The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 22, 2026

An ink and tempera manuscript page on vellum has stylized black script with red headings and blue initials. To the upper left, a large ornate gold and blue initial 'D' with interior vine patterns anchors the layout. A rectangular frame of alternating blue and red circles in gold borders the text area. Delicate vines with blue and red flowers and gold leaves sprout from the border, extending into the wide, creamy margins.

Leaf from a Book of Hours: Initial D

c. 1400

England, early 15th century

ink, tempera and gold on vellum
Each leaf: 15.2 x 11.4 cm (6 x 4 1/2 in.)
The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection 2006.10
Location: Not on view

Description

Not all books of hours were decorated with conventional historiated initials or full-page miniatures containing figural scenes. The illuminator of this leaf incorporated a more subtle decorative scheme consisting of a large, flower-filled initial D for Deus that gives a focus to the page. A rectangular bar border with ivy leaf sprays punctuated with flowers in the corners flows from this initial. The layout is neat, yet elegant. The palette of orange-reds and pale blues is typically English.
  • [Graton and Graton, Evanston, Ill.]
  • Fliegel, Stephen N. The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection of Manuscript Illuminations. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 27, cat. no. 19 archive.org
  • The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection of Manuscript Illuminations. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 19, 1999-February 27, 2000).
    CMA, 19 December 1999 - 27 February 2000, The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection of Manuscript Illuminations, cat. 19, illus. p. 27.
  • {{cite web|title=Leaf from a Book of Hours: Initial D|url=false|author=|year=c. 1400|access-date=22 April 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2006.10