CIPPICO, Coriolano.
Petri Mocenici Imperatoris gestorum
Venice, Bernard Maler, Erhard Ratdolt, Peter Loslein, 1477.£39,500.00
FIRST EDITION. 4to. a-g5, 54 unnumbered leaves. Roman letter, fine woodcut initials throughout, striking border with vine motif to a2. Some contemporary marginalia of place names in the Aegean, later inscription of Joseph Busera of Fabriano to recto of ffep. and dedicatory inscription to verso ‘Bibliothecae Cathidialis Fabrianensis ex Dono Francis Prioris Busera A.D. 1766’. Pencil note of George Dunn sale at Sotheby’s dated 23rd November 1917 to ffep. Marbled pastedowns with book plates of George Dunn, C. S. Ascherson and George Abrams. Light age yellowing, very light staining. A very good, very clean, well margined copy in 17th C vellum, spine wormed, a.e.r. In folding box.
A handsome, crisp, large copy of a first-hand account of an early Venetian military expedition against the Ottomans, following the disastrous defeat at Negroponte on the island of Euboea, in a rivalry that would last until the 18th C, helping shape the religious and political landscape of modern Europe. The fall of the Byzantine Empire and Mehmet II’s capture of Constantinople in 1453 initiated frequent clashes between East and the West, as they fought for supremacy over the Mediterranean.
Cippico was a Dalmatian nobleman, humanist, and military commander from Trogir, in Dalmatia, who accompanied the future doge Pietro Mocenigo on campaign while he served as a galley captain between 1470-1474. He records the fleet’s exploits in three books, beginning with the Venetian council’s decision to face the Turks, following the deposition of Nicolo Canal, describing their travels through the Aegean with Thucydidean flair. The marginalia reveal particular interest in the various settlements mentioned, including Chius, Pergamus, Knidos, Samos, Atalia and Smyrna, all of which were highly significant in Antiquity and remained of great contemporary strategic importance. The author notes the Classical significance of these sites and highlights some of ancient ruins at Delos, recording the Greek inscription on a colossal statue, and marvelling at a monument to Homer in Smyrna. In highlighting the strong Western heritage of these sites, Cippico presents a more justified causa belli.
Then next two books focus on Venetian attacks along the Turkish coastline, including the suppression of a political coup in Cyprus using the entire Venetian fleet, victory at the siege of Scutari, which had been surrounded by Ottoman troops in 1474, as well as the rescue of Catarina Corner, Queen of Cyprus. Cippico reveals the fleet’s movements, specific naval manoeuvres and battle detail, and correspondence between Venetian and Ottoman forces.
A detailed glimpse into Venetian war machine and the most serene republic’s foreign policy in the late 15th C.
USTC: 996107; Goff: C378; Essling 254; BMC: V 244; Blackmer Cat. p.235.In stock
