Original leaf from a medieval manuscript pocket Bible, written in Italy (probably Bologna), c. 1250. Latin rotunda gothic script, ruled in red & written in brown ink in two columns of 50 lines on animal vellum.(197x130mm) .
Rubricated chapter numbers, two multi-lined illuminated Lombard style initials and elegant marginalia in red and blue. The gothic text is written in extremely tiny & very well formed letters – so small that there are ten lines of text to the inch!
The illuminated ''I'' begins Genesis 40: 1 - 41:51: ''Is ita…'' (After this, it came to pass...Joseph answered: The king's dream is one: God hath shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do...He said therefore to Joseph: Seeing God hath shown thee all that thou hast said, can I find one wiser and one like unto thee? Thou shalt be over my house, and at the commandment of thy mouth all the people shall obey: only in the kingly throne will I be above thee. And again Pharaoh said to Joseph: Behold I have appointed thee over the whole land of Egypt...) .
Provenance: Ex-collection Otto Ege (1888-1951). Dean of Cleveland Institute of Art & Lecturer on History of the Book at Western Reserve University & Northwestern University. Ege increased awareness of the history of the book through the dissemination of individual pages to schools, libraries, calligraphers and printers. Sister leaves are # 11 in the Portfolio of Fifty Original Leaves (Gwara HL11) - see Cary Collection - Rochester Institute (online example) and other museums.
Shipped in archival 14x11'' mat.
