Katherine A. McIver here adds a new dimension to Renaissance patronage studies by considering domestic art; she looks at women as collectors of precious material goods, organizers of the early modern home, and decorators of its interior. Using her subjects' financial records, McIver provides insights into Renaissance women's economic rights and responsibilities, and also provides a new model for understanding what women of the period bought, displayed, collected and commissioned.

Katherine A. McIver is Associate Professor of Art History at The University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA. She is also the editor of Art and Music in the Early Modern Period: Essays in Honor of Franca Trinchieri Camiz (Ashgate, 2003).

Contents: Introduction; The women: the cast of characters; The Renaissance palazzo as a public voice for women; The Renaissance palazzo interior as a private voice for women; Domestic consumption: listening to women's private voice; Women, the church, and religious foundations; Glossary; Appendices; Bibliography; Index.