Notname

English

Alternative forms

• notname

Etymology

Borrowed from German Notname, literally "necessity name" or "contingency name".

Noun

Notname (plural Notnames)

1. A standard name invented for an artist or author whose identity is unknown.
   • 1974, Burton B. Fredericksen, Giovanni di Francesco and the Master of Pratovecchio, →ISBN, page 6:

     The use of the Notname was a frank admission that the lot in question was less prestigious than originally suggested, and the final price paid was lower than what would be expected for a Castagno painting.

   • 2004, Jaarboek van het Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen:

     The triptych with The Adoration of the Magi in the Antwerp museum (cat. 68) inspired the Notname of the anonymous master of the works of Group D: Master of the Antwerp Adoration.

   • 2016, Koen Goudriaan, Anna Dlabačová, Ad Tervoort, Piety in Practice and Print, →ISBN:

     On the basis of this statement scholars have looked for the whereabouts of the producer of this text – who is called by the Notname 'Printer of the Kerstenspiegel' – in Louvain.

Anagrams

• montane, nonmate, nonmeat, nonteam