Glass Bridges: Cross-Cultural Exchange between Florence and the ...

and then unloaded at the end of the voyage at Porto Pisano on 17 April 1477. There
nine bales of rugs were cosigned to minor local companies, and they handled
delivery to the final destination, most being major firms, including the Salviati, Ristori,
and Pazzi, as well as specific individuals, one of whom was Francesco Sassetti, a
partner of the Medici. 98
By the second half of the fifteenth century, the Medici themselves were the
most notable buyers of rugs. Lorenzo de’ Medici bought many rugs during his
lifetime. By the time of his death in 1492, Lorenzo owned almost 70 rugs. Thirty-nine
of these were in the palace in Via Larga and the rest in various country villas, no
fewer than twelve being in the Villa at Careggi. 99 Merchant banking companies also
contributed to the demand for rugs. They purchased them for the execution of a
specific order from a correspondent or even for one of the partners, for shipment to
Florence to satisfy general local demand and for resale in other markets. In addition,
they also bought rugs for their own use in the furnishing of their business quarters. 100
These places, whether in Florence or abroad, could be quite large, comprising a
warehouse, a workspace to accommodate a large staff suitable for receiving clients
as well as a residential space. Many of these companies, especially the ones that
had offices in important cities, paid careful attention to the furnishings of their
headquarters. An example is the palace of the Medici bank in Bruges, the Hotel
Bladelin. 101 Other prestigious buyers of carpets and rugs, both of Turkish and
Levantine origin, were state and ecclesiastical institutions. The inventory of Palazzo
Vecchio mentions 28 rugs. 102 They were used for official ceremonious purposes. In
1461, when Florentine galleys were sailing direct to Constantinople, the commune
made the decoration of public buildings with carpets an official policy. 103 Artistic
sources and inventories also show demand of such rugs by churches and
confraternities. Account books from the 1490s belonging to Tommaso Di Donato, a
linen draper records a transaction for a used rug sold to a religious institution, the
confraternity of St. Sebastian. 104 These carpets were presumably used in religious
ceremonies. 105 In Domenico Ghirlandaio’s paintings at the Sassetti chapel, a rug is
depicted in the confirmation of Franciscan Rule, shown laid out on the steps and
98
Spallanzani 2007, p. 20.
99
Ibid, p. 31.
100
Ibid, pp. 34-35.
101
Spallanzani 2007, pp. 34-35. Cf. R. De Roover, Il Banco Medici Dale Origini Al
Declino (1397-1494), p. 493
102 Spallanzani 2007, pp. 38-39.
103 Mack 2002, p. 76.
104 Spallanzani 2007, p. 26.
105 Ibid, pp. 38-39.
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