Medieval English Alabaster Sculptures: Trade and Diffusion in the Italian Peninsula

Abstract

In 1382 Cosmato Gentili, Pope Urban VI’s representative in England, got an export license for three large alabaster carvings to be shipped to Rome from the city port of Southampton. This is the first evidence which attests the trade of English alabaster sculptures in Italy. Although only few similar documents survive, the spread of these works of art in Italy is proved by the great amount of existing pieces. Indeed, with more than 40 carvings held in Italy, the Peninsula should be considered among the eagest purchasers of alabasters in Europe. Through a careful investigation of the carvings kept in different Italian regions this essay aims to trace the diffusion of these artworks in the Peninsula. Some unpublished or neglected carvings are here discussed for the first time, and some scattered panels are here recomposed together as part in origin of the same altarpiece.