and Syria, as well as those on the t/lld Acre hom Liber SecelOrum Fro m the point of view of the rapid infusion fide/um crucis Black Sea and ill Central Asia, there is little evidence of any Veneti an female presence. J3 Venice, ca. ' 330 of Oriental ele ments into Venetian culrure, the split The British Library, M anuscript W ithin th.is mascul.ine domain a remarkable exception is the Italian woman Caterina Collection s, London families proved a deeply involving line of comm unica Vilion, who died in 1342 in Yangchow. China, where her tombstone still survives today (fig. 2). tion. The family home in Ve nice became the reposi c ~ t. 54. "Interior of a house in She was preslll13bly descended from the Ve netian Pietro Vilion who made his will in Tabriz in tOry, nor only ofpossessions to keep, goods to sell, and Cairo" from the Travel Diary of 1264. 14 M uch lacer, in the 1430s, Nicolo de' Conti's wife and family accompanied him to Cairo, A lessandro /vlagno capital to invest. but also of memories, travel narra Venice, southeastern Mediterranea n, where she an d twO of the children died of the plague. 1 ~ O therwise the Venetian merchant abroad Brescia, and London. ca. 1557- 65 tives-both oral and written-and maps for planning Folger Sh akespeare Library, had to make do with slaves and concubines. D uring his yo uth as a merchant in Constantinople, Washington, D.C. and discllssing past and furu re voyages (cat. 43).27 the future Doge Andrea Grirri (r. 1523- 1538) farh ered three illegitimate children, one ofwhom, 16 W ithin its walls, as Francesco Sansovino fig. 2. Tomb of Caterina Vilion Alvise, was to become a close fri end of Sultan Si.ileyman's Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha. observed, "the noble families, who have flourished for (d. 1342), Yangchow, China. 'he all-male character ofVenetian colonial life exerted a decisive influence on the East Print taken from F. ROllJeau. centuries in public life and trade, have always added "ll,C Yangchow Tombstone;' West transmission of culture. Venetian overseas merchants remained in close contact with their to their possessions with the greatest delight. However Harvard Jou rnaL ofAsiatic native city, encouraging the maintenance of an efficient East-West system of communicationY Studies 17 (1954), pI. 1 much their ancestors dedicated themselves to parsi The rerum of a husband, fa ther, or brother after a long period of absence colored the domestic mony, their houses were also splendidly furnished."28 scene with traveler's tales and treasures to be unpacked and admired. In 1592, for example, the We know that Islamic furnishings such as textiles. historian Antonio Parura arranged to bring home the "furnishings, most beauriful things" that he inlaid woodwork, carpets (cat.33), glass, ceramics (cat. 174), and metalwork (cats. 95-96, p. 65) were had acquired in Constantinople. 18 imported by returning travelers.29 The inventory of Marco Polo's possessions after his death in This mosaic of individual world-views transmitted back to Ve nice contributed to a 1324 included a number of Oriental items, probably from Central Asia. including a whi te outfit shared culture of great complexity and richness. The ambassador to Persia, Giosafat Barbaro, alia tartaresca, pieces ofwhite and yellow silk from Cathay, silk cloth decorated with "strange ani for instance, did n ot see any need to descrjbe Aleppo in his account of a journey made mals," and bed covers with Tartar embroidery (cat. 68, p. 64).30 As the most public space, the portego in 1478 "being a place with which we are familiar. and a very famous one. "19 Even a single (or long central hall) exhibited coats of arms and the trophies ofwar such as banners and weapons, individual rapidly gained a broad spectrum of geographical knowledge. By the age of 25, asserting the family's li neage and honor (cat. n p. 65). Sea-chests and trunks are often mentioned in cat. 33. Cesare Vecellio Francesco Suriano, for instance, had already made at least 16 voyages to vario us Oriental inventories, as well as maps and shipping chans.31 'amity Portrait destinations. 