Creative Commons License
Illuminated Initial M
This alphabet book, a repository of foliate patterns and letter designs, may have served as a pattern book used by a scribe to demonstrate his skills or to delight a collector interested in illumination or script. The carefully rendered flora and fauna, such as the iris and butterfly that embellish the letter L and the blue-flowered delphinium found in the illuminated M on the facing page, recall the precision of the flora depicted in contemporary herbal works.
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 [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2012 | Paradise Imagined: Images of the Garden in the Islamic and Christian World. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 2002-2003 | The Artful Book: Selections from a Contemporary Collection of Books by Artists. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 1991 | The Gothic Revival: The Illuminated Manuscript in Medieval and Modern Times. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1984-1985 | Illuminated Manuscripts: Masterpieces in Miniature. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Geographies
France, Paris (Place of Origin)
Measurements
folio: 4 5/16 x 2 15/16 in. (11 x 7.5 cm);
initial: 2 3/8 x 2 3/8 in. (6 x 6 cm) approx.
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.200.18R
