Tuesday, July 2, 2013

embroidered pocket!



all that is left is the sewing on the ties!!

2nd pocket

currently working on an embroidered pocket.



I'm using silk thread on linen. The embroidery pattern is based on the embroidery found on a pair of drawers mentioned in "Dressed (or Undressed) for success" by Carol Tucker, while interviewing Margaret Rosenthal, itis mentioned  "how courtesans wore male-style clothing as undergarments - such as linen knickers, embroidered with phrases such as "I want the heart."
Drawers found in Moda a Firenze

a drawing of the embroiery by © Claudette Pomroy 2008

Monday, July 1, 2013

Italian Renaissance Costuming Challenge

For the last 3 years the realm of venus, which is an incredible resource for costuming, has held a costuming challenge. We are in the middle of the 3rd annual challenge and I am busy sewing for it.

for those interested here are links to the challenge and pictures of my finished gowns



I was also very privileged to be featured in the Denver Post during the first year challenge

an earlier class handout

Courtesans
Magdalena Lucia Ramberti

I. What is a Courtesan?
Courtesans were not looked at as women nor were they as valued as men, instead they found
themselves in a grouping of their own. Within the male dominated society of 16th century Venice
courtesans were able to move outside the confines of the believed place reserved for women. “The
use of the term cortigiana (courtesan) confirms the recognition of a new category of public women.
Strictly speaking, of course, it simply means court lady- the female counterpart of cortigiano or
courtier.” (Brown, 2004)
Courtesans, came into being because of many social, political and religious influences. Italy proved to be the perfect breeding ground for their creation. The separate governing bodies, the lack of an overall monarch and the melting pot of cultures caused by trade opened the doors for this new class of women. Venice, being my main focus of study, had all of these factors and more. The dowry wars had grown to such an extreme that the price to be married became outrageous and out of reach for many middle and lower middle class women. Without marriage, income was limited, status difficult to come by and some women learned to use their minds and bodies for financial gain.
Yes, this sounds exactly like prostitution “the act or practice of engaging in sexual intercourse for money.” (Prostitution, 2012) Yet it was more then just sex, while it might be a tool in their toolbox it wasn't always a part of a working relationship. Courtesans offered social and intellectual refinement in return for patronage, very much in the same manner as the geisha before World War II in Japan. The
courtesan fulfilled societies need for a refined yet sexualized version of the noblewoman. Like her male counterpart the courtier, a courtesan had to be educated in playing music, singing, writing poetry, all the courtly graces, dancing, chess playing, current events, the classics and witty banter. This education and the fact she was also paid for these skills separate her from the lower classes of prostitutes. From the lowest class, the meretrice, picture a streetwalker type, to the cortigiana di lume (courtesan of the lamp) who worked in inn houses and brothels. Both solely dependent on selling sexual favors for their income. The cortigiana onesta (honest courtesan or honored courtesan) sold her intellectual and literary skills thus earned her income “honestly”. Cortigiana onesta never really dismiss the sexual aspects of their profession but it is far from the focus of it.
In same vein they were not classified as noblewomen, it was rare for a noblewoman to be educated beyond the basics. Rosenthal (1992) says of noblewomen, “Their education consisted of elementary reading and writing in the vernacular, rudimentary arithmetic, and also handiwork, such as embroidery and weaving.” For noblewomen it was also believed that “Woman’s voice lead to sexual temptation; eloquence in a woman lead to promiscuity.” (Masson, 1975) This belief most likely had ties to the first temptation of Adam in Eden, thus creating a society that felt the need to protect it's noblewomen from further education and sheltering them from perceived threats of corruption from outsiders. Libraries were closed to women as a whole but courtesans were seen as intellects and were granted access. Courtesans were able to afford many luxuries and dressed accordingly.
  1. Identifying a Courtesan.
Imagine you are a male tourist in 16th century Venice; you have traveled here for business or a
pilgrimage, and you have high hopes of seeing one of the honest courtesans Venice is so well known
for. As you walk the canals you come upon a woman; she is lavishly dressed , obviously a woman of
money. Since courtesans dressed in a similar manner to a noblewoman, how would you know if this
woman was a courtesan or the doge's wife? The difference between the noblewoman and courtesan
of the 16th century were not often easy to spot with the eyes. Unless the courtesan was openly
advertising her presence, which could be very dangerous as they were often a target of violence,
she would often dress like a noblewoman. This caused many issues, making a senator in 1564 state:
“The prostitutes in this city of ours have so excessively increased in number, and having cast aside all modesty and shame, they publicly frequent the streets, churches, and other places, adorned and dressed so handsomely that often our noblewomen and our citizens are dressed in much the same way, so that not only foreigners but local people as well are unable to tell the good from the bad, thus setting a bad and most pernicious example for those who cross their paths and see them, in view of the many advantages enjoyed by such persons of a low and abject standing.” (Barzaghi, 1980)
This lead to the passing of sumptuary laws which were difficult to enforce and easily side stepped by bribery or paying a fine on the off chance they were caught. These laws tried to prevent prostitutes and courtesans alike from wearing silk, gold, silver, pearls, jewels- real or fake, and earrings. Sometimes the laws were written in such a way that they only referred to prostitutes giving courtesans a loophole as their profession was considered much more dignified. When the laws restricting what a could wear failed there was an “attempt to have courtesans identify themselves by require the wearing of a yellow veil.”(Robin, Lawson & Levin, 2007) Again this was easily side stepped by paying a fine.
So how would a courtesan advertise themselves? Often it came down to subtle signals and word of mouth. While it would be logical to think they would wear taller chopines, have longer trains or more lavish dress, this was not always reliable as Noblewomen tried to draw the eye in the same manner. The only sign I can trace is a move I have coined as the “courtesan peak”. Women when outdoors often wore veils that covered their faces, thus giving them protection not only from the sun but also gave them anonymity thus protecting them from them tempting influences. Yet we see time and time again drawings showing some women lifting and peaking out from under their veils. How provocative this might have been for a gentleman on the street, a touch forbidden, all the while revealing herself to be a courtesan in a subtle manner.

