The leather maker
The history of the skin is perhaps as old as man.
Since men went from being mere collectors to hunters and farmers, they noticed that the skin of the animals they fed could serve as protection from the weathering agents.
However, it was an organic material which lasted a few days because it was soon rotting.
Then they realized, probably by accident, that if the skin had been exposed to the smoke of the fire lit to keep warm or to cook the meat, or if the skin had been immersed in water together with branches or leaves of plants and trees, then the skin lasted much longer.
They had discovered tanning aldehyde (contained in the smoking wood fresh) and the vegetable tanning tannins (contained in the wood and in all plants).
They also noted that even if the skin was immersed into the water in which the stones of the hearth had dissolved while calcining by the fire, the fur skins came off very easily from the skin, allowing longer use of the skin.
Yet in the ancient times we can can see how the use of the skin was widespread both for civil use (shoes, belts, furs etc. ...) to military (shields, helmets, armour and protection of various kinds).
The multiplicity of uses that it was done has led increasingly to a specialization craftsmen in specific fields in the Middle Ages: shoemaker, belt maker, to name a few.
The shoemaker was a very important figure. In medieval Florence he was initially part of the Guild of Silk, in fact its function was to sole the “socks” (and then moving away from the modern meaning of "one who makes shoes").
This craftsman used to work behind his desk with his tools, which in most cases do not differ much from those of our grandparents, cutting, sewing and finishing hand: belts, shoes bags, but also scabbards, protections for fighters.
The goal of this project is to fully show the activities that could involve different types of artisans (shoemaker, belt maker, etc. ....) with many objects reproduced by following the guidelines of proper philological reconstruction, using the tools found in archaeological excavations and exhibited into various museums in Europe, so that the public appreciate the qualities of a trade that did not differ much from that of our grandparents for tools and techniques .
Since men went from being mere collectors to hunters and farmers, they noticed that the skin of the animals they fed could serve as protection from the weathering agents.
However, it was an organic material which lasted a few days because it was soon rotting.
Then they realized, probably by accident, that if the skin had been exposed to the smoke of the fire lit to keep warm or to cook the meat, or if the skin had been immersed in water together with branches or leaves of plants and trees, then the skin lasted much longer.
They had discovered tanning aldehyde (contained in the smoking wood fresh) and the vegetable tanning tannins (contained in the wood and in all plants).
They also noted that even if the skin was immersed into the water in which the stones of the hearth had dissolved while calcining by the fire, the fur skins came off very easily from the skin, allowing longer use of the skin.
Yet in the ancient times we can can see how the use of the skin was widespread both for civil use (shoes, belts, furs etc. ...) to military (shields, helmets, armour and protection of various kinds).
The multiplicity of uses that it was done has led increasingly to a specialization craftsmen in specific fields in the Middle Ages: shoemaker, belt maker, to name a few.
The shoemaker was a very important figure. In medieval Florence he was initially part of the Guild of Silk, in fact its function was to sole the “socks” (and then moving away from the modern meaning of "one who makes shoes").
This craftsman used to work behind his desk with his tools, which in most cases do not differ much from those of our grandparents, cutting, sewing and finishing hand: belts, shoes bags, but also scabbards, protections for fighters.
The goal of this project is to fully show the activities that could involve different types of artisans (shoemaker, belt maker, etc. ....) with many objects reproduced by following the guidelines of proper philological reconstruction, using the tools found in archaeological excavations and exhibited into various museums in Europe, so that the public appreciate the qualities of a trade that did not differ much from that of our grandparents for tools and techniques .