Diplomacy, Women, and Gift Exchange in the Courts of Florence, Modena, and Madrid, 1582–1633

In 1605, the Tuscan diplomat Orazio della Renna wrote a Relazione segretta for the Grand Duke Ferdinando I, to be shared with the Grand Duchess Cristina di Lorena.  In his report, Orazio della Renna offered a portrait of the Spanish court and the preferences and tastes of the Spanish royals and courtiers, remarking on the importance of giving gifts secretly, so as to avoid arousing suspicion, discontent or jealousy.  He recommended the strategy of giving gifts by way of the women and wives of ministers, to effect this goal.

During the past decade, scholars have examined gift giving as an aspect of diplomatic practice; however, the presents exchanged by women have yet to receive significant scholarly attention.  This paper demonstrates that the Medici, Este and Habsburg women were not only active gift-givers and recipients of presents of all kinds, but they also played a prominent role in diplomatic gift-exchange in the early modern period.  The paper focuses on the presents sent from Florence and Modena to the convent of the Descalzas Reales in Madrid, an ancillary center of power linked to the Spanish court.  Between 1582 and 1633, the Tuscan and Modenese ambassadors delivered a large number of gifts to the Habsburg women living at the Descalzas Reales. Among these gifts, statues featured prominently; these artworks were tools of dynastic propaganda, a category of diplomatic gift capable of influencing political alliances and making publicly visible the loyalties—as well as spiritual affects—of early modern Catholics.  The paper traces how, by the end of the sixteenth century, the Spanish courtiers tended to avoid compromising displays of venality, particularly in relation to foreign interests, limiting to devotional objects their public acceptance of diplomatic gifts.