Oh my... looking at the women holding those little dead animals made me
shudder to think what the animal rights people would do with that
"fashion" now!!!
Clay
On 11/16/2010 11:06 AM, Linda Walton wrote:
Tatman wrote:
[snip]
> I have a friend who is reading a book that
> takes place in the 16th century. As she explains in her email to me
below,
> the man character is giving a sable as a gift to his lady which she
adorns
> on her gown. Is this sable the animal or some other accessory/item?
From
> what I have found so far on the net is that it was a treasure to
receive a
> sable and to display it on your gown as a status symbol.
[snip]
> Your thoughts and explanation of the significance of this ritual
would be
> appreciated.
My guess is that this refers to a "zibellino", (plural "zibellini"),
which was a fashion accessory for the very rich. The word lends
itself to be understood as "sable", but the fur itself might be
something else, such as marten. The fur was worn over the arm or
shoulder of a woman.
Renaissance furriers could preserver the skin, but had to replace the
head and little feet with gold, enamelled and bejewelled pieces. I
think its use may have been restricted to upper class women by the
various sumptuary laws of different countries.
In that period, the animal was also a fertility symbol, which might
have some significance in your friend's story. I understand that
there is a portrait of Countess Livia da Porto in the Walters Gallery
in Baltimore which shows her with one. Because of the fertility
reference, art historians have speculated she might have been pregnant
when the painting was done, although she had two children already.
(Her daughter Porzia is pictured with her mother; her husband and son
are in another painting.)
There is an article here, with some more links:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zibellino
and a search on "sibellini" will throw up lots of links to images.
The article mentions the alternative name of "flea-fur": I don't know
the origin of this, but it seems unlikely. The aristocratic women
with such items would be unlikely to advertise any problem with
personal hygiene. (Yes, I know all about fleas and the Black Death,
but look at the death rates for the different classes to see who had
fleas and who didn't!) Also, any flea would be more attracted to the
nearest warm body - that is, meal - than to any cold, dead, tanned fur
piece.
I'd be interested to know the title and author of your friend's book.
Linda Walton,
(in cold, dank High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, U.K., where the fog
hasn't lifted all day).
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