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English

Leaf from a Book of Hours, ca. 1350

Now On View

Description

Maker

  • Unknown

Culture

English

Title

Leaf from a Book of Hours

Year

ca. 1350

Medium

Ink, tempera and gold on parchment

Dimensions

16.5 x 12.7 cm (6 1/2 x 5 inches)

Type

  • Works on Paper,
  • Manuscripts

Credit

Museum Works of Art Fund

Object Number

43.437

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

European Galleries

These examples of calligraphy from the 1300s are religious texts from different cultures. At left is a page from a Qur’an. Notice the precise lettering of the Arabic script, annotated with diacritics to indicate vowel sounds. Popular in Mamluk-ruled regions, this type of script appears to be a style known as muhaqqaq, which literately means “exact” or “perfectly executed.” [see 15.111.2]

The Egyptian calligrapher used only three lines per page, in contrast to the Italian manuscript at right. This page from an English Book of Hours is notable for its similarly precise lettering and the delicate and intricate use of gold leaf to embellish the lettering at the bottom of the page. Used for devotional purposes, Books of Hours are one of the most common types of illuminated Medieval manuscripts that have survived until today.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Leaf from a Book of Hours with the accession number of 43.437. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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