Materialidade e deslocamento

A hipótese de inserção tardia do frontispício no códice da Irmandade do Bom Sucesso de Vila Nova da Rainha do Caeté (1717)

Abstract

This article presents a codicological and material analysis of the Livro de Compromisso da Irmandade de Nossa Senhora do Bom Sucesso de Vila Nova da Rainha do Caeté, dated 1717 and currently held by Arquivo Público Mineiro. The investigation focuses on the manuscript's frontispiece, whose later insertion into the original body of the codex is suggested by material and structural evidence. The hypothesis is supported by an interdisciplinary approach that combines historiographical reading, codicological study, and scientific analysis of cultural heritage, including laboratory techniques such as micro X-ray fluorescence (m-XRF). The comparison of analytical results across different parts of the manuscript (frontispiece, inserted engraving, and main body) validates the hypothesis of the frontispiece and engraving being later additions, suggesting a folio produced by the same “Calligrapher of the Golden Birds,” later adapted to integrate the manuscript. Furthermore, the identification of materials outside the scribe’s typical palette in the engraving indicates the participation of another artisan in localized areas of its ornamentation. This research contributes to the understanding of the production and transformation processes of codices in the Luso-Brazilian colonial context, highlighting material analysis as an interpretive tool for reconstructing documentary trajectories.