20 The tradition of sending Ve netian merchants abroad as teenagers-to learn Ven ice, ca. '555-70 We can gain some impression of the acquisitiveness ofVenetian overseas travelers through Muse o Civico Correr, Venice Arabic, bookkeeping, and rrading acumen-allowed the pOTtS of the Eastern Medi terranean to inve ntories drawn up in the colonic:.s. Some itemize the possessions of travelers who had died on color their formative years. (cat. 54) cat. 43. Atlas lIIith 1hree PorlOitms the outward voyage, such as N icolo de Ruzino, who died on the Beirut galley in 1457.32 His (Ai/allte tii Ire carte naL/liche) Trade penetrated deeply into Venetian famil y life. Though rarely present in the overseas possessions we re limited to various clothes, money, books, three bunches of garlic, a sugar loaf, Venice, first half of the 15"' century colonies, women at home we re deeply implicated in commercial deals. Many mercantile docu Biblioteca Narionale Marciana. Venice twO pillows, a bundle of candles, and several rosaries. Apart from the clothes and some gold on ments involve females, acting either independently or on behalf of their husbands (whedler living his person and cwo books to read on board, all was packed away in one chest and one small cloth cat. '74. Fragment ofa large plate abroad or dead) or young sons. 2 1 Lerrers exchanged between merchants passed on affectionate Iznik, Turkey, ca. '570 bag. Another seafarer had a parrot and a supply of birdseed Of! board ship . .l3 The contrast with the Museo Franchetli alia Ca'd'Oro, Venice messages to their families. 22 Meanwhile, th e wives left behind in Venice bore sole responsib iLity for
Ven ice as an "Eastern City" 63 62 The CUltural and Historical Context inventOries of resident Venetians who died in Damascus in the same years is dramatic. For instance, the wealthy merchant Stefano Ravagnino, who died in 1455, left large amoun ts of money and jew
elry, papers record ing dealings with East-whether trophies such as O riental marbles or sculptural panels, or a more generalized love cats. 95-96. two candlesticks with the arms of Venetian families Arab mercbanrs, inlaid boxes and of colorful and elaborate ornament. Shared features of domestic space, such as labyrinthine street Probably Damas cu s, Syria, fu rnirure, embroidered clothes and early 15" century networks, secluded courtyards, roo ftop platforms, and covered balconies, established a continuum Museo Civieo Correr, Venice han dkerchiefs, cushions, carpets, between home and the overseas colonies. and bedding, as weI! as textiles in So me of the imported Eastern motifs were deliberately intended to be recognized , cat. n Shield Turkey, 17'" century a separate warehouse and boob asswning a degree of fam ili arity (whether direct or secondhand) am ong the Venetian public. T he Museo (ivieo Correr, Venice from the local bazaa r. 34 Many other motivations behind such "borro'vvings" may be divided into four different categories. First of all, possessio ns were clearly acquired the establishment of the Venetian oligarchy as a cohesive ruling class, united by generations of in D amascus, such as tb e writing overseas uading, encouraged architectural self-definition. On the one hand, the ruling nobility stand with its silver scales, silver began to specify its membership more precisely, beginning with the famous serrato (or closure) of styilis wi th a copper nib, and cover the Great Council in 1297. Meanwhile, foll owing the invention of the nautical compass, which "a//a m()resea. "His handkerchiefs allowed winter voyages and hence doubled the number of potential sailings, the state began to were embroidered "aiLa damas provide armed escortS for galley convoys from 1303 onwards. Thus the nobili ty sought to protect china, " he had knives "al/art/besea" its own interests in trade while, in parallel, defining its identity