Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Leaf from the Trebizond Gospels: the Baptism of Christ
(Manuscripts and Rare Books)
This illustration depicts the baptism of Christ. The Holy Spirit is shown descending over Christ in the form of a dove, while two angels wait to receive him when he comes out of the water. The vaguely outlined figure on the lower left is a personification of the river Jordan.
This Gospel Book was probably made in Constantinople in the mid twelfth century and is remarkable for the fine execution and monumental quality of its full-page miniatures. The opening for the Gospel of Matthew is missing, but the other three Gospels are prefaced with a pair of miniatures each: the respective Evangelist on the left, and a scene from the Gospel story on the right. The combination of St. John with the Raising of Lazarus is one found only in this manuscript. The text was copied by two scribes with distinctly different hands.
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.
Owned by Pellikidis, Trabzon [1]. Acquired by Henry Walters, Baltimore [2]; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
[1] Seen there by M. Alpatov in the autumn of 1924
[2] Probably from Léon Gruel
Exhibitions
| 2004 | Illuminating the Word: Gospel Books in the Middle Ages. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 1997 | The Glory of Byzantium. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. |
| 1947 | Early Christian and Byzantine Art. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. |
Geographies
Turkey, Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Folio H: 12 5/8 × W: 9 1/16 in. (32 × 23 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.531.59V
