Cleveland Museum of Art

Leaf from a Psalter and Prayerbook: Ornamental Border with Flowers and Squirrel (verso)

Date: c. 1524
Medium: ink, tempera and liquid gold on vellum
Culture: North Germany, Hildesheim (?), 16th century
Department: Medieval Art
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art

This leaf and the one nearby were excised from the same prayer book. They reveal the favored secular motifs that include decorations with animals, peasants, and domestic activities such as cooking. Here a woman is shown kneading bread. A composite text combining features of a psalter, a collection of psalms or religious verses, and a prayer book, it was used during Mass and other services. The original book was a highly personalized volume written and illuminated in or around the city of Hildesheim in Northern Germany, as suggested by the prominent inclusion of Saint Godehard, Bishop of Hildesheim (died 1038), in the calendar (not shown).

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