White vine-stem

The decoration consists of entangled white vines, usually contrasted with a colourful background.

The stems themselves are often simply parchment left unpainted.

It became popular among Florentine illuminators in the early 15th century, as a conscious imitation of forms found in Romanesque illuminated manuscripts, thought at the time to be antique forms.

For this reason, it was considered suitable to use white vine-stems to decorate texts by classical authors and humanist books.

[1][2] From Florence the use of white vine-stems as a decorative element later spread to Rome and Naples, not least through the prolific work of Gioacchino de’ Gigantibus, during the second half of the century.