Abstract: An anonymous late sixteenth-century French technical manuscript, Ms. Fr. 640 (now held by the Bibliothèque nationale de France), has been the subject of research by the Making and Knowing Project since 2014. This intriguing manuscript provides important insights into the material, technical, and intellectual world of late sixteenth-century Europe, and sheds light on how and why nature was investigated, used in art, and collected and appreciated in early modern Europe. The laboratory reconstruction by the Making and Knowing Project of the technical and artistic “recipes” contained in Ms. Fr. 640 provides further knowledge about the manuscript, as well as of materials and processes, but it also raises a host of questions.
Bio: Pamela H. Smith, professor, specializes in early modern European history and the history of science. Her current research focuses on attitudes to nature in early modern Europe and the Scientific Revolution, with particular attention to craft knowledge and historical techniques. She is founding director of The Making and Knowing Project, founding director of The Center for Science and Society, and chair of Presidential Scholars in Society and Neuroscience.
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**Funding provided by the Global Arts and Humanities Discovery Theme**
