Bone Ecologies: Matter, Technique, and Figuration in Trecento Italian Cofanetti

Abstract

This article proposes an ecological approach to bone cofanetti produced in central and northern Italy between the Trecento and early Quattrocento. The analysis follows bone as a material with its own biological, economic, and technical trajectory, from animal remains to carved plaques, examining the relations among its physical properties, workshop practices, images, and handling. To this end, the article proposes the notion of “bone ecologies” as a framework for understanding how organisms, natural substances, artisanal knowledge, visual conventions, and embodied use converged in the making and reception of these objects. The argument unfolds through three interrelated axes: the ecology of matter, encompassing economies of breeding, slaughter, reuse, and anatomical properties of bone; technical ecology, centered on carving, polishing, composite construction, and assembling; and the ecology of the image, which examines how vegetation, fauna, landscapes, and natural phenomena structured biblical, classical, and courtly narratives. The relations between materials and motifs are understood as historically contingent and mediated by technical practices and visual conventions. This article argues that these cofanetti emerged from a relational field in which biological matter, artisanal practice, figuration, and haptic engagement jointly shaped the finished object.