Codex Cocharelli
Exhibitor
Universal Art Group | Verlag Müller & Schindler
A famous Genoese merchant family has created a wonderful monument to itself in this little book. The manuscript is remarkable for its unique artistic quality and its content, which reflects the turbulent political and economic history of Europe. In times of Mongol and Islamic threats, fragile intra-European power structures, the end of the Crusader states and lively trade between Europe and the Far East along the Silk Road, the experiences of this Genoese merchant family exemplify the history of Europe and Italy at that time.
The Codex Cocharelli was written between 1325 and 1335 and is now preserved in six fragments scattered across the globe, which have now been reunited in this facsimile edition. The original parts of the manuscript are held at the British Library in London (MS Add. 27695, MS Add. 28441, MS Egerton 3127 and MS Egerton 3781), the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence (MS inv. 2065 Carrand) and the Museum of Art in Cleveland (Wade Fund, MS n. 1953.152). The facsimile edition is strictly limited to only 1,000 copies worldwide.
The artistic execution of these magnificent miniatures can be attributed to Genoa's unique position as an important trading metropolis in the late Middle Ages, where a wide variety of cultures converged: French, Italian and Oriental elements are clearly evident in the images.
The frame text is a didactic text about vices and virtues, which aims to give the reader a deeper understanding through individual examples. The examples are mostly events from the time when the manuscript was written, making it a great source for history and politics, but also art and natural sciences.
