Celestin e Johannis: alcune tracce documentarie su due orafi transilvani al servizio di Neagoe Basarab nel primo Cinquecento

The present article traces the contents of a small corpus of heterogeneous documents dated between 1517 and 1524: two letters sent by the voivode Neagoe Basarab to the city of Sibiu, a notarial deed relating to a litigation in which the Universitas Saxonum is called to testify, and an act registered in a protocol of the same Universitas. These documents are particularly interesting because they let us grasp a series of complementary aspects – usually unknown or neglected – linked to the numerous commissions advanced by the voivode to the Transylvanian goldsmiths. First of all, these documents show that two Saxon goldsmiths – Celestin and Johannis – produced a large number of silver objects at the behest of the voivode Neagoe Basarab, for which no one has any evidence apart from documents that mention them – either because they were destroyed at some point over the centuries, or because they have yet to be identified. In addition to witnessing the abundance and preciousness of the goldsmiths’ tasks, the documents also provide proof as to the manner in which the dialogue between the client and the goldsmiths took place. Furthermore, this small corpus testifies to the fundamental role played by the Saxon administration of the city of Sibiu and the goldsmiths’ guild in the management of the relations with clients, especially when the latter were not satisfied with the result or with the conduct of the goldsmiths.