Arkivism
Leaf from a Psalter and Prayerbook: Initial E with Ornamental Border Containing a Seated Satyr and a Bird Eating Grapes (recto)
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Leaf from a Psalter and Prayerbook: Initial E with Ornamental Border Containing a Seated Satyr and a Bird Eating Grapes (recto)

c. 1524 · ink, tempera and liquid gold on vellum

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

About this work

This leaf and the one nearby were excised from the same prayer book that contained ornamental borders on nearly every page. They represent the intricate decoration found throughout the parent volume, its leaves now dispersed. Virtually every border, recto and verso, or front and back, was decorated with liquid gold and highlighted with a variety of flowers, fruits, vegetables, and animals; here a bird eats grapes while seated below is a satyr, or half goat and half man.

Cleveland Museum of Art’s own description
Credit lineLeaf from a Psalter and Prayerbook: Initial E with Ornamental Border Containing a Seated Satyr and a Bird Eating Grapes (recto), c. 1524. North Germany, Hildesheim (?), 16th century. Ink, tempera and liquid gold on vellum; each leaf: 16.6 x 13.5 cm (6 9/16 x 5 5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection, 2006.15.a

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