This book is the first English translation of Felice di Michele
Brancacci's diary of his 1422 mission to the court of Sultan Al-Ashraf
Seyf-ad-Din Barsbay of Egypt. Following the purchase of Port of Pisa in
1421, and the building of a galley system, Florence went on to assume a
more active role in Levant trade, and this rich text recounts the maiden
voyage of the Florentine galleys to Egypt. The text portrays the
transnational experiences of Brancacci including those between the East
and West, Christians and Muslims, and the ancient and modern worlds. The
accompanying critical introduction discusses the unexpected motifs in
Brancacci's voyage, as well as tracing the aftershocks of what was a
traumatic Egyptian experience for him. It shows that this aftershock was
then measured, captured, and memorialized in the iconic image of
Tribute Money, the fresco he commissioned from Masaccio, on his return
to his own world in Florence.