Getty Museum

Historiated Initial from a Manuscript

Date

14th century

Medium

Tempera colors and silver

Culture

Italian

Department

Manuscripts

Institution

Getty Museum

This tiny cutting from a medieval manuscript features a puzzling image. Contained within a multicolored *S* is a bearded male figure in a cap, specifically a bycocket or a so-called Tyrolean hat (named after the alpine region where it is commonly worn). While he could represent a saint, the lack of a halo suggests he is a layperson. In the figure’s right hand, he holds a gilded object, possibly a key or staff, that is probably a clue to his identity. Italian cuttings like this one can often be tricky for art historians to identify because they have been removed from their original contexts—usually hefty choir books used during Christian religious services, but, in this case due to the small size, probably from a small prayer book or secular manuscript. Inhabited initials from Italian manuscripts were especially valued from the sixteenth through the early twentieth centuries as representatives of medieval and Renaissance painting. Collectors and art dealers alike “broke” manuscripts apart to sell or gift them piecemeal. Usually, the only evidence for the source of a cutting or leaf is the style of the image and any text that might remain on the backside. Unfortunately, the backside of this cutting has been glued to cardstock and is not visible.

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