Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Fieschi Psalter
(Medieval Europe , Manuscripts and Rare Books)
This Psalter, with an additional Office of the Dead, was created in the late thirteenth century in northeastern France. A large quantity of Franciscan saints in the calendar and litany, as well as marginal imagery of them, suggests that the original owner had a strong affinity for that order. The manuscript was likely begun for one patron but finished for another, given a change in scribal and artistic hands and the addition of heraldry from Psalm 109 onward. Arms for the Fieschi family, as well as a birth notice in the calendar, identify the manuscript's first owner as Leonardo dei Fieschi, a Genoese nobleman (d. 1331). Among a multitude of drolleries, the manuscript contains a number of unusual marginal vignettes depicting SS. Francis, Clare, and Elisabeth of Hungary. One image of St. Francis (fol. 139v) is heavily worn, which may be evidence of devotional touching by the manuscript's owner.
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.
Acquired by Leonardo dei Fieschi (d. 1331), Genoa, ca. 1290-1331. Acquired by Léon or Paul Gruel, Paris, ca. 1900-1910; purchased by Henry Walters, Baltimore; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
Exhibitions
| 2020 | The Saint Francis Missal. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 2014 | Seeing Music in Medieval Manuscripts. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 2010-2011 | Beasts on Parchment: Picturing Animals in Medieval Manuscripts. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 2002 | The Book of Kings: Art, War, and the Morgan Library's Medieval Picture Bible. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; Academy Art Museum, Easton; Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton; The Mitchell Gallery, Annapolis; Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown. |
| 1996 | The Psalms of David in the Middle Ages. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1995 | Manuscript Sleuthing: Discoveries of a Curator. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1991-1992 | The Illuminated Initial. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1986 | Jewish Heroes in Christian Books. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1984-1985 | Illuminated Manuscripts: Masterpieces in Miniature. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1982 | God's Minstrel: St. Francis of Assisi. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 1/18/1985 | Examination | examined for condition |
Geographies
France
(Place of Origin)
Genoa (Place of Binding)
Measurements
Folio H: 7 1/16 × W: 5 1/16 in. (18 × 12.9 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.45
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Related Objects
Leaf from Psalter: Psalm 52, Initial D with the Enthroned David Scolding a Fool
Leaf from Psalter: Psalm 1, Initial B with David Harping Above and Decapitating Goliath Below
Leaf from Psalter: Psalm 38, Initial D with David Pointing to His Mouth Before God
