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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.
Byzantium, Constantinople
ink, tempera, and gold on vellum; leather binding
Sheet: 28 x 23 cm (11 x 9 1/16 in.)
Did you know...
Gospel books were carried in procession through Byzantine churches.
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
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Tatsuke Takanori
1757–1833
H. 2 1/16 in. (5.2 cm); W. 9 in. (22.9 cm); D. 9 1/2 in. (24.2 cm)
medium: Gold and silver maki-e with colored lacquer on black lacquer
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY 14.40.885a–e 1914
Bequest of Benjamin Altman, 1913
This precious book was highly prized by its owner, Charles III, King of Navarre, a French-born prince whose coat of arms is painted on 20 folios. Charles visited Paris on numerous occasions and likely acquired this volume there in 1404. Paris was the center of the European book trade at the time and attracted illuminators from many parts of Europe. This manuscript represents one of the most remarkable fusions of French and Italian taste in book illumination. Though conforming to Parisian standards, most of the book’s major miniatures are the work of the Brussels Initials Master, an Italian illuminator who previously worked in Bologna and Padua.
France, Paris
ink, tempera, and gold on vellum
Codex: 20.3 x 15.7 x 7 cm (8 x 6 3/16 x 2 3/4 in.)
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
Italy, 19th century
embroidery: linen
Overall: 45.7 x 45.7 cm (18 x 18 in.)
Gift of Elisabeth Ireland in memory of her mother, Mrs. P. W. Harvey
The Byzantine lady who wore this earring may also have woven similar ornaments into her hair. Those who could afford it adorned not only their body but also their clothing with glittering jewels and shimmering gold.
Byzantium, Constantinople?, Byzantine period, 11th century
gold filigree with cloisonné enamel
Average: 2.3 x 2.6 cm (7/8 x 1 in.)
Did you know...
Small gold cells were created to hold enamel paste of different colors; when fired, they harden and appear jewel-like.
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust
Italy, Piedmontese, 15th century
pen and brown ink and black chalk
Sheet: 24.4 x 19.4 cm (9 5/8 x 7 5/8 in.)
Delia E. and L. E. Holden Funds and John L. Severance Fund
Archaeological jewelry decorated with ancient and modern scarabs was popular in Europe during the second half of the 19th century. The Castellani workshop was famous for its copies of ancient jewelry, and this necklace has been attributed to Giacinto Melillo, one of Alessandro Castellani's apprentices and protégés (another similar necklace in the Walters Collection, 57.1530, bears his mark on the clasp). In 1865 Melillo took over Castellani's workshop in Naples, which Henry Walters visited in 1903.
L: 16 3/4 in. (42.5 cm)
medium: sard, gold, with granulation
Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)
gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Overall: 20.3 x 14 cm (8 x 5 1/2 in.)
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry
The full moon and deer are seasonal motifs for autumn. In this tsuba, a stag stands on the right at the edge of a body of water. The moon, rather than being shown above the stag, is shown reflected in the water at the lower left. On the reverse, bamboo decorates the left side.
Japanese
2 11/16 x 2 7/16 x 3/16 in. (6.8 x 6.26 x 0.48 cm)
medium: sentoku, gold, silver, shakudo, shibuichi, copper
culture: Japanese
Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.