Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index

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Click to view high resolution image Title: Desco da parto [birth tray]: Birthing Chamber Scene (obverse view) Creator: Bartolomeo di Fruosino, painter Description: This tray was used to carry refreshments into a birthing chamber during the new mother’s month of confinement following birth. Here the mother sits upright in bed. In the upper section of the scene plants can be seen on the roof. At the bottom of the picture three steps lead to a meadow in which stand a stork and a hoopoe (birds that were believed to care for their aged parents and which therefore were models of filial devotion). A serving maid pours water into a basin so that the mother can wash her hands. A midwife sits with the newborn on her lap while another prepares the baby's bath. Three female visitors stand at the foot of the bed. Source: Wikimedia Commons Rights: Public domain Subject (See Also): Bathing Birds Birth Trays Childbirth Domestic Space Infants Midwives Servants Geographic Area: Italy Century: 15 Date: 1405 Related Work: Reverse view: A sturdy naked male child with a coral amulet round his neck sitting on a pinkish rock and holding a pinwheel and another toy:http://www.daringtodo.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Bartolomeo-di-Fruosino-Bambino-nudo-desco-da-parto-retro-Stresa-Isola-Bella-Collezione-Borromeo.jpg Current Location: Isola Bella, Borromeo Collection Original Location: Artistic Type (Category): Digital images; Paintings Artistic Type (Material/Technique): Tempera; Gold; Wooden tray Donor: Height/Width/Length(cm): 54 cm/55 cm/ Inscription: Related Resources: Museum description: http://www.liechtensteincollections.at/en/pages/artbase_main.asp?module=browse&action=m_work&lang=en&sid=489525&oid=W-211120071593830

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