The Special Collections Item of the Week this week is:

The Art of Illumination: An Anthology of Manuscripts from the Sixth to the Sixteenth Century by Paolo D'Ancona and E. Aeschlimann

This book offers a rich and fascinating anthology of illuminated manuscripts from the sixth to the sixteenth century. The selection includes not only pages from many great and familiar Bibles, Psalters, Gospel Books and Books of Hours, but also less well-known illustrations which are often profoundly imaginative and pictorially exciting. The choice of plates, 24 of which are in full colour, extends from the graceful early Byzantine illustrations and the more monumental Carolingian folios, to the late and ornate pages painted by 16th century Italian artists. There are examples of English, Irish, German, Austrian, Flemish, French, Italian and Spanish illumination, some shown in enlarged details.

Special Collections has a display on the art of illuminated manuscripts in our Reading Room until the first week of August.

Access: https://univofpretoria.on.worldcat.org/oclc/21613

This book is available at Special Collections, housed on level 5 of the Merensky 2 Library, and is part of our Reserved (RES) Collection.

The Special Collections unit of the Department of Library Services plays a stewardship role in the acquisition and preservation of the Library's rare and valuable information resources, making them accessible to students, staff and researchers, as well as safeguarding them for future generations.