Overview

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.

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9780472071173

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Reviews

Much of the appeal of this fascinating book is its ability to challenge our assumptions about both accessories and the Renaissance. <br> --- Times Higher Education --Matthew Reisz Times Higher Education (12/22/2011)

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 --Carole Collier Frick Women's Studies Quarterly (06/10/2013)

[ 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. <br>--Maria Hayward, University of Southampton, Renaissance Quarterly <br><br>--Maria Hayward Renaissance Quarterly (09/26/2012)

Author Information

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

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