visually, both in the Doge's Palace cat. 68. Fragment ofcloth f rom the with bone bandies, and even his prayer book "in good paper" had a damascene cover. and in private domestic buildings. Elements that recalled Eastern models helped to ad ve rtise the tomb of Ca l1grClnde 1 della Scala (d. 1329) or course, the backbone of Venetian trade was not simply the acquisition of personal specialization ofVenetian traders as importers of merchandise from the markets of the Levant. Possibly northwest Persia, wealth and luxury objects to fill the palaces on the Grand Canal. The Republic's commercial Secondly, Venice began to emulate aspects of the identity ofAlexandria in order to create ea rly 14" centu ry M ll5e/ Civlci, Verona supremacy depended first and foremost on the city's role as an emrepot. The imports included a more authentic setting for the relics of Sr. Mark. As a great antique metropolis, Alexandria was spice$, dyes, aromatics, silks, carpets, and gems (imported by convoys of small , maneuverable gal familiar to Venetian scholars through classical authors such as Strabo and Diodorus of Sicily. After leys), as well as bulk cargoes such as cotton and sligar (transported by huge cogs or roundships) the Fourth Crusade of 1204, Venice acquired the confidence to assert greater independence over (fig. 3, p. 76) . W hile the Venetians themselves special ized in overseas rrade, their principal clients were her Byzantine heritage, and proudly displayed the spoils of victory on Sr. Mark's Sq uare, includ merchants from mainland Europe, especially Germany. Traders from north of the Alps had their ing quantities of priceless marbles and, of course, the four bronze horses from the Hippodrome own headquarters in Venice, known as the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, where they could lodge while in Constantinople . Significant modifications were made to rhe decoration of the church, placing transacting their business at the Rialto market. In exchange for the purchase of Eastern commodi increasing emphasis on Egyptian subject maner, especially in the mosaics ..Meanwhile, the low ties, they brought to Venice large quantities of metals (especially copper, tin, and silver), wool , and Byzantine domes were crowned by soaring outer structures, in emulation of the bulbous domes timber to fill the Venetian ships on their outgoing voyage. of Egyptian funerary StrUCtures (figs .3-4) . The adoption of an Islamic model seems to have been Venice's position at the node linking twO great trading arteri es-the land rO llte over the accepted in the interests of allusion to an authentic biblical and classical location, familiar to Brenner Pass into Germany and the Adriatic Sea leading to the Mediterranean-had profound generations ofVenetian merchants. Similarly, new doorways in St. M ark's, crowned by attenuated implications for th e city's artistic development in [he later Middle Ages. Mfinities between Gothic ogee arches, hinted at memories of exotic Eastern destinations (fig. 5) and Islamic visual culture included a love of vegetal ornament, poin ted arches, delicate traceries A third motivation for specific recourse to the Eastern visual repertoire was an aspiration and exquisite low-relief carving. W ithin the city of Venice itself these two strands were interwoven to emulate the biblical figure of Solomon. The Venetian Republic aimed to exemplify the virtues into the fabric of the medieval ci ty, ro create an exceptionally rich architectural tradi tion. J USt as ofJustice and W isdom, for which Solomon was the outstanding scriptural paradigm.i5 Analogies Arabic words infused Veneti an dialect, so tOO rhe city's housing stock impOrted elements from the may be drawn between biblical accounts of the Palace of Solo mon and the Doge's Palace, as it was
