Byzantium, Constantinople / 1057–1063
Leaf from a Lectionary with St. Matthew
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Leaf from a Lectionary with St. Matthew as manuscript (Byzantium, Constantinople · 1057–1063).
Early Gospel lectionaries often had very costly treasure bindings in metalwork, sometimes with jewels and ivories.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this manuscript as tempera and gold on vellum.
The museum's collection notes: This leaf is 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 to b
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtLeaf from a Lectionary with St. MatthewOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.