Just seven months after the record-breaking auction of February, on September 30, 2026, Il Ponte Casa d’Aste will present another masterpiece of Italian humanist culture: the Gaffurio Codex.
A pivotal milestone in the circulation and transmission of medieval and Renaissance music theory in Northern Italy, the Gaffurio Codex – estimated 180.000 and 250.000 euros – offers an evolutionary panorama that, from the theorisation of mensural notation, leads to the full development of the most complex polyphonic and contrapuntal techniques.
Written in 1473 by the renowned composer and music theorist Franchino Gaffurio (1451–1522) at the Monastery of San Pietro in Lodi, this manuscript holds a position of utmost importance, as it is the oldest volume written by the author that has been identified to date, a fact that further enhances its historical, philological, and collectible value.
The manuscript documents the young Gaffurio’s educational journey through his study of the major medieval theoretical treatises. Among these, the works of Franco da Colonia (13th century), considered the leading theorist of mensural notation – the system that allowed for the precise indication of note durations – and Marchetto da Padova (early 14th century), the most influential Italian music theorist of the Middle Ages, occupy a central place. By transcribing these texts, Gaffurio consciously placed himself within a scholarly tradition that would form the foundation for future theoretical developments.
A mysterious series of twelve red-chalk drawings enriches the manuscript, independent of the musical content of the treatises. Their presence is the source of the old inscription on the nineteenth-century binding, which identifies them as “Portraits by Leonardo da Vinci”: a striking attribution that remains unconfirmed today. In fact, the figurative core does not appear to be attributable to either Leonardo or Franchino Gaffurio, but rather constitutes a fascinating chapter in its own right within the history of the volume.
Auction
30 September 2026 (3 PM CET)
1 October 2026 (10 AM and 3 PM CET)
Viewing
24, 25, 26 September 2026 (10 AM/1 PM - 2/6 PM CET)
Palazzo Crivelli, Via Pontaccio 12, Milan
------