  1. The drawbacks
While it may seem that courtesans led a charmed life, it was not without it's drawbacks. Courtesans like the male counterpart the courtier sought political and social advancement within the feudal system during the renaissance, thus facing them off to battle for the attentions of the same patrons. This made courtesans a target to their male counterpart, who wrote nasty satire about courtesans, endangering their reputations and thus their livelihoods.
Violence against courtesans could come in many forms, a jealous lover, a refused man, those who believed she was immoral and need to be punished just to name a few. One of the most shocking and distasteful violent acts dolled out upon a courtesan would be a tentuno (thirty-one) a gang rape that would then have the details of the attack spread around the court. Besides the physical nature of the attack, it also served to humiliate and increase the chance to contract a venereal disease
The noblewoman had no power over her own social advancement, whereas the courtesan had more freedom. Before a noblewoman married, her life and money were governed by her father or
brothers. Once married, all her property transferred to her husband. “From about 1100, the position
of property-holding males was enhanced further. Inheritance was confined to the male, or agnate line- with depressing consequences for women.” (Jones & Rosenthal, 1998) During the renaissance, a person was born and died in the same social class, there was very little movement nor was such movement expected. Courtesans were able to rise from the lower middle classes up into the aristocracy. The Courtesan made enough money to advance her class status and because she was outside of the bonds of
marriage she could manage her own money. In response sumptuary laws were passed in attempts
to recreate the social boundaries. Such laws were easily overcome as they were often not enforced.
In order to move into such circles an up and comer needed to be able to participate in social
networking. The women of respectful families found themselves shut away from the world around
them. Women found themselves to be “assigned to subordinate positions in the household and the
church, they were barred from significant participation in public life.” (Jones & Rosenthal, 1998) If you look at the design of homes in Venice you will discover often they contained amazing gardens that could only be entered by going through the house. This way the women and daughters of noble families could enjoy the outdoors without exposing them to the corrupting forces of the outside world.
Courtesans, on the other hand, depended on social networking. One of their key roles was to set up social exchanges for their clients to not only advance the clients standings but also themselves.
Courtesans were able to exert a significant amount of control over their own person. “Women possessed virtually no political power of their own, owing to an
oligarchy dominated by men, and the laws passed by men reveal not only a class bias but a special
arrogance towards women” (Rosenthal, 1992). Whereas a woman had no control over whom they would marry, courtesans could pick and choose their clientele. If a courtesan wished she could use the wealth she had amassed and had control over to choose her own husband. If marriage was not something she
wished to invest her time into she could invest her own money and live quite happily on her own
wealth. As a true mistress of her own house a courtesan made all the decisions of her own home
and she was subject to no man's whim unless that of her own choosing.

