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Source Description
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.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
678976
label
Text, folio 428 (recto), from a Gospel Book with Commentaries
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
678976
contentType
object
title
Text, folio 428 (recto), from a Gospel Book with Commentaries
description
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.
date
c. 1000–1100
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q126728148
genreSpecific
Bound Volume
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Sheet: 28 x 23 cm (11 x 9 1/16 in.)
cul
Byzantium, Constantinople
accession
1942.152.428.a
Source extras
tec
ink, tempera, and gold on vellum; leather binding
tombstone
Text, folio 428 (recto), from a Gospel Book with Commentaries, c. 1000–1100. Byzantium, Constantinople. Ink, tempera, and gold on vellum; leather binding; sheet: 28 x 23 cm (11 x 9 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1942.152.428.a
collection
MED - Byzantine
relatedWorks
id
121698
description
Leaf from a Lectionary with St. Matthew, 1057–1063. Byzantium, Constantinople. Tempera and gold on vellum; sheet: 28.8 x 24.3 cm (11 5/16 x 9 9/16 in.); framed: 52.4 x 39.7 cm (20 5/8 x 15 5/8 in.); matted: 48.9 x 36.2 cm (19 1/4 x 14 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1942.1512
id
121697
description
Leaf from a Lectionary with St. Luke, 1057–1063. Byzantium, Constantinople. Ink, tempera and gold on vellum; sheet: 28.9 x 22.6 cm (11 3/8 x 8 7/8 in.); matted: 48.9 x 36.2 cm (19 1/4 x 14 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1942.1511
didYouKnow
Gospel books were carried in procession through Byzantine churches.
citations
citation
Clark, Kenneth Willis. <em>A Descriptive Catalogue of Greek New Testament Manuscripts in America</em>. Chicago, Ill: The University of Chicago Press, 1937.
page_number
pp. 122-23
citation
Milliken, William M. “Byzantine Manuscript Illumination” <em>ClevelandMuseum of Art Bulletin</em>34 (March 1947)
page_number
pp. 50-56
citation
Milliken, William M. “Early Christian and Byzantine Art in America” <em>Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism </em>Vol. V (June 1947)
page_number
pp. 256-68
citation
Diehl, Charles, Naomi Walford, and Peter Charanis. <em>Byzantium: Greatness and Decline</em>. 1957.
page_number
p. 231
citation
Ricci, Seymour de, William Jerome Wilson, Christopher Urdahl Faye, and William Henry Bond. Supplement to the Census of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts: In the United States and Canada. New York, N.Y.: The Bibliographical Society of America, 1962.
page_number
p. 428
citation
Walters Art Gallery (Baltimore, Md.), and Dorothy Eugenia Miner. Early Christian and Byzantine Art, An Exhibition Held at the Baltimore Museum of Art, April 25-June 22 [1947]. Baltimore: Trustees of the Walters Art Gallery, 1947.
page_number
p. 138
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 40
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 40
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 42
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 09:15:55.652000
sourceId
678976
dept
Medieval Art
coll
MED - Byzantine
med
ink, tempera, and gold on vellum; leather binding
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
38dbf52f843e1b0f