Gospel Book with Commentaries
Unknown Artist
c. 1000–1100
Medium
ink, tempera, and gold on vellum; leather binding
Dimensions
28 × 23 cm
Classification
Bound Volume
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1942.152
About this artwork
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 high level of sophistication is characteristic of monasteries in Constantinople.