The present study centers on pieced textiles included in Marian paintings of the Proto-Renaissance era rendered in Tuscany. The complex geometric patterns of these cloths mimic those found in the Islamic textiles that were then being imported into Europe, consumed by the aristocracy, and later imitated by Italian cloth makers. On a basic level, their colors and patterning reference the virtues of the Virgin, her mission to bring about the Incarnation of Christ, her selflessness, virtuous character, and majesty. They also contribute to her humanization since these are material objects that belonged in the aristocratic domestic setting and which were familiar to the patrons who paid for the works. On a deeper level, they provide complex layers of meaning, some of which derive from Moorish iconography. They reference the perfection of God’s creation and the promise of an affable afterlife. They also evoke the remote lands where the lives of the Virgin and Christ unfolded. By inserting pieced cloths into Marian iconography, artists were following a long established tradition of utilizing the piecing technique in Early Medieval sacred practice, an issue that until now has not been recognized.

目前的研究集中在托斯卡纳渲染的原始文艺复兴时期玛丽安画作中的拼接纺织品。这些布料的复杂几何图案模仿了伊斯兰纺织品中发现的图案，这些图案后来被进口到欧洲，被贵族消费，后来被意大利布料制造商模仿。在基本层面上，它们的颜色和图案参考了圣母的美德、她实现基督化身的使命、她的无私、善良的品格和威严。它们也有助于她的人性化，因为这些是属于贵族家庭环境的实物，并且为支付作品的赞助人所熟悉。在更深层次上，它们提供了复杂的含义层，其中一些源自摩尔人的图像。他们提到了上帝创造的完美和来世和蔼可亲的承诺。他们还唤起了圣母和基督的生活展开的偏远地区。通过将拼接布插入玛丽安肖像画中，艺术家们遵循了在中世纪早期神圣实践中利用拼接技术的悠久传统，这个问题直到现在还没有被认识到。