Commission of Cristoforo Duodo, procurator of San Marco <i>de ultra</i>
A 1491 commission made for Cristoforo Duodo, procurator of San Marco, held by a Swiss virtual manuscript library, as a hand-painted document of ceremonial office. The first picture is a sixteenth-century printed heraldic coat of arms with an angel, putti and scrolled Latin lettering, while the second is a painted manuscript page showing God the Father above a banner reading 'In Deo spero' beside saints and red and blue acanthus scrollwork. A designer could take from them the dense, symmetrical framing of coats of arms and the way gilt-free colour, putti and foliage fill a border.
