Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Leaf from Alphabet Book: Initial X
The medieval alphabet is illuminated in two different styles. Without any accompanying text, the original purpose of the book remains unclear, but scholars have suggested that it was a sample or model book for manuscript illuminators, or that it was intended as a gift. The book was rebound in the eighteenth century, and in the same century extensive notes, which have since been erased, were made alongside the initials.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Léon Gruel, Paris, late 19th-early 20th century [1]; purchased by Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1895-1900; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
[1] Gruel and Engelmann bookplate inscribed "No. 1183"; "1183" on flyleaf iv
Exhibitions
| 2015-2016 | Henry Walters, Léon Gruel, and the Reinvention of the Medieval Manuscript . |
Geographies
France, Paris (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Folio H: 4 11/16 × W: 3 3/4 in. (11.9 × 9.5 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
W.200.27V
