Byzantium, Constantinople / 1057–1063
Leaf from a Lectionary with St. Luke
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Leaf from a Lectionary with St. Luke as manuscript (Byzantium, Constantinople · 1057–1063).
Commissioning a lectionary was a way for patrons to show their devotion to a particular church.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this manuscript as ink, tempera and gold on vellum.
The museum's collection notes: These leaves are from a lectionary (a book of gospel readings used in church services) that was presented to the Holy Trinity Monastery at Chalke in Constantinople by the Empress Katherine Komnene in 1063. The tools of the scribe’s trade are laid out before the evangelists: a stylus (a pointed tool for writing, drawing, and engraving), a pair of dividers (a device resembling a compass, used for dividing lines and transferring measurements), pens, a knife, a burnisher (polishing tool), and inkpots. Portraits of the authors of the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—appear frequently in gospel books throughout the Christian world. Understood
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtLeaf from a Lectionary with St. LukeOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.