64 The Cultural and Historical Con t ext Venice as an "Eastern City" 65 rebuilt from 1341 onwards. According to [he description in The cultural impact of Venice's Eastern commerce the Fi rst Book of Kings 7:7-12, for example, Solomon's H all over the period of this ex:hi bition falls into several diStinct ofJu dgment had big hewn stone blocks at the base, with wal ls phases. D uring the period 1300-1500 numerous Islamic ele of fin e dressed stone above; the ruler's own residence was set ments were incorporated into the fabric of the city, especially at the back of a colonnaded courtyard; the main hall was pan St. M ark's and the Doge's Palace, as well as commercial and eled with cedar wood; and two giant columns stood outside, domestic buildings. These imported features blended easily all features recognizable at the Doge's Palace (fig. 6). The desire with the rich northern Gothic transmitted by the other prin to emulate both Alexandria and Jerusalem, although mainly cipal axis of Venetian trade. In parallel, Venetian craftsmen connected with Christian beliefs, led Venetians to look very began to emulate the manufacturing skills of the East, espe closdy at these cities as they then were, and to refer to their cially in glass and textiles (cat. 163, p. 69) . present-day appearance, thereby adopting Islamic characteris It is an intriguing Feature of cultural exchange that tics almost unwitt.ingly. the rate of transmission tends to accelerate during peri Finally, Venice dominated the transport of pilgrims to ods of conflict. At times of tension, diplomatic initiatives intensified, and information gather fig. 6. Fa<;ade of diamond-patterned the Holy Land. Venetian entrepreneurs offered a package tour brick topped by decorative ing increased. Meanwhile, gift exchange heightened the significance of material goods acquired merlons of Islamic inspiration, of the sacred sites, complete with overland guides, regulated by from overseas. This effect may be observed in the aftermath of the fall of Constantinople ro the Doge's Palace, Venice the state. Pilgrim galleys moored alongside the merchant fl ee t Ottomans in 1453, when an exponential increase in depiCtions of the East in Venetian painting in front of the Doge's Palace, where pilgrims could select their occurred, intensified by the visit of Gentile Bellini ro the court of Mehmet II in 1479-81 {cat. 23, berths. Lying at the point of embarkation on the sacred journey p. 68). At the same time, Mehmet himself began to show ever-growing interest in the achievements to Jerusalem, Venice sought to acquire the idenrity of a holy and culture of the West. 36 city in its own right. Pilgrims passed the weeks before their After 1500, we begin to deteCt a gradual shift in Venetian attitudes ro Eastern culture. departure from Venice visi ting relics, sightseeing, and shopping On the one hand, the collecting ofEast ern artifacts and their display within the home had never for their journey. been greater; similarly, the emulation of Eastern manufactures in metalwork, ceramics, glass, O fficial documenrs tend to skew the inrerpretation of and leather intensified dramaticall y (cat. 138, p. 70).38 Meanwhile, however, on the exterior, the city history because of their concentration on mishaps and conflicts. bega n to seek a more Roman identity, asserting the virtues of the Republic's Roman co nstitu The Venetian archives documenr in exhaustive detail the impact tion and its legendary foundation by refugees at the end of Roman Empire. The Republic's on overseas trade of war, piracy, and extortion. Yet lurking in position within the world economy was beginning to change. With the discovery of America private notarial records and collections of merchanr letters lies and the Cape Route to the Indies, the center of gravity of international commerce began to copious evidence of sustained, often friendly, and highly profit shift. Although trade with the Ottoman Empire, especially Turkey and Syria, continued almost able commercial exchange with Islamic trading parmers. In the uninterrupted, the number of nobles in the overseas colonies declined as more and more of the late M iddle Ages Arabic culture seemed