Creative Commons License
Two Leaves from the Mirror of Human Salvation
(Manuscripts and Rare Books)
This a fragment of a manuscript that was made in Germany in the late fourteenth century. It was part of a brightly illuminated copy of a popular anonymous treatise called the Speculum humanae salvationis, or Mirror of human salvation, in which events of the Old Testament were compared to those of the New. In this example, as was often the case, each column is headed by a miniature. These pages were reused as a wrapper for a book at some later time. The ghosting of the book it adorned can still be seen in the dark, abraded portion that spans the two pages. By the nineteenth century, the value of the pages was recognized, and they were restored to their state as a bifolium.
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.
Franz Trau collection, Vienna, Austria, [date and mode of acquisition unknown];
Ludwig Rosenthal, Munich, October 27-28, 1905, by purchase [no. 82]; Leonardo Olschki, Italy, November 22, 1905, by purchase; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1905, by purchase [no. 29361]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2016 | Waste Not: The Art of Medieval Recycling. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 3/29/1976 | Treatment | re-housed; stabilized |
Geographies
Germany (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Folio H: 12 3/16 × 9 in. (30.9 × 22.8 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.149