Embriachi (Embriaci)

EMBRIACHI (EMBRIACI). - A family of carvers in bone and ivory active in Venice between the 14th and 15th centuries. BALDASSARRE is the most celebrated, and to him is ascribed the marvelous altarpiece dossal of the sacristy of the Certosa di Pavia (1400-1409). The carved bone panels are placed close to one another and enclosed in wooden frames of different colors, inlaid in the characteristic manner called "alla certosina." In the style of these ivories, carved with subjects now sacred, now profane, according to use, the derivation from French Gothic ones is evident, with reflections of Tuscan art; indeed, documents attest to a stay by Baldassarre in Florence before the transplantation of his family to Venice.

Of the same family are remembered: ANDREA, ANTONIO and GIOVANNI degli E. with their sons GERONIMO and LORENZO. The vast artistic production of these carvers (polyptychs, small chests, wall mirrors, etc.) scattered in almost all the collections and museums of the world rightly suggests, more than different personalities in a single workshop, various centers of production scattered throughout northern Italy.

Important collections of these ivories are preserved in the Museo Civico of Bologna, in the National Museums of Florence and Ravenna, in the Museo Correr of Venice, etc. - See pl. XXII.

Mario Massaccesi