Description
This Gospel Book is representative of a large group of illuminated manuscripts produced during the second half of the twelfth century and possibly in the first decades after the Crusader conquest of Constantinople (1204). Its one surviving miniature was painted over in the twentieth century but retains some of its original character. Each Gospel opens with an exuberantly ornamented headpiece.
Gospel Book
Exhibitions
- Early Christian and Byzantine Art. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. 1947.
- Byzantine Gold: Illumination in Greek Manuscripts. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1986.
- Medieval Writing and Calligraphy. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1993-1994.
- Eureka! The Archimedes Palimpsest. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore; The Field Museum, Chicago. 1999-2000.
- Illuminating the Word: Gospel Books in the Middle Ages. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2004.
- From Rye to Raphael: The Walters Story. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2014-2016.
Provenance
Henry Walters, Baltimore, MD, before 1931 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Credit
Acquired by Henry Walters
Download PDF
Add to Collection
Share on Twitter
Share on Facebook
Creative Commons License
Add to Collection
Connect with Facebook to start your own collections!
Creator
- Byzantine (Artist)
Period
early 13th centuryMedium
ink and pigments on good quality parchment between tooled brown goatskin over grooved boards, with prominent brown calf repairs on exterior of upper and lower boards; many quires fortified with paper at gutter; raised endbands; paper pastedowns; parchment flyleaf, probably added by Leon Gruel (foliated as fol. 1); traces of pins and fastening braids(Manuscripts & Rare Books)
Accession Number
W.528Measurements
Overall: 9 13/16 x 6 3/16 x 3 1/8 in. (25 x 15.7 x 8 cm)Geographies
- Byzantine Empire (Place of Origin)