Leaf from a Psalter: Initial C: David Seated with a Book (1 of 2 Excised Leaves) (c. 1270–1280): Art, History and Details

Leaf from a Psalter: Initial C: David Seated with a Book (1 of 2 Excised Leaves) (c. 1270–1280) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Initial E: The decorated initial introduces the Canticle of Ezechias (Isaiah 38:10–20): Ego dixi in dimidio. . . . (I said: In the midst of my days. . . . ). Stylistically, this leaf relates to English work of the last quarter of the 1200s, possibly from the vicinity of Oxford. Hard lines, sharp expressions, and a schematic drawing of the hair give the prophet a coarse-looking face. He poses in a rigid and angular way. Hard drapery patterns emphasize the triangular folds, and the initial's ascender terminates as a standing bird.

Object facts

• Title: Leaf from a Psalter: Initial C: David Seated with a Book (1 of 2 Excised Leaves)
• Date: c. 1270–1280
• Culture: England, Oxford(?), 13th century
• Type: Manuscript
• Technique: ink, tempera and gold on vellum
• Dimensions: Each leaf: 17.9 x 13.5 cm (7 1/16 x 5 5/16 in.)
• Collection: MED - Manuscript Illuminations
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1999.124

Collection credit

The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection

Further reading listed by the museum

• Fliegel, Stephen N. The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection of Manuscript Illuminations. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.