Sun Aug 19, 2018 03:13 PM

Morning Modelbuch (5/11/2018)

This roundel from Giovanni Tagliete’s 1530 _Essampio di Ricami_ has a unicorn drinking from a lake with a dragon nearby and the scrolling motto “Virtus Impavida” (Fearless Virtue.) https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/659107

The text below talks about the unicorn going in to remedy a poisoned lake so the other animals can drink the water.

This could be embroidered, but one of the interesting uses a lot of roundels like this found was to be turned into dessert trenchers. There were painted versions as well as examples where printed roundels were basically decoupaged onto thin wood rounds that were used to serve desserts. The food went on the undecorated side and after you ate it, you flipped it over and discussed the poem or allegorical drawing or whatever was on your plate as a prompt for conversation and entertainment. There’s a fun section of an online class from The University of Reading and Historic Royal Palaces on the roundels/trenchers here and quite a few survive. https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/royal-food/0/steps/22932