The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 18, 2024

Bifolium Excised from a Carolingian Gradual

Bifolium Excised from a Carolingian Gradual

c. 830–60
gold and silver ink on purple parchment
Sheet: 29 x 10 cm (11 7/16 x 3 15/16 in.); Framed: 39.4 x 52.1 x 3.2 cm (15 1/2 x 20 1/2 x 1 1/4 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1933.446
Location: not on view

Description

This rare leaf comes from a cantatorium or gradual, a book containing the chants to be sung during the Mass. Other leaves from the same book survive in Berlin and Trier. As a bifolium, or double-leaf, it does not contain decorated letters but rather "emphasized" letters. These were enlarged and pushed out into the margins to catch the reader's eye. Such emphasized letters originated in late classical times and were the precursor to the decorated initial developed by medieval scribes. The purple-stained vellum (now faded to a deep pink) with its text written in gold and silver inks (now turned black) suggested great luxury with its sumptuous appearance. In Mediterranean regions, the purple dye was obtained from murex, a shellfish dye. In northern Europe, plant dyes were used as an alternative. Combined with the use of gold and silver ink a spectacular appearance was achieved that is traceable back to classical antiquity.
  • Cathedral of Paderborn(?)
    1777
    Convent of Kenmade, Westphalia
    Count of Kesselstadt
    Private Collection, Westphalia (until 1933)
    Cathedral of Paderborn(?); Convent of Kemnade, Westphalia (1777); Count of Kesselstadt; Private Collection, Westphalia (unitl 1933)
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 44 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 44 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 49 archive.org
    Gertsman, Elina and Barbara H. Rosenwein. The Middle Ages in 50 Objects. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. Mentioned: p. 118-121; Reproduced: p. 119
  • Devotion and Leaning in the Middle Ages- (Manuscript Rotation) - Gallery 115. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).
    Illuminated Manuscripts. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 10, 2004-October 2, 2005).
    The Cleveland Museum of Art (10/10/2004 - 10/02/2005); "Illuminated Manuscripts"
    799 - Art and Culture of the Carolingian Period. Erzbischöfliches Diözesanmuseum und Domschatzkammer (July 23-November 1, 1999).
    Paderborn, Germany: Diözesanmuseum (7/23/99 - 11/1/99), "799-Art and Culture of the Carolingian Period"
    The Decorated Letter and the Illuminator's Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 25-December 19, 1993).
    Los Angeles County Museum: "Exhibition of Medieval and Renaissance Illuminated Manuscripts" November 24, 1953-March 13, 1949.
    The Royal Ontario Musuem of Archaeology: "Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts" April 1-May 31, 1950.
    Baltimore, Maryland: Baltimore Museum of Art: "Western European Illuminated Manuscripts of the Middle Ages and Renaissance" January 27-March 13, 1949, p. 2.
  • {{cite web|title=Bifolium Excised from a Carolingian Gradual|url=false|author=|year=c. 830–60|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1933.446