Commentarii in Somnium Scipionis

Description This copy of Macrobius' Commentarii in somnium Scipionis was produced most likely in northeastern France in the late twelfth century. The manuscript includes seven major diagrams, of which four are original to the manuscript (fols. 38v, 41r, 43v, and 47v) and three others, including a map of the world, were added early in the history of the manuscript (fols. 64v, 65v, and 66r). Additional minor diagrams demonstrating relationships in philosophical ideas or other concepts introduced in the text appear throughout the manuscript in the margins, added by later hands.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
4/01/1975	Treatment	stabilized
3/28/1985	Treatment	re-housed
9/22/2016	Treatment	examined for exhibition; filled; loss compensation

Exhibitions

• Illuminated Manuscripts: Masterpieces in Miniature. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1984-1985.
• A World of Foreign Lands. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1992.
• Music in Manuscripts. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1996-1997.
• Expanding World Views: A Millennium of Maps. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2001-2002.
• A Feast for the Senses: Art and Experience in Medieval Europe. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota. 2016-2017.

Provenance Franciscan ownership, 14th century [1]. Acquired by Abbot Luigi Celotti [ca. 1768-1846] [2], first half 19th century; Celotti Sale, Evans, London, 14 March 1825, no. 478; purchased by Thomas Thorpe [1791-1851], London, 1825. Acquired by Sir Thomas Phillipps [3]; Phillipps Sale, Sotheby's, London, April 27-May 2 1903, no. 749; purchased by Bernard Quaritch, 1903; purchased by Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1903; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931. [1] notation on fol. 66r [2] "Celotti" added on front pastedown during first half of 19th century [3] Ms. 1029

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters, 1903