Cleveland Museum of Art

Initial S[alve sancta parens] from a Gradual: Madonna and Child

Date

c. 1370–1374

Medium

ink, tempera, and gold on vellum

Culture

Italy, Florence, 14th century

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Along with several other excised leaves and miniatures that survive in various libraries and museums, this decorated initial S was part of a magnificent gradual produced in the scriptorium of the monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Florence. The Madonna and Child was a standard image for the Saturday votive Mass to the Virgin. This initial originally introduced the text: Salve sancta parens (“Hail, Holy Mother”).

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