Search engine for discovering works of Art, research articles, and books related to Art and Culture
ShareThis
Javascript must be enabled to continue!

Mermaids And An Acrobatic Monkey, In The 'Alphonso' Psalter

View through Europeana Collections
Heraldry on the first page of the Psalms text strongly suggests that this Psalter was commissioned by King Edward I for the marriage of his son Alphonso, to Margaret, daughter of Florent V, Count of Holland, which was to take place in 1284. Alphonso died before the wedding, however, and the decoration of the manuscript was left incomplete. Additions were made in the early 14th century, probably before 1316. This page sparkles with gold, and features such as the scales of the large mermaid in the lower margin would originally have also sparkled with silver. But from exposure to air, the silver has now oxidised and turned almost black.
Title: Mermaids And An Acrobatic Monkey, In The 'Alphonso' Psalter
Description:
Heraldry on the first page of the Psalms text strongly suggests that this Psalter was commissioned by King Edward I for the marriage of his son Alphonso, to Margaret, daughter of Florent V, Count of Holland, which was to take place in 1284.
Alphonso died before the wedding, however, and the decoration of the manuscript was left incomplete.
Additions were made in the early 14th century, probably before 1316.
This page sparkles with gold, and features such as the scales of the large mermaid in the lower margin would originally have also sparkled with silver.
But from exposure to air, the silver has now oxidised and turned almost black.

Related Results

Crucifixion, The Arundel Psalter f.52v
Crucifixion, The Arundel Psalter f.52v
Probably made at Winchester, although it is not certain by or for which religious house there, the Arundel Psalter seems to have been a personal prayerbook. Throughout the middle a...
Flight into Egypt, and Massacre of the Innocents, in The Winchester Psalter
Flight into Egypt, and Massacre of the Innocents, in The Winchester Psalter
Traditionally called the 'St Swithun Psalter' because it contains a prayer to the saint, this psalter's origins can be placed at Winchester, probably at the Cathedral Priory, which...
October, in the Huth Psalter
October, in the Huth Psalter
Named for its donor, the Huth Psalter reveals its origin by listing in its calendar of feasts and litany Saints Hugh, Wilfrid, and John of Beverly?all associated with Lincoln or Yo...
Dress
Dress
Material: wool: brown, beige, green, red, yellow-brown, white cotton warp threads.\Technique: woven, flat weave.\The pattern in the dress, a monkey, comes from a depiction often fo...
Bowl with acrobatic performance
Bowl with acrobatic performance
Porcelain painted with overglaze polychrome enamels (Jingdezhen ware), Qing dynasty (1644–1911), China...

Back to Top