Ornamentalism

Performing Arts - General
History - Renaissance

Ornamentalism

The Art of Renaissance Accessories

Edited and with an Introduction by Bella Mirabella

Original essays by leading scholars on the significance of accessories in the cultural, social, and political lives of men and women in the Renaissance

Description

Ornamentalism is the first book to focus on Renaissance accessories, their histories and meanings. The collection's eminent contributors bring accessories to the center of a discussion about material culture, dress, and adornment, exploring their use, significance, and multiple lives. Defining an “accessory” in the broadest sense—including scents, veils, handkerchiefs, lingerie, codpieces, dildos, jewels, ruffs, wax seals, busks, shoes, scissors, and even boys—the book provides a rich cultural history that’s eclectic and bold, including discussions of bodily functions, personal hygiene, and sexuality.

Lively, well-written, and richly illustrated with color plates, Ornamentalism will appeal to scholars of the material past and social practice, and those interested in fashion studies, manners and morals, gender and sexuality, theater and performance.

“Much of the appeal of this fascinating book is its ability to challenge our assumptions about both accessories and the Renaissance.”
—Times Higher Education

“Addresses, through insightful commentaries, the social structures of Italy and England that created and controlled personal ornamentation . . . useful for students of material culture and for others looking for fresh views on adornment in the early modern period.”
—Choice

“Although the objects analyzed in Ornamentalism vary widely, an important unifying thread . . . is the strong focus on matters of gender and sexuality . . . Should appeal to early modern literary scholars, historians, and art historians . . . and scholars working in queer and affect studies.”
—Early Modern Women Journal

“Will appeal to those with a specialist interest in the material culture associated with male and female bodies in Renaissance Italy and England. However, the range of intellectual and theoretical approaches will ensure that there is something well worth reading for literature specialists, historians, and a wider audience of specialists and non-specialists alike.”
—Renaissance Quarterly

Bella Mirabella is Associate Professor of Literature and Humanities at New York University.

Praise / Awards

"Much of the appeal of this fascinating book is its ability to challenge our assumptions about both accessories and the Renaissance."
—Times Higher Education
"The work effectively addresses, through insightful commentaries, the social structures of Italy and England that created and controlled personal ornamentation at the time. This work will be useful for students of material culture and for others looking for fresh views on adornment in the early modern period."
—Choice
"[Ornamentalism] will appeal to those with a specialist interest in the material culture associated with male and female bodies in Renaissance Italy and England. However, the range of intelletual and theoretical approaches will ensure that there is something well worth reading for literature specialists, historians, and a wider audience of specialists and nonspecialists alike."
—Maria Hayward, University of Southampton, Renaissance Quarterly
"Ornamentalism presents a thought-provoking collection of essays that makes a significant contribution to current scholarship in a range of fields and Bella Mirabella and her contributors are to be congratulated."
—Maria Hayward, University of Southampton, Renaissance Quarterly
"The diversity of scholarly articles that elucidate the material culture of the period, uniting craftsperson and buyer, will open people’s eyes to the social practices of adornment and their meaning in Renaissance England and Italy."
—Women's Studies Quarterly
"[Ornamentalism] investigates in rich detail the gendered significance of a wide range of small material objects that served as accessories...Should appeal to early modern literary scholars, historians, and art historians...and scholars working in queer and affect studies."
--Pamela S. Hammons, Early Modern Women Journal