1300 French Coutumier de Normandie; 148 leaves of parchment; 27 cm.
Harvard Law School Library Catalogue Entry. Digital Version.
A 1403 French de Normandie manuscript: 2 volumes: 99 and 100 leaves, 9 by 7 cm.
Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz Catalogue Entry.
Modern suzani. Rectangular hanging suzani consisting of a center field of large floral sprays and multicolor palmettes with tendrils and leaves. The central field is surrounded by a border of floral bands and leafy scrolls. Fabric is a cream colored silk.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan; Workshop of Kasimbaeva Madina
Donated by: Arts and Culture Development Foundation
Creative Commons; The Trustees of the British Museum
Hartigan-Go — British Library MS Arundel 16 f. 2 — Manuscript artwork of a scribe surrounded by animals
This item is a partial page of a medieval manuscript. The focus of the image is the illuminated artwork, following the shape of a capital letter "R". The artwork features a monk holding a red quill in his hand, surrounded by different types of fearsome and fantastical animals. The animals all have open mouths and are looking in different directions. One animal is playing an instrument; other creatures appear to be trying to devour each other. The image is colourful — filled with shades of red, green, and blue. While the words on the parchment are incomplete and cut off, the colour of the ink used to write the text on the page is light brown.
Last quarter of the 11th century or 1st quarter of the 12th century (British Library catalogue: https://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/record.asp?MSID=1620&CollID=20&NStart=16)
British Library (MSS images are copyright free)
Southeast England, possibly Canterbury (British Library catalogue: https://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/record.asp?MSID=1620&CollID=20&NStart=16)
Hartigan-Go — British Library MS Arundel 16, f. 1
This item is a partial page of an illuminated medieval manuscript. It depicts colourful artwork of a scribe holding a quill and surrounded by mythical creatures and animals — all curving to the shape of a capital letter "R". There are some handwritten words on the page, but large parts of it are cut off in the picture. The animals in the artwork are performing different actions — one is playing a lyre, another is a bird-like creature squawking to the side, and others appear to be chasing each other. The colours used to draw and highlight the image are pale blue, dark green, and bright red.
London, The British Library MS Arundel 16
Last quarter of the 11th century or first quarter of the 12th century (The British Library catalogue: https://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/record.asp?MSID=1620&CollID=20&NStart=16)
Southeast England (Canterbury) (The British Library catalogue: https://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/record.asp?MSID=1620&CollID=20&NStart=16)
Hartigan-Go — British Library MS Arundel 16, f. 2
The items are a page from an illuminated medieval manuscript. The first image depicts the full page, with its artwork and neat handwritten calligraphy. The words are rendered in light brown ink. The second image is a close-up picture of the artwork to the upper left corner of the manuscript page. The art is drawn with red, blue, and green pigments, and depicts a scribe surrounded by many fantastical animals. The third image is another close-up picture, which focuses on the written inscription at the bottom of the manuscript page. The colour at the bottom is lightly faded, and it appears to have some ink blots or stains.
Harun al-Rashid, "In The Palace of the 'Abbasid Caliph"
Miniature painting taken from a Nigaristan manuscript (East Azerbaijan, province of Iran). The miniature features the grandeur of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid's palace. In the painting, his vizer is seated at the top of the room, receiving guests on behalf of the Caliph who is not pictured. In Thousand and One Nights, the Caliph is depicted as "The Well-Guided" whose rise to power and wise actions paint him as a strong, well-suited ruler for Baghdad. The Caliph is perhaps more well-known for his support of the arts, literature and science which led to his creation of the "House of Wisdom", the Grand Library of Baghdad. He is also known for his grand gift to Charlemagne, the King of the Franks, to whom he sent an elephant to Europe as a gift for the European ruler.
Author: Ahmad Muhammad Ghaffari of Kashan. Scribe: Ahmad al-Shirazi
Kitab-i Nigaristan, (Kashan, Iran, likely made in a Shiraz workshop)
miniature painting, folio from a manuscript
Persian, written in the Nastaliq script.
Hebrew Bible, Spain, Toledo, Kislev 5068 / December 1307 , ink on parchment , Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, Friedberg MSS 5-001
This Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) was written and decorated in 1307 in Christian-ruled Toledo at a time when Jewish life in Spain was becoming increasingly difficult, culminating in the final expulsion of Jews as well as Muslims from the Iberian Peninsula in 1492. Possibly commissioned for personal family use rather than for a synagogue, this manuscript is punctuated by pages of intricate and playful geometric designs, such as the rhythmic wavy lines made up of Hebrew characters seen here. Along with the exact date, the gifted scribe has included his name in the colophon: Yosef ben Yehudah ben Meryas.
Dimensions: 26.8 x 23.0 x 8.7; 23.0 x 16.0 x 9.9 Material: ink on parhcment