Artwork Page for Leaf from a Psalter and Prayerbook: Ornamental Border with Flowers and Squirrel (verso)

Details / Information for Leaf from a Psalter and Prayerbook: Ornamental Border with Flowers and Squirrel (verso)

Leaf from a Psalter and Prayerbook: Ornamental Border with Flowers and Squirrel (verso)

c. 1524

North Germany, Hildesheim (?), 16th century

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Medium
ink, tempera and liquid gold on vellum
Measurements
Each leaf: 16.6 x 13.5 cm (6 9/16 x 5 5/16 in.)
Credit Line
The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection 2006.15.b
Public Domain
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Location
113 French Tapestries & Illuminated Manuscripts
Print

Description

This leaf and the one nearby were excised from the same prayer book. They reveal the favored secular motifs that include decorations with animals, peasants, and domestic activities such as cooking. Here a woman is shown kneading bread. A composite text combining features of a psalter, a collection of psalms or religious verses, and a prayer book, it was used during Mass and other services. The original book was a highly personalized volume written and illuminated in or around the city of Hildesheim in Northern Germany, as suggested by the prominent inclusion of Saint Godehard, Bishop of Hildesheim (died 1038), in the calendar (not shown).
A vertically oriented manuscript leaf features a central block of black Latin text on vellum with colorful illuminated initials. A wide gold border surrounds the writing, decorated with winding green vines and bright red, yellow, and pink flowers. In the bottom-left corner, a small brown squirrel sits with its paws raised. A large red flower blooms in the bottom right, while a pale yellow blossom appears in the left margin.

Leaf from a Psalter and Prayerbook: Ornamental Border with Flowers and Squirrel (verso)

c. 1524

North Germany, Hildesheim (?), 16th century

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