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Filippo Bonanni; S.J. or Buonanni (7 January 1638 – 30 March 1723) was an Italian
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...
scholar. His many works included treatises on fields ranging from anatomy to music. He created the earliest practical illustrated guide for shell collectors in 1681, for which he is considered a founder of
conchology Conchology () is the study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of molluscs; however, malacology is the study of molluscs as whole organisms, whereas conchology is confined to the study of their shells. It incl ...
. He also published a study of
lacquer Lacquer is a type of hard and usually shiny coating or finish applied to materials such as wood or metal. It is most often made from resin extracted from trees and waxes and has been in use since antiquity. Asian lacquerware, which may be ca ...
that has been of lasting value since his death.


Life

Bonanni was born in Rome in 1638, and entered the
Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
in 1654, when he was still 17 years old. After his
novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...
, in 1656 he was sent to study at the Society's noted
Roman College The Roman College ( la, Collegium Romanum, it, Collegio Romano) was a school established by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1551, just 11 years after he founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). It quickly grew to include classes from elementary school ...
. There he became a pupil of the German scientist,
Athanasius Kircher Athanasius Kircher (2 May 1602 – 27 November 1680) was a German Jesuit scholar and polymath who published around 40 major works, most notably in the fields of comparative religion, geology, and medicine. Kircher has been compared t ...
. While a student there, he undertook the manufacturing of microscopic lenses. He used his lenses to create his own microscope and to develop scientific studies of a number of specimens. He also became a skilled copper plate engraver. From Rome, Bonanni was sent to teach in the Jesuit Colleges of
Orvieto Orvieto () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The city rises dramatically above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are comp ...
and
Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...
. Upon Kircher's resignation of the post of Professor of Mathematics at the Roman College, Bonanni was chosen to succeed him. In 1698, years after Kircher's death (1680), Bonanni was appointed curator of the well-known collection installed in the Roman College, which had been under Kircher's care up to that point. The Roman College asked Buonanni to take on the project of publishing a catalogue of Kircher's museum. After ten years work, he published the ''Musaeum Kircherianum'' (1709), a large folio volume that listed all of the objects in the collection and illustrated many of them. The catalogue is divided into twelve sections (Classes) concerning the various categories of objects. The antiquities occupy the first five sections and are collected in ethnographic criteria. Bonanni followed Aristotle in believing in theories of spontaneous generation. In critiquing the experimental work of
Francesco Redi Francesco Redi (18 February 1626 – 1 March 1697) was an Italian physician, naturalist, biologist, and poet. He is referred to as the "founder of experimental biology", and as the "father of modern parasitology". He was the first person to ch ...
, Bonanni defended the Aristotelian view. Though he raised important questions—such as whether viewers through a microscope tended to see what they expected, rather than what was there—later writers tended to discount Bonanni as support for Aristotelianism waned. Nonetheless, in early writing about the nature and origins of fossils, Bonanni admitted doubts about whether theories of transport could account for the numbers and distribution of fossils. He later speculated that fossils could be divided into two groups—the remains of organisms, and the "products of natural powers." Such interpretations were consistent with the new and challenging idea that the earth must have undergone "extraordinary alterations" to explain the diversity of types and locations of fossils.


Conchology

Bonanni created the earliest practical illustrated guide for shell collectors, ''Recreatione dell'occhio e della mente'' (1681). The two-volume guide was the first treatise devoted entirely to
molluscs Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is estim ...
and included numerous engravings. Bonanni's work is significant for his careful attempts to precisely describe shell morphology. Unfortunately, due to the printing and engraving process, the spirals shown on the shells were reversed from dextral to sinistral, a mirror image problem that later books avoided. Zoological taxonomies of the time were based on visual characteristics, and Bonanni paid special attention to both form and color, and showed details (sometimes fanciful) of the creatures inside the shells. Although his work predated the adoption of Linnaeus' system of binomial nomenclature (genus + species), Bonanni laid the foundation for the new discipline of
conchology Conchology () is the study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of molluscs; however, malacology is the study of molluscs as whole organisms, whereas conchology is confined to the study of their shells. It incl ...
. Several later Linnaean names were based on Bonanni's work, including the name of the class ''Bivalvia'', which he introduced.


Lacquer

Among other topics, Bonanni wrote of the ingredients craftsmen in China used to make the lacquer they used on porcelain, a popular import item for Europe at the time. Like other researchers of the day, he went on to experiment with various recipes to recreate the lacquer used on porcelain and furniture. In 1720, Bonanni published his studies in ''Trattato sopra la vernice detta communemente cinese'' (1720), or ''Treatise on the Varnish commonly called Chinese''. This work was republished repeatedly over the next century in several languages, and was re-issued in 1994 in its original Italian version.


Scientific work

Bonanni made excellent observations, which are embodied in several works: * ''Ricreatione dell'occhio e della mente'' Bonanni was a shell collector and was the author of the first book devoted solely to seashells, published in Rome in 1681. Several later Linnaean names were based on his illustrations. * ''Observationes circa Viventia, quae in Rebus non Viventibus'' Using a three lens microscope, in this work published in 1691 Bonanni tried to show that spontaneous generation was possible in animals "without blood and a heart", in contradiction of
Francesco Redi Francesco Redi (18 February 1626 – 1 March 1697) was an Italian physician, naturalist, biologist, and poet. He is referred to as the "founder of experimental biology", and as the "father of modern parasitology". He was the first person to ch ...
’s experimental work. The compilation of knowledge and quality of the illustrations made this an important work. * ''Numismata Pontificum Romanorum'' A two-volume study started in 1696 and completed in 1702 of the
coin A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...
s issued by the
papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
over the centuries. * ''Musæum Kircherianum, sive Musaeum a P. Athanasio Kirchero in Collegio Romano Societatis Jesu... descriptum'' The catalogue of Kircher's collection (1709). * ''Trattato sopra la vernice detta communemente Cinese'' His work on lacquer, published 1720. * ''Gabinetto Armonico pieno d'istromenti sonori'' Issued first time in 1722, and immediately reprinted in 1723, this is a splendid collection of 152
engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an i ...
s of musical instruments from around the world.The engravings are by the Flemish engraver Arnold van Westerhout; see: Frank Ll. Harrison and Joan Rimmer (eds.), ''Antique Musical Instruments and Their Players. 152 Plates from Bonanni's 18th-Century "Gabinetto Armonico"'' ome, 1723 ed.(London: Constable and New York, Dover, 1964), page vi,


Publications

* * * * * *


References


Bibliography

* * * * Hilpert, Gisela, ''Filippo Bonanni und seine Gabinetto armonico'', Diss., Leipzig 1945. * * * * *


External links


Filippo Buonanni’s Harmonic Cabinet (1722)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonanni, Filippo 1638 births 1723 deaths 18th-century Italian Jesuits Catholic clergy scientists Conchologists Italian entomologists 17th-century Italian Jesuits Jesuit scientists Scientists from Rome Italian malacologists Italian naturalists