While the noblewoman did lead the rich life of the upper crust, it is the ability to be so educated and
being able to move within the class structure which makes the courtesan a fascinating
subject. There is much a modern woman can learn from the women of the past. Whereas the
noblewoman was the glue that held her household together; the courtesan was truly the first
feminist voice in a male dominated society. New documents are being found every day and as
scholars and translators decipher these documents our knowledge of these enigmatic women can
only grow.

References
Brown, P.F. (2004). Private Lives in Renaissance Venice. New Haven:Yale University Press
Barzaghi, A.(1980) Donne o courtigiane?. Verona: Bertani
de Heere, L. (Artist). (1584). Théâtre de tous les peuples nations et de la terre et avec leurs ornemens diverse habits: Venetian courtesan. [Drawing]. Retrieved from http://lib.ugent.be/fulltxt/RUG01/000/794/288/BHSL-HS-2466_2009_0001_AC.pdf
Jones, A.R. & Rosenthal, M.F. (1998). Veronica Franco: Poems and Selected Letters. Chicago: The University of Chicago.
Masson, G. (1975). Courtesans of the Italian Renaissance. London: Martin Secker & Warburg Limited
prostitution. (n.d.). Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law. Retrieved May 09, 2012, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/prostitution
Robin, D.M., Larsen, A., & Levin, C.(2007). Encyclopedia of Women in the Renaissance: Italy, and England. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.
Rosenthal, M.(1992). The Honest Courtesan: Veronica Franco, Citizen and Writer in Sixteenth Century Venice. Chicago: The University of Chicago.
Rosenthal, M, & Jones, A.R. (2008). The Clothing of the Renaissance World: Europe,
Asia, Africa, The Americas; Cesare Vecellio's Habiti Antichi et Moderni. London: Thames & Hudson.
unknown. (Artist). (1575). Mores italiae: A venetian courtesan (dressed as a widow) [Drawing]. Retrieved from http://realmofvenus.renaissanceitaly.net/wardrobe/MoresItaliae1.jpg
unknown. (Artist). (1595). Album amicorum of a german soldier: Venetian courtesan. [Drawing]. Retrieved from http://realmofvenus.renaissanceitaly.net/wardrobe/ManuVen5.JPG

Vecellio, C. (Artist). (1585). De gli habiti antichi et moderni di diverse parti del mondo: Venetian courtesan outdoors. [Drawing]. Retrieved from http://realmofvenus.renaissanceitaly.net/wardrobe/Vecellio15.jpg

Renaissance Pocket (work in progress)

 Renaissance Pocket   
Magdalena Lucia Ramberti
Christa Gordon
Caerthe

Background:
            I started out this project with a need to keep my personal items safe and wondering if their might be a solution that would not take away from the more authentic look I was going for in my clothing. I looked for several ideas and came across tie on pockets. It was ingenious and simple. All the existing pockets I found were all dated just out of period and then I found a Bolso also known as Faltriquera, or Spanish pocket dated 1575-1600 just within period at Museo del Traje or Museum of costume in Madrid.
  It had the same shape as the tie on pockets except it was missing a method to tie it on. This example is silk satin with couched metal threads.

            I kept looking and came across Saccoccia, or Italian pockets. I could not find any existing pockets but I did find evidence in paintings and frescos.
A fresco called The Maiden's Quarter by Alessandro Allori dated 1588
  A closer inspection of the fresco reveals three women wearing what appears to be tie on pockets.



