Vitruvius Pollio

Also executed by the Atelier au Vase, also covering an architectural treatise, this “primitive” fanfare binding is a twin of the Vignola binding in the adjoining case. The characteristic features of the fanfare style are gilt-tooled compartments of various shapes and sizes delineated by single and double fillets and filled with small floral ornaments. A larger oval compartment is usually at the center of the composition, which fully covers the boards. The classic fanfares of the 1570s were preceded by “primitive” and “empty” fanfares that emerged in the late 1560s. Claude III owned at least thirty bindings produced by the Atelier au Vase in these early iterations of the fanfare style.