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Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, unknown maker
Elephant ivory
Overall: 68.3 cm (26 7/8 in.)
Gift of the African Art Sponsors of Karamu House
A vase like this was created to contain potpourri, a mixture of flowers, herbs, and spices emitting ambient fragrance. This specific function offered a particularly fertile ground for the development of French porcelain, as manufactories experimented with forms, surface ornamentations, and placement of perforations.
France, Saint Cloud, 18th century
soft-paste porcelain
Overall: 15 cm (5 7/8 in.)
Did you know...
Prior to Saint-Cloud's development of soft-paste porcelain in the 1690s, rumors spread throughout Europe that the prized material was made by burying a variety of materials, including lobster shells, in the ground for eighty years.
The Norweb Collection
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