WHEN I returned to my shop, I set my hand with diligence to finishing
the diamond ring, concerning which the four first jewellers of Rome were
sent to consult with me. This was because the Pope had been informed
that the diamond had been set by the first jeweller of the world in
Venice; he was called Maestro Miliano Targhetta; and the diamond being
somewhat thin, the job of setting it was too difficult to be attempted
without great deliberation. I was well pleased to receive these four
jewellers, among whom was a man of Milan called Gaio. He was the most
presumptuous donkey in the world, the one who knew least and who thought
he knew most; the others were very modest and able craftsmen. In the
presence of us all this Gaio began to talk, and said: “Miliano’s foil
should be preserved, and to do that, Benvenuto, you shall doff your cap;
[1] for just as giving diamonds a tint is the most delicate and
difficult thing in the jeweller’s art, so is Miliano the greatest
jeweller that ever lived, and this is the most difficult diamond to
tint.” I replied that it was all the greater glory for me to compete
with so able a master in such an excellent profession. Afterwards I
turned to the other jewellers and said: “Look here! I am keeping
Miliano’s foil, and I will see whether I can improve on it with some of
my own manufacture; if not, we will tint it with the same you see here.”
That ass Gaio exclaimed that if I made a foil like that he would gladly
doff his cap to it. To which I replied: “Supposing then I make it
better, it will deserve two bows.” “Certainly so,” said he; and I began
to compose my foils.
I took the very greatest pains in mixing the tints, the method of doing
which I will explain in the proper place. [2] It is certain that the
diamond in question offered more difficulties than any others which
before or afterwards have come into my hands, and Miliano’s foil was
made with true artistic skill. However, that did not dismay me; but
having sharpened my wits up, I succeeded not only in making something
quite as good, but in exceeding it by far. Then, when I saw that I had
surpassed him, I went about to surpass myself, and produced a foil by
new processes which was a long way better than what I had previously
made. Thereupon I sent for the jewellers; and first I tinted the diamond
with Miliano’s foil: then I cleaned it well and tinted it afresh with my
own. When I showed it to the jewellers, one of the best among them, who
was called Raffael del Moro, took the diamond in his hand and said to
Gaio: “Benvenuto has outdone the foil of Miliano.” Gaio, unwilling to
believe it, took the diamond and said: “Benvenuto, this diamond is worth
two thousand ducats more than with the foil of Miliano.” I rejoined:
“Now that I have surpassed Miliano, let us see if I can surpass myself.”
Then I begged them to wait for me a while, went up into a little
cabinet, and having tinted the diamond anew unseen by them, returned and
showed it to the jewellers. Gaio broke out at once: “This is the most
marvellous thing that I have ever seen in the course of my whole
lifetime. The stone is worth upwards of eighteen thousand crowns,
whereas we valued it at barely twelve thousand.” The others jewellers
turned to him and said: “Benvenuto is the glory of our art, and it is
only due that we should doff our caps to him and to his foils.” Then
Gaio said: “I shall go and tell the Pope, and I mean to procure for him
one thousand golden crowns for the setting of this diamond.” Accordingly
he hurried to the Pope and told him the whole story; whereupon his
Holiness sent three times on that day to see if the ring was finished.
At twenty-three o’clock I took the ring to the palace; and since the
doors were always open to me, I lifted the curtain gently, and saw the
Pope in private audience with the Marchese del Guasto. [3] The Marquis
must have been pressing something on the Pope which he was unwilling to
perform; for I heard him say: “I tell you, no; it is my business to
remain neutral, and nothing else.” I was retiring as quickly as I could,
when the Pope himself called me back; so I entered the room, and
presented the diamond ring, upon which he drew me aside, and the Marquis
retired to a distance. While looking at the diamond, the Pope whispered
to me: “Benvenuto, begin some conversation with me on a subject which
shall seem important, and do not stop talking so long as the Marquis
remains in this room.” Then he took to walking up and down, and the
occasion making for my advantage, I was very glad to discourse with him
upon the methods I had used to tint the stone. The Marquis remained
standing apart, leaning against a piece of tapestry; and now he balanced
himself about on one foot, now on the other. The subject I had chosen to
discourse upon was of such importance, if fully treated, that I could
have talked about it at least three hours. The Pope was entertained to
such a degree that he forgot the annoyance of the Marquis standing
there. I seasoned what I had to say with that part of natural philosophy
which belongs to our profession; and so having spoken for near upon an
hour, the Marquis grew tired of waiting, and went off fuming. Then the
Pope bestowed on me the most familiar caresses which can be imagined,
and exclaimed: “Have patience, my dear Benvenuto, for I will give you a
better reward for your virtues than the thousand crowns which Gaio tells
me your work is worth.”
On this I took my leave; and the Pope praised me in the presence of his
household, among whom was the fellow Latino Juvenale, whom I have
previously mentioned. This man, having become my enemy, assiduously
strove to do me hurt; and noticing that the Pope talked of me with so
much affection and warmth, he put in his word: “There is no doubt at all
that Benvenuto is a person of very remarkable genius; but while every
one is naturally bound to feel more goodwill for his own countrymen than
for others, still one ought to consider maturely what language it is
right and proper to use when speaking of a Pope. He has had the audacity
to say that Pope Clement indeed was the handsomest sovereign that ever
reigned, and no less gifted; only that luck was always against him: and
he says that your Holiness is quite the opposite; that the tiara seems
to weep for rage upon your head; that you look like a truss of straw
with clothes on, and that there is nothing in you except good luck.”
These words, reported by a man who knew most excellently how to say
them, had such force that they gained credit with the Pope. Far from
having uttered them, such things had never come into my head. If the
Pope could have done so without losing credit, he would certainly have
taken fierce revenge upon me; but being a man of great tact and talent,
he made a show of turning it off with a laugh. Nevertheless he harboured
in his heart a deep vindictive feeling against me, of which I was not
slow to be aware, since I had no longer the same easy access to his
apartments as formerly, but found the greatest difficulty in procuring
audience. As I had now for many years been familiar with the manners of
the Roman court, I conceived that some one had done me a bad turn; and
on making dexterous inquiries, I was told the whole, but not the name of
my calumniator. I could not imagine who the man was; had I but found him
out, my vengeance would not have been measured by troy weight. 4
Note 1. In the 'Oreficeria' Cellini gives an account of how these foils
were made and applied. They were composed of paste, and coloured so as
to enhance the effect of precious stones, particularly diamonds.
Note 2. 'Oreficeria,' cap. i.
Note 3. Alfonson d’Avalos, successor and heir to the famous Ferdinando
d’Avalos, Marquis of Pescara. He acted for many years as Spanish Viceroy
of Milan.