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Leaf from a Bible: Initial E: Entwined Lions and Serpents (1 of 2 Excised Leaves)
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Leaf from a Bible: Initial E: Entwined Lions and Serpents (1 of 2 Excised Leaves)

c. 1225–50 · tempera and ink on vellum

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.

About this work

This pair of leaves from the same one-volume Bible have been traditionally associated with the Benedictine Abbey of Glastonbury in southwest England. It is known that the Bible once belonged to the English antiquary and collector, Roger Gale (1672–1744), whose library of 450 manuscripts once included two of the surviving 35 books from Glastonbury Abbey. Until its dissolution in 1539, Glastonbury was one of the greatest and wealthiest abbeys in Europe. Given its vast wealth and the recorded library lists, the abbey must have been a substantial patron of the arts. However, only a few illuminated manuscripts can now be positively identified as Glastonbury work.

Cleveland Museum of Art’s own description
Credit lineLeaf from a Bible: Initial E: Entwined Lions and Serpents (1 of 2 Excised Leaves), c. 1225–50. England, Glastonbury(?), 13th century. Tempera and ink on vellum; sheet: 20 x 15 cm (7 7/8 x 5 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection, 1999.122
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