Aspects of Italian and Flemish Identity in Relation to Book Illumination: Reception of Devotional and Antiquarian Ideas through Depictions of Jewelry

This article focuses on depictions of jewelry in Flemish and Italian manuscripts on the borders of illuminated books, a decorative motif that was widespread in both Flemish and Italian illuminations throughout the second half of the fifteenth century and the first decades of the sixteenth century. Borders, text, and images could be seen as interacting, and representations of similar jewels in different contexts, secular or sacred, could convey different meanings. Franzon highlights the way these depictions influenced the self-construction of Flemish Christians and how this motif lost its religious value in Italy, becoming instead a symbol of Renaissance antiquarian identity.