The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 16, 2026

Text, folio 81 (recto), from a Gospel Book with Commentaries

c. 1000–1100

Byzantium, Constantinople

ink, tempera, and gold on vellum; leather binding
Sheet: 28 x 23 cm (11 x 9 1/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1942.152.81.a
Location: 105 Byzantine(not visible)

Did You Know?

Gospel Books were carried in procession through Byzantine churches.

Description

Each of the four gospels in this book opens on a page with brilliantly illuminated borders depicting the author of the text as well as birds-principally peacocks, symbols of the immortality of the soul-and fountains, representing the fountain of life and the salvation of the soul. This volume consists of 428 leaves with texts in Greek. Its level of sophistication suggests that it was probably written and decorated in a monastery in Constantinople.
  • -1942
    Dikran G. Kelekian, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1942-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Text, folio 81 (recto), from a Gospel Book with Commentaries|url=false|author=|year=c. 1000–1100|access-date=16 March 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1942.152.81.a