More paintings resulted in more examples:
"Woman at her toilet", 1575-78, Alessandro Allori

     
      










Birth of the Virgin by Alessandro Allori, 1595 
             












Sala di Penelope", 1561-62, Giovanni Stradano
           
It seems that these would be worn outside their clothes similar to a pouch when in informal situations. I did find a passage mentioning wearing a pocket under the skirt when wearing finer clothes “from the side openings of the skirt, corresponding to those of the bodice, it was possible to access the inside pockets, such as that found among the folds of the funeral dress.” (Orsi & Niccoli, 2005)
The pocket in Eleonora di Toledo's funeral dress skirt, 1562 (Palazzo Pitti, Florence), made of silk taffeta
With these examples in mind I set off to create my own.
Creation:
Pocket 1:
Because of its unusual nature, having buttons, I thought of giving the stripped pocket from The Maiden's Quarter by Alessandro Allori dated 1588 a try.
           
As the only extant pockets I could find from within our period of study was made of silk satin or silk taffeta I thought silk would be a good fabric choice to begin with.
            Silk was available and used for clothing within Italy. “The Por Santa Maria guild of Florence, which later came to be known as the Arte della Setta, was a multi-tiered guild. Originally established for the benefit of merchants who sold luxury silk goods, it was later dominated by the producers of silk fabrics, and regulated most activities associated with the production and sale of silk textiles. “(Frick, 2005) Several extant items of clothing from Italy are made from silk and linen. ("The Workbox - The Realm of Venus", n.d. ).
            I found a lovely silk with gold stripes woven into the fabric. It was appropriate for an approximate look of my original and fit within my budget.

As it is difficult to identify what material the buttons are made of I choose to make a pair of thread wrapped buttons based on the extant buttons shown on garments from Patterns of Fashion by Janet Arnold.           Such buttons were used on several garments; including the burial suit of Cosimo I de’Medici. Many of the buttons are discribed as “silk wrapped around a wooden core.” (Arnold, 1985)
 
Close up of button from Pattern of Fashion and the Doublet of Cosimo I de’Medici
My buttons
I used 12mm round wooden beads as my wooden core, I then used some burgundy thread I had on hand, as I was trying to keep this on a budget. I first wrapped five horizantal “spines” on each button then wove my thread verticaly across the bead and around the spine until the bead is covered.  Inspired by the button from Janet Arnold’s Patterns of Fashion (picture above) I used some gold metal thread to create non-woven sections echoing the look of the inspiration button.
To create the pocket itself I used a close up of the pocket from "Woman at her toilet", by Alessandro Allori (page 4). I blew up the close up until it was close to my proprotions, length just short of the distance from my waist to a chair when sitting, as seen in the painting. I then cut out my pattern and began assembly of the pocket. I first stitched the front and lining of the opening then stitched the body of the pockets. After contacting the Museo del Traje which is home to one of the only existing pockets from the 16th century (page 1) I was told their pocket did have a lining of silk satin. I can’t say if it was common to line pockets or not as there really is no record to look at. I decided to line my pocket, like the existing pocket. I did this so the seams would be encased and protected as well as to prevent snagging of the seams with any objects I might keep in the pocket.
It’s difficult to see how the pockets were worn. The Spanish pocket is missing a string attached to it or some way to attach it to an apron. The Toledo pocket is hastily sewn to the inside of the bodice. From the portraits I looked at in my examples there are many worn with an apron and could possibly be somehow attached to the apron strings. There is one woman in The Maiden's Quarter who is brushing her hair who is not wearing an apron. Looking at 18th century examples, while out of our period of study there are a large number of surviving pockets from this period, show a large number attached to their own strings or with a casing to lace a string through.


