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REVIEWS 213 that in some way deal with the culture of Islamic Iberia will find The Literature of Al-Andalus to be very helpful as a reference work for understanding a subject that is significant, albeit little-known outside the circle of the cognoscenti. DAMIAN BACICH, Spanish and Portuguese, UCLA Lillian Ray Martin, The Art and Archaeology of Venetian Ships and Boats (College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press 2001) xii + 236 pp., 153 b/w ills. In this wonderfully illustrated volume, the fifth in a series of Studies in Nautical Archaeology, Lillian Ray Martin presents the most extensive catalogue to date of all known medieval and Renaissance representations of ships and boats in and around the Veneto. Over the course of three chapters composed of an introductory essay, the catalogue, and an analysis of the collected works, the author answers a range of archaeological questions regarding the function and design of Venetian watercraft. This is a particularly welcome study from this reviewer’s point of view, because although it is by no means the first technical study of early modern Venetian ships, as the author makes clear by citing the fundamental work of Giovanni Casoni (1847), Frederic Lane (1934, 1963, 1973), Marco Bonino (1978), and Alvise Chiggiato (1987, 1989), it is the first archaeological work that utilizes a wealth of visual evidence to bring their rigging , steering mechanisms, and superstructure into focus. Martin devotes the first chapter to an introduction of Venetian history and art. This opening chapter is divided into subheadings that include a chronological summary of significant political events and nautical developments, as well as an overview of Venetian art and a discussion of its prevailing iconographic themes. Of particular interest is the discussion of the navigational instruments that were invented between 1250 and 1300, such as the magnetic compass and the pulley, which increased Venetian trade activity in the Mediterranean by allowing for faster and safer shipping. It should be noted, however, that while some of these sections are clearly meant to acquaint the reader with various aspects of Venetian history, others have a more uncertain purpose. One section devoted to artistic techniques, for example, does not appear to be relevant. It is only when one nearly finishes the book that one realizes it was intended to describe the artistic techniques employed to produce the works illustrated in the catalogue. It is never explicitly stated. As a result, this first chapter reads as a somewhat disjointed assemblage of topics unrelated to each other and to what comes later. The primary contribution of this book lies in the catalogue of the second chapter, where Martin has pulled together 129 artistic representations of Venetian ships and boats drawn from the early fourth to the early sixteenth centuries . Compiled from mosaics, enamels, wood inlays, manuscript illuminations, frescoes, paintings, sculpture, prints and engravings, and metalwork, the catalogue demonstrates the author’s meticulous method and is exhaustive in scope. Indeed, a testament to its expansive nature is the inclusion of the graffiti of ships etched into the columns on the west facade of San Marco and in the prison cells of the Palazzo Ducale (134–137). The information given in the catalogue is clear, despite the technical nomenclature used throughout (there is a helpful glossary at the end), and each work is illustrated and accompanied by REVIEWS 214 complete tombstone information. For all entries, the author concentrates on describing the rigging, hull construction, steering apparatuses, anchors, and armaments of the ships represented, and where appropriate, she offers a summary of the iconography. The only possible shortcomings of the catalogue do not originate from what is included, but rather from the absence of what the author stated she would include. In the introduction, Martin asks “Did the artist trouble himself to be accurate in detail? To what extent did the stylistic or formal conventions or limitations of the medium dictate the final product of the work? What was the purpose of the ship and boat illustration? What areas of the picture have been subjected to deterioration or restoration, and how has that effected the maritime image?” (5). Immediately after posing these questions, Martin states that they “will be addressed ... specifically, as necessary, with...

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