Italy, 1687

Treatises on military machinery were extremely important in the early modern era when science and technology were transforming the art of war into the science of war. The ability to assault and seize fortified places was particularly important during a period in which the seige of the city and the protection of the city were at the center of military strategy. This heavily illustrated manuscript from the seventeenth century focuses on the variety of machines and machinery necessary to offensive and defensive success in war. Written in a careful, uniform hand, the manuscript has doubtless been copied from something else, most likely a printed book. The illustrations similarly suggest working from a model at hand. Indeed, it is likely that, like so many extant manuscripts from the seventeenth century, this codex has been derived from a printed book for circulation among an audience that may not have had access to multiple copies of the book. The illustrations resemble--grosso modo--those found in earlier machinery books by Ramelli, Zonca, and others. But the origins of the volume have yet to be determined.

Paper, 81 leaves, 311 x 225 (305 x 215) mm, in Italian, written in a cursive, contemporary hand.