References
Arnold, J. (1985). Patterns of fashion: The cut and construction of clothes for men and women, c1560-1620. London: Macmillan.
Frick, C. C. (2005). Dressing Renaissance Florence: Families, fortunes, and fine clothing. London: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Orsi, L. R., & Niccoli, B. (2005). Moda a Firenze, 1540-1580: Lo stile di Eleonora di Toledo e la sua influenza. Firenze: Pagliai Polistampa.
The Workbox - The Realm of Venus. (n.d.). The Realm Of Venus - Fashion and Style in Renaissance Italy. Retrieved from http://realmofvenus.renaissanceitaly.net/workbox/workbox.htm


Contrasting the Venetian Noblewoman to the Venetian Courtesan of the 16th century

THL Madgalena Lucia Ramberti (Christa Gordon © 2009)
August 24, 2009

            “The eccentric Englishman, Thomas Coryat, exclaimed with astonishment that there were as many as twenty thousand courtesans in Venice in 1608” (Rosenthal, 1992, p. 11). The word courtesan is taken from the term courtier; both the courtier and the courtesan sought political and social advancement within the feudal system during the renaissance.   Courtesans offered social and intellectual refinement in return for patronage, very much in the same manner as the geisha before world war II in Japan. The courtesan fulfilled societies need for a refined yet sexualized version of the noblewoman. “Sought after by certain foreign travelers to Venice for her cultivation and sensual elegance, she was one of the city's famous attractions” (Rosenthal, 1992, p. 73).

            Imagine you are  a male tourist in 16th century Venice; you have traveled here for business or a pilgrimage, and you have high hopes of seeing one of the honest courtesans Venice is so well known for. As you walk the canals you come upon a woman; she is lavishly dressed , obviously a woman of money. Since courtesans dressed in a similar manner to a noblewoman, how would you know if this woman was a courtesan or the doge's wife? The difference between the noblewoman and courtesan of the 16th century were not often easy to spot with the eyes. Unless the courtesan was openly advertising her presence, which could be very dangerous as they were often a target of violence, she would look like a noblewoman. “ As a result, because of the way they dress, courtsans and donne di partito very much resemble married women; they wear rings on their fingers like married women and therefore anyone who is not more than aware can be deceived....The train of their dress is very long; indeed at times some of these courtesans dress like widows and look very much like Venetian noblewomen to those who are not familiar with their condition” (Rosenthal, 1992, p. 70). The differences between the noblewoman and courtesan could be very subtle, but were more clearly defined in the areas of education, and social advancement.

            Levels of education were vastly different between the noblewoman and the courtesan. In the 16th century it was rare for a noblewoman to be educated beyond the basics. “Their education consisted of elementary reading and writing in the vernacular, rudimentary arithmetic, and also  handiwork, such as embroidery and weaving” (Rosenthal, 1992, p. 84). It was believed that Woman’s voice lead to sexual temptation; eloquence in a woman lead to promiscuity.  This belief most likely had ties to the first temptation of Adam in Eden. Whereas a courtesan had to be educated in playing music, singing, writing poetry, all the courtly graces, dancing, chess playing, current events, the classics and witty banter. Libraries were closed to women as a whole but courtesans were seen as intellects and were granted access.

            The noblewoman had no power over her own social advancement, whereas the courtesan had more freedom. Before a noblewoman married, her life and money were governed by her father or brothers. Once married, all her property transferred to her husband.  “Women possessed virtually no political power of their own, owing to an oligarchy dominated by men, and the laws passed by men reveal not only a class bias but a  special arrogance towards women” (Rosenthal, 1992, p. 15). During the renaissance, a person was born and died in the same social class, there was very little movement nor was such movement expected. Courtesans were able to rise from the lower middle classes up into the aristocracy. The Courtesan made enough money to advance her class status and because she was outside of the bonds of marriage she could manage her own money. In response sumptuary laws were passed in attempts to recreate the social boundaries. Such laws were easily overcome as they were often not enforced.
            While the noblewoman did lead the rich life of the upper crust, it is the ability to be so educated and being able to move within the class structure which makes the courtesan a fascinating subject. There is much a modern woman can learn from the women of the past. Whereas the noblewoman was the glue that held her household together; the courtesan was truly the first feminist voice in a male dominated society.
References
Rosenthal, M, (1992) The Honest Courtesan. Chicago: The University of Chicago.

