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Artes Orandi, Epistolandi, Memoranda
(Manuscripts and Rare Books)
Versions of the imagery displayed here can be found in nurseries and schoolrooms today. Here, each letter of the alphabet has been associated with something that is the same shape. For example, the artist has cleverly recognized that A looks like a folding ladder, B like a mandolin, and so forth. While the images chosen may seem a bit strange to us, the idea is the same as their modern counterparts: they work as mnemonic devices, or memory aids.
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.
Henry Walters, Baltimore, after 1894 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2010 | Checkmate! Medieval People at Play. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
Geographies
Italy, Venice (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Overall: H: 7 11/16 × W: 6 × D: 15/16 in. (19.6 × 15.3 × 2.4 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, after 1894
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.
91.1015