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W.478, Treatise on cosmetics

Abstract

This Italian manuscript, written in Venetian dialect, was produced ca. 1500, and contains various recipes and remedies for the wellbeing and beauty of women. This text, like most cosmetic treatises in the vernacular, is addressed specifically to a female audience. The text's focus on beauty and appearance is emphasized by the miniature on its opening page, where we see the Judgement of Paris. The Trojan hero Paris was asked to judge a beauty contest between Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena. He chose Aphrodite because she promised him the hand of Helen, known as the most beautiful woman in the world. Although the origin of this text is unknown, it follows in the tradition of those which focus specifically on cosmetics. One such example is the 12th century "Trotula" text that is believed to have originated in Salerno (Italy) and is comprised of three distinct works. One of them (De ornatu mulierum) was dedicated to cosmetics, whereas the other two dealt with obstetrics/gynecology and women's diseases respectively. The "Trotula" corpus was immensely popular and survives in nearly 200 copies in both Latin and various vernacular translations. The Walters treatise, on the other hand, survives only in one partial copy at the Wellcome Library (MS 531) in London, which is missing the prologue as well as a significant portion of the book itself.

Manuscript Description (in a new window) | TEI (XML format) | View at art.thewalters.org

Persistent URLs (PURLs)

The following URLs are assured to route to the named resources. For more information see the ReadMe file.

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    1. Upper board outside

      W.478, Upper board outside
    2. Upper board inside

      W.478, Upper board inside
    3. fol. 1r

      W.478, fol. 1r
    4. fol. 1v

      W.478, fol. 1v
    5. fol. 2r

      W.478, fol. 2r
    6. fol. 2v

      W.478, fol. 2v
    7. fol. 3r

      W.478, fol. 3r
    8. fol. 3v

      W.478, fol. 3v
    9. fol. 4r

      W.478, fol. 4r
    10. fol. 4v

      W.478, fol. 4v
    11. fol. 5r

      W.478, fol. 5r
    12. fol. 5v

      W.478, fol. 5v
    13. fol. 6r

      W.478, fol. 6r
    14. fol. 6v

      W.478, fol. 6v
    15. fol. 7r

      W.478, fol. 7r
    16. fol. 7v

      W.478, fol. 7v
    17. fol. 8r

      W.478, fol. 8r
    18. fol. 8v

      W.478, fol. 8v
    19. fol. 9r

      W.478, fol. 9r
    20. fol. 9v

      W.478, fol. 9v
    21. fol. 10r

      W.478, fol. 10r
    22. fol. 10v

      W.478, fol. 10v
    23. fol. 11r

      W.478, fol. 11r
    24. fol. 11v

      W.478, fol. 11v
    25. fol. 12r

      W.478, fol. 12r
    26. fol. 12v

      W.478, fol. 12v
    27. fol. 13r

      W.478, fol. 13r
    28. fol. 13v

      W.478, fol. 13v
    29. fol. 14r

      W.478, fol. 14r
    30. fol. 14v

      W.478, fol. 14v
    31. fol. 15r

      W.478, fol. 15r
    32. fol. 15v

      W.478, fol. 15v
    33. fol. 16r

      W.478, fol. 16r
    34. fol. 16v

      W.478, fol. 16v
    35. fol. 17r

      W.478, fol. 17r
    36. fol. 17v

      W.478, fol. 17v
    37. fol. 18r

      W.478, fol. 18r
    38. fol. 18v

      W.478, fol. 18v
    39. fol. 19r

      W.478, fol. 19r
    40. fol. 19v

      W.478, fol. 19v
    41. fol. 20r

      W.478, fol. 20r
    42. fol. 20v

      W.478, fol. 20v
    43. fol. 21r

      W.478, fol. 21r
    44. fol. 21v

      W.478, fol. 21v
    45. fol. 22r

      W.478, fol. 22r
    46. fol. 22v

      W.478, fol. 22v
    47. fol. 23r

      W.478, fol. 23r
    48. fol. 23v

      W.478, fol. 23v
    49. fol. 24r

      W.478, fol. 24r
    50. fol. 24v

      W.478, fol. 24v
    51. fol. 25r

      W.478, fol. 25r
    52. fol. 25v

      W.478, fol. 25v
    53. fol. 26r

      W.478, fol. 26r
    54. fol. 26v

      W.478, fol. 26v
    55. fol. 27r

      W.478, fol. 27r
    56. fol. 27v

      W.478, fol. 27v
    57. fol. 28r

      W.478, fol. 28r
    58. fol. 28v

      W.478, fol. 28v
    59. fol. 29r

      W.478, fol. 29r
    60. fol. 29v

      W.478, fol. 29v
    61. fol. 30r

      W.478, fol. 30r
    62. fol. 30v

      W.478, fol. 30v
    63. fol. 31r

      W.478, fol. 31r
    64. fol. 31v

      W.478, fol. 31v
    65. fol. 32r

      W.478, fol. 32r
    66. fol. 32v

      W.478, fol. 32v
    67. fol. 33r

      W.478, fol. 33r
    68. fol. 33v

      W.478, fol. 33v
    69. fol. 34r

      W.478, fol. 34r
    70. fol. 34v

      W.478, fol. 34v
    71. fol. 35r

      W.478, fol. 35r
    72. fol. 35v

      W.478, fol. 35v
    73. fol. 36r

      W.478, fol. 36r
    74. fol. 36v

      W.478, fol. 36v
    75. fol. 37r

      W.478, fol. 37r
    76. fol. 37v

      W.478, fol. 37v
    77. fol. 38r

      W.478, fol. 38r
    78. fol. 38v

      W.478, fol. 38v
    79. fol. 39r

      W.478, fol. 39r
    80. fol. 39v

      W.478, fol. 39v
    81. fol. 40r

      W.478, fol. 40r
    82. fol. 40v

      W.478, fol. 40v
    83. fol. 41r

      W.478, fol. 41r
    84. fol. 41v

      W.478, fol. 41v
    85. fol. 42r

      W.478, fol. 42r
    86. fol. 42v

      W.478, fol. 42v
    87. Lower board inside

      W.478, Lower board inside
    88. Lower board outside

      W.478, Lower board outside
    89. Spine

      W.478, Spine
    90. Fore-edge

      W.478, Fore-edge
    91. Head

      W.478, Head
    92. Tail

      W.478, Tail

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