What is a Courtesan? (handout in progress)

 What is a Courtesan?
Courtesans were not looked at as women nor were they as valued as men, instead they found themselves in a grouping of their own. Within the male dominated society of 16th century Venice courtesans were able to move outside the confines of the believed place reserved for women. “The use of the term cortigiana (courtesan) confirms the recognition of a new category of public women. Strictly speaking, of course, it simply means court lady- the female counterpart of cortigiano or courtier.” (Brown, 2004)

Courtesans, came into being because of many social, political and religious influences. Italy proved to be the perfect breeding ground for their creation. The separate governing bodies, the lack of an overall monarch and the melting pot of cultures caused by trade opened the doors for this new class of women. Venice, being my main focus of study, had all of these factors and more. The dowry wars had grown to such an extreme that the price to be married became outrageous and out of reach for many middle and lower middle class women. Without marriage, income was limited, status difficult to come by and some women learned to use their minds and bodies for financial gain.

Yes, this sounds exactly like prostitution “the act or practice of engaging in sexual intercourse for money.” (Prostitution, 2012) Yet it was more then just sex, while it might be a tool in their toolbox it wasn't always a part of a working relationship. Courtesans offered social and intellectual refinement in return for patronage, very much in the same manner as the geisha before World War II in Japan. The courtesan fulfilled societies need for a refined yet sexualized version of the noblewoman. Like her male counterpart the courtier, a courtesan had to be educated in playing music, singing, writing poetry, all the courtly graces, dancing, chess playing, current events, the classics and witty banter. This education and the fact she was also paid for these skills separate her from the lower classes of prostitutes. From the lowest class, the meretrice, picture a streetwalker type, to the cortigiana di lume (courtesan of the lamp) who worked in inn houses and brothels. Both solely dependent on selling sexual favors for their income. The cortigiana onesta (honest courtesan or honored courtesan) sold her intellectual and literary skills thus earned her income “honestly”. Cortigiana onesta never really dismiss the sexual aspects of their profession but it is far from the focus of it.

In same vein they were not classified as noblewomen, it was rare for a noblewoman to be educated beyond the basics. Rosenthal (1992) says of noblewomen, “Their education consisted of elementary reading and writing in the vernacular, rudimentary arithmetic, and also handiwork, such as embroidery and weaving.” For noblewomen it was also believed that “Woman’s voice lead to sexual temptation; eloquence in a woman lead to promiscuity.” (Masson, 1975) This belief most likely had ties to the first temptation of Adam in Eden, thus creating a society that felt the need to protect it's noblewomen from further education and sheltering them form perceived threats of corruption from outsiders. Libraries were closed to women as a whole but courtesans were seen as intellects and were granted access. Courtesans were able to afford many luxuries and dressed accordingly.

Courtesan Peek

So how would a courtesan advertise themselves? Often it came down to subtle signals and word of mouth. While it would be logical to think they would wear taller chopines, have longer trains or more lavish dress, this was not always reliable as Noblewomen tried to draw the eye in the same manner. The only sign I can trace is a move I have coined as the “courtesan peek”. Women when outdoors often wore veils that covered their faces, thus giving them protection not only from the sun but also gave them anonymity thus protecting them from them tempting influences. Yet we see time and time again drawings showing some women lifting and peaking out from under their veils. How provocative this might have been for a gentleman on the street, a touch forbidden, all the while revealing herself to be a courtesan in a subtle manner.

cite to be attached
Venetian courtesan - widow http://demodecouture.com/2012/01/lucas-de-heere-16th-c-costume-illustrations/



































de Heer, Courtesan and widow


Album Amicorum of a German Soldier
Album Amicorum of a German Soldier

De gli Habiti antichi et moderni di Diverse Parti del Mondo' Cesare Vecellio- Venetian courtesan outdoors
De gli Habiti antichi et moderni di Diverse Parti del Mondo' Cesare Vecellio- Venetian courtesan outdoors

Venetian courtesan in 'Mores Italiae'
Venetian courtesan in 'Mores Italiae'

Pauwels Franck (Paolo Fiammingo)  Venetian Women   Location Unknown  ca. 1595
Pauwels Franck (Paolo Fiammingo) Venetian Women Location Unknown ca. 1595

First post

Welcome to my blog, my plan is to use this area to dump my research, class handouts and anything else I find. Welcome!!