eminently worthy of trade was carried out by agents. Still, however, Venetian adve nturers continued to travel overseas emulation, being sophisticated and scientifically advanced, espe and even to settle far afield. At El efante in India around 1580, the Venetian jeweler Gasparo cially in medicine (cat. 64, P. 70), technology, astronomy {cat. 90, Balbi came upon a flourishings hip shipbuilding industry producing both large and small fig. 3. Mamluk cem etery, known p. 70) , and the use ofArabic numerals. galleys, thanks to the expertise of "a good master from Venice called Domenico da Castello, as the City of the Dead, Cairo Venetians in the Islamic world eagerly picked up new who makes them rather well. "39 fig. 4. The translation of St. Mark's skills, from bookkeeping to remedies and recipes (cats. 14 and 57, The identity of Venice as a world emporium was crucial to the city's self-definition. In remains to St. Mark's Basilica. p.69). Travelers to the l.evant from other European co untries 1500, Jacopo de' Barbari's huge woodcut bird's-eye view map ofVenice celebrated the universality Mosaic on the Saint' Alipio portal, late 13'1. century were advised to consult Ve netian expatriates about local cus of Venice, surrounded by eight cherubic winds like a world map {fig. 7, p. 70). At the top Mercury, fig. 5. Friori doorway (north side toms, ranging from self-defense ro the wearing oflocal dress and the god of trade, looks down on the city fro m a nest of fluffy clouds ringed by a Latin inscrip of cloister), St. Mark's Basilica, the hire of animalsY tion reading "I Mercury shine favorably upon this above all other emporia. " 4Q Significantly, this Venice, probably 13'h century
66 Th e Cultural and Historical Context Ve nice as an "Eastern City" 67 lr.aro c(C6J10 bel mcfcbC:i:lplllt!)flo (1'0110 2Jrirtt rc6J1o lIC\mcrc ocmar;o. E mak me. PledlCil OIblo:(OlIo PC IjIOle·f f~rc s,uSQllimi dicate ndlQ lefl a ;'C 1I11t'1~ '1ulllilq; fir a ftcIT'o \ nd~ ((Ila ~IICI ",Olin rut,. f(IIIIIICTallrorla:
Uo'o cftlP1 oM mtrc6 Gjui '" ttJIlnuc mcdlQrl"rtOmll) ltlbU cfl"gllOIXl mete ~ h ~ llI", 'CI'''''' ntalu;.r.; r.. p..,,( a llf(noh. I(~lIlt II ~hll"tj~:" ".f'-\lt.ti.'~1. cat. 57. Johannes de Ketham (Jo hannes von Kirckheim "!) "Th e Zodiac Man" Venice, dated February 5. '493 The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New Yo rk cat. '4. Z odiac lvlan Iran, 18'''--' 9"' celltury The Wellcome library, London cat. 163. Mosque lamp Possibly Venice, ca. 1500 l)trcr t tit! mtre tli frblaro :r malt 2rq ll~rio c ((gno bel mtfe l)i..eic:n; Glasmuseum Heutrich, Dusseldorf. n 'cdl'urc ritdi or nc",i 1)( t1li ~ 1)010-:1 nor.,:c male II lcdicm s4bc ~ fellin. tic podagil!11llrrc ad que/lo limilc ebi oe elft cat. 23. Gentile Bell ini Portrait ofSultan Mehmet II Istanbul, dated November 25. 1480 The National Gallery, London dare marks rhe d imax ofVenice's trading supremacy. f rom this Notes whelhcc Ct.rnna might be relared to Mnrco i'olo may be tOtUld in MoraUAl della ROCCI and Lom· eu') invento ries publiJhcd in Bianchi .a nd H(,w (who w'" known .. M iJ ion). Lopczcl>imcd her OOrdo 1940. \'01. 1. PI" 38-}'), 53. 162, 181 --82; l.rd 2003 lin quandrit·, of 'inch fJllt cri::l rhat time onwards, the id eals of the grea r Eas tern empori um were 1 l.opcz ""d Raymond 195;. pp. 3s-41. for rh e ecnocsc (Lopez 19 ~ ~ , P. 290). Nothing vol. 2, pp. 42-4,}, 77-78. 37()"'7 1. \\"J,{ to he I l.!rumed to Venice Ul l t.h t.: dc-; Il lis of 2 Smudo 1980, 1" 2M: "EJ t dUdp,-"/}(' Vmnillni, is known :thou( hc• .;a t 111, exc~ P [ h ~ r HaJllc an d 22 Sc<: ' he len cat . 64. Avicenna (Jbn Sinal Canon Venice. 1595 Bibliotheque interuniversitaire de medecine. Paris fig. 7. Bird's -eye view of Venice, engraved by Jacopo de' Barbari, 1500 cat. 90. Astrolabe Iraq (1306- 7) and Turkey (1 685-86) Musee de I'Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris cat. 138. Shield Venice. late 16'" century Armeria di Palazzo Duca le, Venice 70 The Cult ural and Historical Context