Original leaf from a medieval manuscript folio Bible with illuminations from the Johannes Grusch Workshop. Latin gothic script, hand-written in brown ink, on animal vellum. (290x190mm). Rubricated chapter numbers, initials and marginalia in red and blue. 50 lines of text in double columns.
France: Paris, c. 1247.
Formerly owned by the Royal Abbey of St. Genevieve in Paris.
One exceptional six-line illuminated initial in blue, pink, orange & burnished gold; Four two-line illuminated initials alternating in red with delicate blue penwork & blue with delicate red penwork - extending into the margins.
There are an amazing 73 one-line illuminated Lombard style initials throughout the text alternating in red & blue. The last initial extends into the margin becoming a cross !! The gothic text is written in elegantly formed letters.
The content is from the Concordance or Lexicon of Hebrew names, & this leaf contains names beginning with the initials ''D'' & ''E'' – including Eden, Edna & Drusilla.
The large size of the page is unusual in 13th century Bible production!
The book from which this leaf came was a very high-quality production, scribed in the Johannes Grusch Workshop in Paris. The calligraphy is excellent, and the vellum is of the finest style.
Shipped in archival 14x11'' mat.