From a young age, Joni worked in a gilding shop in Siena, Italy, where he discovered his natural talent for working with wood, plaster, and paint. Although he began a restoration business to make extra money, it quickly turned into a forgery business. Most of Joni’s forgeries were replicas of Italian Medieval and Renaissance works of art, specifically panel paintings, triptychs, wooden caskets, and bookbindings. His most well-known forgeries are Tavolette Covers. Only fourteen of his covers have been recovered, yet it is believed that many more survive! One flaw began to give his work away. He dated many of the wooden bindings after 1459, which became an issue because that was the year leather became used for bindings. Like many forgers, he boasted his forging talents in an autobiography Le Memorie di un Pittore di Quadri Antichi.
By Caroline Scarola
Source:
Connelly, Chelsea. “Delighting in Forged Bindings: Icilio Federico Joni.” Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library. 27 January 2020. https://beinecke.library.yale.edu/article/delighting-forged-bindings-icilio-federico-joni