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an open book sitting on top of a table next to a black tablean old book sitting on top of a metal standan open book sitting on top of a metal stand
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470 - PALLAVICINO (Ferrante). *La retorica delle puttane* [The Rhe…
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Estimate €2,500 - €3,000
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Description
PALLAVICINO (Ferrante). *La retorica delle puttane* [The Rhetoric of Whores, composed according to the precepts of Cyprian. Dedicated to the guild of the most famous courtesans. Cambrai [actually published in Venice], 1642. In-12 calfskin, decorated ribbed spine. First edition (damage to the top edge of the front cover, top of the spine and cap; title page restored) ‘The most pornographic and most Aretinian work of the 17th century ’ (Q. Marini, *P. Aretino nel ’600*, in: *P. Aretino nel cinquecentenario della nascita*, p. 486). ‘The Rhetoric of Prostitutes’, a scandalous and anti-Jesuit work, ‘demonstrates why Pallavicino was the only Italian author of his time capable of a coherent vision integrating satire, scepticism and naturalist morality ” (Muir, *Culture Wars* [Cambridge: Harvard, 2007], p. 90). The book takes the form of a dialogue between an elderly prostitute and her naïve apprentice. The fifteen lessons given by the elderly prostitute are inspired by Cipriano Suárez’s *De arte rhetorica*, a textbook used in Jesuit schools. Muir rightly points out: ‘By systematically exploring the parallels between rhetorical persuasion and erotic seduction, Pallavicino demonstrates how the noble art of rhetoric has the same instrumental nature as the prostitute’s vile deceptions.’
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About the sale ART OBJECTS, CERAMICS, GLASSWARE, TABLEWARE
Auction location
Auction time 09/30/2026 at 1:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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